Mojave Phone Booth '99
Quick Jump
The People |
Photos |
The Number |
Why? |
The Calls |
What to Bring |
The Documentary
The Trip
The trip was 290 miles from Santa Barbara, CA to the phone booth.
JD and I (Tone)
undertook the trek on 26-SEP-99. We started out at Stern's
Wharf at 7:25am. We arrived at the phone booth about 2:00pm.
The People
Martin and his wife from Los Angeles:
We found Martin and his wife walking back from their
white truck that was stuck fast
in the sand further up the road to the phone
booth. JD and I assisted in an attempt to free their vehicle, but
to no avail. We drove them back to Charlie's
home.
Charlie:
You might have seen Charlie on the news.
Charlie is retired and
lives in his home about 11 miles from the phone booth with his wife
and daughter Tammy. JD and I met Tammy on the way in as she was
driving out. She warned us that we would need four wheel drive.
This was a sound warning.
Why?
What compels a person to drive 9 hours (round-trip) into the desert
for the sole purpose of seeing a phone booth? Perhaps it is the love
of adventure. Riding the edge of that which is insanely useless for
the sake of that insanity. There are pleasures to be found only in
the novelty.
Perhaps the best reason I can give for driving 4.5 hours to a phone
booth in the middle of nowhere is simply the fact that "I can."
The Calls
The phone rang non-stop. Literally,
the phone rang within seconds
of when you cradled the receiver. People calling from all over the
world. I personally fielded calls from Hawaii, Montana, Canada,
West Virginia, San Francisco, Iowa, and Janesville, WI.
People were ecstatic to have someone actually answer the
phone. Some
could not believe they got through. There was one caller who tried
to shovel some religion at Martin. This religion peddler actually
got through twice.
For fun, Martin answered the phone
once saying "Dominoes Pizza."
I once answered the phone saying "I'm sorry, no one is at home" and
hung up.
What to Bring
If you are compelled to see the booth,
bring water, a hat and/or sunscreen, a camera, and a four wheel drive vehicle.
There was one guy who made it through with a two wheel drive truck because
he kept his speed up to get through the stretches of loose sand. A car
probably wouldn't make it.
The Documentary
The entire trip is chronicled with video at
MojavePhoneBooth.com
I plan on getting some photos up on this site soon.
I Phone Home
I phoned home. This is the call.
For More Information
Check out Anthony Domingo's Site. He
gave me a call and asked to trade links.
