Red Crossbill, Mono Jeffrey Pine Forest, Mono County, CA

Taken on April 28, 2018 (uploaded 6/26/18)

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Toll House Spring, Highway 168 (Deep Springs Valley Toll Road), Inyo County, CA

Location of a former toll house, at which tribute was extracted (one dollar per wagon load ) from ranchers traveling between the Owens Valley and Fish Lake Valley to the northeast.

The road was originally built as a private road. The spring issues from along a fault in the small gulley on the north side of the canyon just west of the site.

HISTORY
"Also known as the Midland Trail, the Deep Springs Valley Toll Road was the last privately owned toll road in California.

Travelers stopped here at the old tollhouse to water their animals at the spring and pay their road fees. For many years, the toll road provided the only east-west access into the Owens Valley from the mining communities in Deep Springs Valley and the Nevada Territory.

The original road over these mountains was built slightly south of here in the 1860's. it was constructed by soldiers in the Owens Vlley seeking a wagon route from Camp Independence to Fort Churchill in the Nevada Territory. Shortly after its completion, three entrepreneurs named J.S. Border, W.A. Greenly, and F.J Hubbard built a toll road up this canyon through the national separation between the White and Inyo Mountains. Soldiers, immigrants, and prospectors then used this easier route, which was operated as a toll road until 1921.

In 1913 representatives from the American Automobile Industry, led by A.L. Westgard, left Indiana in search of a transcontinental highway to California. The route they selected, known as the Midland Trail, included the Deep Springs Valley Toll Road over the White Mountains and into the Owens Valley. Eventually the usefulness of the Midland Trail was eclipsed by other roadways into the Golden State. The summit over which the highway ow navigates, is add Westward Pass to honor A. L. Westgard."

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Great-tailed Grackle, Silver Saddle Ranch & Club, California City, CA (Jack)

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Silver Saddle Ranch & Club (Galileo Hill),
20751 Aristotle Dr, California City, CA 93505

Galileo Hill, at Silver Saddle Ranch, has recorded over 350 species of birds since birders began flocking to the area back in the 1980’s. The oasis like setting of Galileo Hill has become a regular stopping point along many migration paths.

This private ranch is a mixture of ponds, trees and lawns and is a magnet for migrants at all seasons. Although it has been more productive in fall, some of this is due to coverage. During spring, since Butterbredt Spring is best at dawn, most birders do not get to Galileo Hill Park until late morning or afternoon. Conversely, this is a traditional starting point in fall and thus is covered at the best time of the day.

silversaddleranch.life/birds-of-galileo-hill.htm

Running north and south along the length of California and extending north into Canada and south into Mexico is an aerial highway for birds known as the Pacific Flyway. Along this “flyway” birds find a wide range of terrain ranging from lush, friendly coastal areas to inhospitable desert ones.

As human development expanded, beginning in earnest back in the 1960’s, many new habitats and stop-over areas were created for birds in the form of parks, golf courses and water features. Birds seemed to welcome these new “rest areas”, especially the ones who had been blown off course and might otherwise have struggled to regain their normal routing.

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The founding of California City 50 years ago created two ideal habitats along the western edge of the Mojave desert. The city's Central Park, which is bordered by two golf courses, and Silver Saddle Club at the base of Galileo Hill are favorites stops for migrants.
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People are often surprised to learn that California City is one of the top birding spots in southern California. The development of parks and golf courses in our city in the 1960s created welcome habitat for birds migrating along the Pacific Flyway. These "migrant traps" often host vagrants that have been blown off course. To date 43 warbler species have been seen. Over 360 species have been recorded in the habitats of Central Park and Galileo Hill.

California City can easily be your center for a birding weekend. The "Desert Loop" covering Butterbredt Springs, and the city's Central Park and Galileo Hill, is popular with those in the know. Birders come to experience a "Best in the West" migration phenomena ranging into the 1000s of individuals per morning.

Update:

dfpi.ca.gov/2019/10/01/department-of-business-oversight-s...

The Department of Business Oversight (DBO) announced on October 1, 2019 that a state judge has granted its request to shut down an alleged investment fraud that collected more than $30 million from illegal land sales and other charges associated with the Silver Saddle Ranch & Club in California City, California.

The complaint names Thomas M. Maney of Lancaster, California as the central figure in a scheme that violated state securities laws and targeted Filipino, Chinese and Spanish-speaking communities with high-pressure sales tactics and false promises. More than 2,000 investors were persuaded to pay up to $30,000 each for part of an undeveloped, 1,000-acre patch of desert in remote Kern County, the DBO complaint alleges.

Starting in 2011, Maney and the other defendants allegedly targeted unsophisticated investors in ethnic communities through supermarket raffles and social media. Most of the investors speak English as a second language. The investments were not qualified or approved by the state as required and were sold with “blatant misrepresentations” and “deliberate omission” of material information, the complaint alleges.

The DBO previously issued a Desist and Refrain Order on June 18, 2019, that directed Maney, Silver Saddle and the other business entities to stop offering or selling investments in the desert property. Administrative actions filed simultaneously requested penalties and an order that Maney, Silver Saddle Ranch and the other entities offer to repurchase the investments. The administrative action is currently pending.

The civil action unsealed today (10/1/2019) seeks an injunction, penalties, and restitution for all investors. A receiver was appointed to take over the company assets for the benefit of the investors. The asset freeze and preliminary injunction will prohibit Maney from soliciting further investments, spending any more investor money and destroying any records related to the investment scheme.
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www.hcn.org/articles/ideas-culture-what-it-took-to-invest...

Silver Saddle Ranch & Club was a kitschy, rundown dude ranch on the outskirts of town — think taxidermy jackalopes and knock-off wagon wheels. The owner appeared to be using the place as a tool to sell “near-worthless desert land,” as state investigators later put it, at exorbitant prices.

Silver Saddle lured prospective buyers from around California with the promise of a free weekend at the ranch. The buyers were nearly all Filipino, Chinese or Latino, and many spoke English as a second language. After a sales tour and high-pressure sales tactics, the salespeople convinced many to buy land — and the company made tens of millions.

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Fox Sparrow, Central Park, California City, CA

Taken on May 1, 2018 (uploaded 7/8/18)

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