Take a three-day field trip deep into the heart of the California Desert with The Mojave Project and LACE. Your host and guide for this weekend event is Mojave Project director Kim Stringfellow. This free event is limited to forty participants traveling together on a professionally driven charter tour bus.
Visit the old gold mining district of Randsburg. Collect mineral specimens at Gem-O-Rama in Trona. Visit select sites in Timbisha (better known as Death Valley.) Stargaze from Rhyolite. Head over to the former silver mining district of Darwin and hang with local artists. Along the way, we’ll speak notable desert denizens including retired Randsburg mine metallurgist Ordinary Tom among others.
This immersive tour coincides with the exhibition of The Mojave Project at LACE (Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions) on view September 15 – November 18, 2018.
Please note that this field trip is now sold out. Sign up below for project updates and related events.
Field Trip Costs
Free – Mojave Project Bus Tour for registered participants – limited space!
$75 – Non-refundable deposit per person (covers lunches and snacks)
$250 – Estimate for lodging/breakfast for 2 nights and non-host dinners
How to Sign up!
- Reserve your Field Trip seat and make a deposit through Eventbrite here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mojave-project-field-trip-oct-2018-tickets-47122960042
- Reserve your lodging. LACE is holding a block of rooms for participants. After you sign-up for the tour at Eventbrite we will provide instructions to proceed with your hotel reservations. Keep in mind that the desert is very, very popular these days so lodging arrangements must be made by July 31st. We also encourage you to room with another participant if possible.
- Refunds? Lodging reservations can be canceled within a few days of the trip with a full refund. Deposits are non-refundable.
This program and exhibition at LACE are funded by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.
Full Itinerary*
Friday, Oct 12:
9 am: Depart from LACE, 522 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028
10 am: Stop in Mojave (short drive-thru tour/talk on commercial spaceflight)
12 pm: Arrive Randsburg. Lunch, tour of museum & town. Meet w/ Ordinary Tom.
3 pm: Drive out to Trona Pinnacles for sunset cocktails
6 pm: Check-in Ridgecrest at Clarion Inn
7 pm: Dinner (TBA)
Saturday, Oct 13:
7:30 am: Depart from Ridgecrest to Trona
9 am: Arrive at Gem-O-Rama for Mud Run Field Trip
11 am: Depart from Mud Run event
11:30 – 12:30: Lunch in Trona (TBA)
12:45 pm: Depart to Death Valley
2 pm: Stopover at Stovepipe Wells Sand Dunes
3:15 pm: Depart Stovepipe Wells
4 pm: Salt Creek Interpretive Trail walk & talk
5:30 pm: Check-in Beatty at Stagecoach Inn and Casino
7 pm: Dinner (TBA)
8:30 to 9:30 pm: Head out to Rhyolite for stargazing
Sunday, Oct 14:
8 am: Depart from Beatty to Timbisha Shoshone Nation at Furnace Creek
9 am: Talk with Barbara Durham, Timbisha elder & tribal cultural liaison
10:15 am: Zabrinski Point
11 am: Depart Death Valley
12:30 pm: Lunch at Panamint Springs Resort
1:30 pm: Depart to Darwin
2:15 pm: Arrive at Darwin tour/meet with local artists
4 pm: Depart for LA
6 pm: Arrive back at LACE (end of tour)
* We reserve the right to make a few tweaks to this itinerary if necessary.
We will provide a suggested list of online Mojave Project readings that complement this field trip. Participants will also receive the latest copy of the Desert Oracle and a 15% discount for the Mojave Project Readers (when purchased at LACE during the exhibit).
Photos from this 2018 tour:
Day One: retired miner Tom O’Donnell discusses Randsburg’s mining history at the local museum.
Day One: lunch at Randburg’s General Store.
Day One: late afternoon cocktails at the Trona Pinnacles.
Day Two: Gem-O-Rama field trip (The Mud Run).
Day Two: group photo at Gem-O-Rama.
Day Two: the group visits the boom & bust ruins of Rhyolite, NV.
Day Three: artist Judyth Greenburgh’s studio in Darwin, CA.
Day Three: Hal Newell’s memorial to his father, the artist Gordon Newell, Darwin, CA.