I Drove the 140-Mile Road That California Almost Forgot

There's a 140-mile dirt road across the Mojave Desert that's older than California. It almost disappeared. Native traders walked this exact line for over a thousand years. A Spanish friar crossed it in 1776 the same year America declared independence. The U.S. Army cut it into a wagon road in 1858. Then in 1883, a railroad punched through fifteen miles to the south and the road's reason for existence vanished almost overnight. For nearly a century, almost nobody used it. Until one man. A Marine, a retired physicist, a historian named Dennis Casebier walked the entire 140 miles on foot. Twice. And decided the road shouldn't disappear. Today you can drive the road he saved. There are no signs. Just rock cairns. The road teaches itself. That's by design. This is the Old Mojave Road More forgotten Mojave stories on the channel: Mojave Phone Booth:    • I Called the Mojave Phone Booth That No Lo...   Mojave Megaphone:    • I Found the Mystery Object Bolted to a Moj...   Learn how to make videos on my filmmaking channel:    / jevendoveyofficial   Business Inquiries: https://www.jevendovey.com/contactme 0:00 140 Miles of Dirt Older Than California 0:57 Why a Road Runs Here (Volcanoes and Springs) 3:02 A Thousand Years Before America 4:32 A Spanish Friar Crosses, 1776 6:32 The Mojave War and the Army Wagon Road 9:33 A Railroad Kills the Road in One Summer 11:03 A WWI Veteran Comes to Die at Rock Spring 13:53 The Marine Who Walked 280 Miles to Save It 16:53 You Earn the Right to Drive It 17:35 What You Find on the Road Today 18:49 The Brass Plaque With a Secret 20:30 Why It Keeps Drawing Me Back 21:42 Subscribe for more videos like this!