Cerro Gordo is not easy to reach. If anything, traveling there was a good reminder of the compromises we make with our living situation and the potential shift in mobility that comes with any change. The route to Cerro Gordo is 7 miles of rough road snaking sharply to the summit of Cerro Gordo Peak. Woe betide any unwitting driver that comes across a car in the opposite direction because most stretches of the road are a single lane with a mountain wall to one side and a cliff at the other. It is a route we never would have attempted with Dodgy I or even if Dodgy II had a top heavy camper. It is Dodgy II’s light truck bed shell and 4 wheel drive that makes the road feasible.
Luckily, we had Dodgy II and made it up to the summit where Cerro Gordo Ghost Town sits in “arrested decay,” a haunting reminder of California’s biggest silver bonanza. Today, the remains of old structures and equipment sprawl along the mountain side. Sadly, many of the artifacts have been picked away by trespassing scavengers or visitors in the earlier day’s of Cerro Gordo’s retirement. Back then, the land owner would allow bottle and coin collecting. All the same, any knowledge you may want to acquire is more readily available than ever, thanks to the town’s resident care taker. He is even working on a book about the town right now, which we can’t wait to read.
On The Way To Cerro Gordo
The route up and down the mountain was prolonged by my frequent need to dart out of the truck to take pictures. There were so many wildflowers!
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