The Gold Road to La Paz Book- The Bradshaw Trail
The Gold Road to La Paz - The Bradshaw Trail is one of the great transdesert wagon roads of the 19th century. It was a "Gold Road." The gold rush to the Colorado River of 1862 gave it its first life and it has survived down to the present time, now being represented by Interstate 10 in southern California. There are a lot of side trips into rockhound area. Free Shipping
The Trail Today - You can still follow about 70 miles of the Bradshaw Trail. The segment lies primarily on Bureau of Land Management land, running from today’s Salton Sea State Recreation Area (near Dos Palmas) eastward to today’s Wiley’s Well Campground (near the Mule Mountains). Although California’s Riverside County Transportation Department grades the route on occasion, you will still need a four-wheel-drive vehicle to negotiate stretches of soft desert sand.
Dr. Delmer Ross, noted historian and writer, and professor of history at La Sierra University, did the research and writing for the book. Dr. Ross considers himself a transportation historian. His dissertation involved study of the railroads of Central America. Fortunately for us, his interest has expanded to include wagon roads, railroads, and other routes of travel in the California Desert.
The Gold Road to La Paz gives information on the best time to visit, what to expect, what to take along, and some hints on how best to use the area. It also contains a number of cautions against possible improper use.
"Along the Coachella Canal" and the following nine chapters are designed to help the reader retrace and understand the Bradshaw Trail. They contain a wealth of information on the surrounding area as well. Each entry offers three principal items of information: a mileage number, an explanation, and another number in parenthesis indicating how far it is to the next explained feature.
The mileage number, right at the beginning of each entry, in the case of the Bradshaw Trail indicates the distance from State Highway 111, and when dealing with a side trip or loop it indicates the distance from the beginning of that side trip at the Bradshaw Trail.
The mile number is followed immediately by an explanation of the feature at hand. Such explanations may be very brief and to the point, or they may be quite lengthy and include information on people, mining, history, botany, or any number of other topics of interest regarding the attraction and the immediate region.
Insofar as possible, detailed maps, each generally covering from six to twelve miles of route, are strategically placed so that they apply to the immediately following text. At the beginning of each chapter of road guide is an introduction consisting of a short explanation of what is covered in the chapter and indicating the driving time required.
Hard Cover New over 298 pages with maps and photos.