Pros and Cons of Living in Ridgecrest, CA

You missed a couple of obvious pros, GF. (1) You (and me too in Trona) are surrounded by the most gorgeous mountains that grew up on this planet. I am almost 62 yrs old and the sight of them still makes me go “ooooooooooooh!” when I step outside. (2) You know the majority of the people around you and can rely on most of them to watch your back as you watch theirs. I have lived in places where if I needed help, I would have screamed “Fire”. Screaming “Help!” was a sure way to watch lights go out all over the street you were on…notice I said street? Some places you don’t have neighbors…just folks who live on the same street as you do.

Thanks for sharing this forum with us, Missy.

Ruthie Lancaster

Cons… Swamp Coolers? I miss the smell of the turn up and the new pads each season. mmmmmmmm. I miss the smell of a desert rain. There is nothing like it :o)

I was born and raised in Ridgecrest, Burroughs Class of “82”, and still, to this day, consider it Home and one of the best places on earth. The desert has a beauty all it’s own and like no other. I left R/C 11 years ago for the birth of my 1st Grand-daughter. After that, there was no coming back, according to my wife.

Heat is noted as a CON… I will take the desert heat, dry, vs. this Tennessee Humid Heat any day. At least one can breath.

I miss Ridgecrest. I miss the Mountains & wide open spaces and the wind. I miss the location & the sunsets, the people and friends. Thank God for technology! I can keep in touch. I can see that changes in the town. I hate seeing all the hate & discontent being presented about R/C. There is good and bad with everything in this world. Happiness is not a destination but a State of Mind. I watched R/C grow and evolve. So many memories. Being a Desert Rat, I guess the desert is not for everyone. In MHO, if ya don’t like it, move on. This is the USA. Go where ya want. Be Happy!

In the words one spoken to me, “If you ain’t happy, it’s your own damn fault” Mighty words of wisdom from a great person. Simple yet dead on!

Ridgecrest is and always will be Home. I look forward to my next visit very soon.

PROS:
Swamp Coolers
Desert Heat
Fresh Air
Wind
The People
The Places
The Community
Desert Culture
Road Runners
Desert Wild-life
Desert Vegetation
Jack Rabbits
WIDE open spaces
Dirt roads
The ability to get lost and not see another person for days
Seclusion
Grandeur & Beauty of the endless Sunsets
Snow fall in the Desert
NO Malls
Small and Family owned businesses
Night Life

CONS…
California Politics

Ronny

From a San Bernardino transplant: I moved here in 1980 from “Down Below”. I left Berdoo because I had a good job offer here in R/C, even though I had never been here before.
I have been here for 27 years, raised my 2 daughters and even retired here. “I’M GONNA STAY”. My Swamp Cooler works just fine for me, I don’t mind driving out of town for a Dr’s appt., cause I know when I come back into town I have left the RAT-RACE of the big city. My youngest daughter just came back to this tiny town after living in Las Vegas (Sin City) for several years and asked if she could move in with me as she was tired of the Vegas scene.
Where else can I go to bed at night and leave my door unlocked??????

Well I think there is something very, very strange about your little Ridgecrest, folks. There is some… secret you are all sharing, and it isn’t that life there is so good there. It’s a little freakish. I am well-acquainted with desert towns, and yours, dear readers, is different than all of them. To be quite frank, there is something devilishly wierd and maybe even dangerous about your little grayish… beige dusty dirtville; something that is hidden in the wind and unspoken – beautiful…maybe. Quiet….oh, yeah. Odd…definately. Hidden, most certainly. Something like… you’re all abductees or grays or walkabouts. Or maybe that government-supported life has left you all feeling secure, but very dominated. It’s a Eureka-town. It should feel friendlier than it does, or it should be larger than it is. I always get the feeling that something is going on there that everyone has agreed to shut up about. It’s in the eyes of everyone you meet there. Creepy. I’m keeping an eye on you. Search engine is ON.

Daily Independent, do you really mean to lump your city into two classes? That simply does not make sense. What class do your small business owners come under? Certainly not imported drug addicts and most of them don’t come under the extreme high income either…least ways my boyfriend doesn’t lol. Which class do the students that attend Cerro Coso while holding down usually low paying jobs come under? What about people who have worked and lived there all their lives and have retired on fixed incomes or a little better? They don’t fit into either class either but everyone of these groups help make up the culture of your town and make it what many people I have read in your guestbook call home. All you have to do is just look between the pages of your own newspaper to see the rich diversity of your city.

And Poor Fred…Why do you see threats everywhere you look? The fact is no one really cares enough to threaten you. Most of us find you laughable.

Your point about people at the market really caught my attention. While I don’t live in Ridgecrest, I do shop there. I’ve always pretty much been one of those people who do not understand the concept of the word “stranger” and chatter away to people everywhere…markets, especially. Most people just chatter right back but once in a great while I get someone who gives me that “deer caught in the headlights” expression and sidles away or even just looks past me and not say a word. They make me kinda sad but then I just spring right back and chatter to the next person…however, I bet i will be taking a longer and harder look the next time that happens. It will be interesting to see which group they look like they will fall into.

Being (almost) 62, I have to admit that most of the business owners that I know personally are older but then I really don’t know many of them in Ridgecrest. Here in Trona, every new business that has opened up in the last 3 or four years have had young owners…the Barkers are in their 30s…Crystal’s Nails owner is probably younger than 30 and I have no idea of how old the young couple who has taken over the Desert Holly coffee place is but I think they are in their 20s also.

I guess like you, I fall between the category cracks. I’m a poor but honest 61 year old Cerro Coso college kid who works at two libraries (parttime to make my meager living)and am still fighting that demon spawn, Al-Gebra to get my AA in Social Sciences. I don’t know if I’m supposed to be having this much fun tho…but ain’t life a BALL?

I feel that RC had a lot more class in the 60’s than it does now. More entertainment. And I really feel that a lot of members of a certain religious group needs to keep their opinion to themselves because they like to berate people publicly and it turns off many others to them. It’s like “christianity” run amok.

And that base, well, it seems that if you’re not ‘civil service’, you’re ostracized unless you’re some big-bucks business in town. Jewel in the Navy’s crown? Let’s face it, we haven’t won a war in 62 years so get off of your high horse, China Lake civil servants.

People were much looser back in the 60’s than they are now. They need to learn to get along with others. And more importantly, 2/3’rds of the world is not christian.

Just because some r/c residents are christians dont make them fanatics anymore than athiests are. Secondly our nation was born on a Christian foundation check out the founding fathers. A nation without a form of religious beliefs will sink. As far as r/c is concerned there is equal number of bars to churches, I believe earlier comments concerning the meths and not meths neither speak to the other. I hope you get a good laugh over this Fred.
T. Willikers

Only the dead people knows what happens after death all of us speculate to our beliefs.
T.Willikers

Because seniors know more than my generation know were going to repeat our mistakes and no one wants to know that. Age spots well everyone whos lived in the desert has that. Saging only is character thats what my 97 year old friend use to say. Spots,scars and sagging means intelligence by trial and error. See my generation is error and point the finger. If you make a mistake and say the wrong thing its your parents, the tv, music etc.’s fault. I say own up to it and move on so what if your wrong,everyone makes mistakes its all in how you handle them if you grow from them its great. This last year in my life has been hard lots of esperiences but my best time has been learning to say sorry and truely mean it. Learning that sometimes you are not perfect, and sometimes the people around you arent either. Learning sometimes the times you have when its bad may be the best you have it. Learning how to blog, lucky you guys huh. Learning all those years of griping when I walked three miles and no pain to keep my weight down and grumbling about it only now to have my first step out of bed be excrutiatinig most days and two blocks right now equates out to a miracle. Learning that simple pleasures of sunsets and sunrises are great. Dinners with my parents are wonderful even if the spicy food is going to kill me because of my medications destroying my stomach. Meetings at church become a hen fest, sorry Ruthie look away ps these women are much younger than you. I personally feel my generation should go through what I have gone through once, it helps me understand what a prize you guys are. No sports cars, no ipods, no bose radios, dollar store foods and kmart. I ve learned if it aint fixable you rebuy but if its fixable keep it. Beans are great if fixed right, spagetti instead of cold cereal in the morning is great. Bologna and cheese with mustard and mayo is awesome,expecially Dollar Tree Store variety. Yard sales are good, the lost art of needlepoint aint half bad. Mending your clothes instead of throwing away is awesome. Better yet buying secondhand with shorts comfortably stretched is alright. If you cant do it say no and who cares what my generation thinks. You see they need to be thrown away with there potty mouths, credit cards and wastefull spending, over use of systems, lack of morals my shack to your shack to bed we go, drug adictions, and etc etc..
T.Willikers

Oh they have seen plenty of blood violence they thrive on it. Your right our generation is the me generation.
T.Willikers

I forgot to add…The Daily Independent’s name is a misnomer as it does NOT publish on a daily basis. If I remember right, the paper is published Tuesday through Saturday. No Sunday or Monday editions. I can remember when it was The Valley Independent or something like that…

DI is correct in metioning our lack of facilities with Kosher eating. We need another ooutlet for work besides the base we have for far too long put all our eggs in one basket in our valley.
T.Willikers

As far as Kosher goes, who cares? Not enough of the population of RC cares. Best go to Westwood or some place close to that locale.

I know of Jews in our community and would support a kosher resturaunt.
T.Willikers

I would think so vegans who look for no meat and fresh foods could use a resturant like that.
T.Willikers

Also I know many RC residents who know what Kosher and a Temple are. MANY! But they’ve settled for just a dill pickle. May a mohel shave your beards and legs.

to Chesus: I worry about that because I go to Drummond for my blood pressure meds and to pay $150 once a year to an elderly doctor who renews my meds prescription and tells me I’m dying. I told the old bugger I drink six beers on Saturday and he says I’m an alcoholic. That’s why I don’t tell him anything anymore except I’ve found geezuz,have cleaned up my life. This makes the old guy happy.

Chesus dont know the status of Drummond I go out of town. One time at RRH had 8 doctors over my bed not knowing what was wrong with and finally decided I had cancer. These 8 doctors were the top in their specialties in Drummond, to find out what was wrong I went to Southern Sierra and seen Dr Schumacher as a walk in and he knew right away and was wisked into surgery to fix the problem. If I would have went to them and their cancer doctor I would have internally bleeded to death.As far as Drummond goes the only Dr. I’ll see is Stemmer the rest I wont see. Heard and seen to many horror stories to continue to care about the group any more. If I need an MRI I see AIC in Lancaster for a common xray will have it done up north only seen at RRH for dire emergencies and I mean dire. My bone specialist is in Mammoth and he handles the olympic team and cost an arm and a leg too but is great and knows what he is doing and comes well recommended Ive played the guniea pig far too long to continue playing their games.
T.Willikers

I like living in the desert and Im not on acid just chocolate. What I dont like is the smoke and today I heard you guys had ash in Trona yesterday morning? Thats really a large distance from the fire. The smoke was so bad that the sun went down at 5 pm and you never seen the sierras yesterday.
T.WIllikers

OH WOW MAN!!! Easy journey to other planets. Let’s take off and go.

— A.C. Baktivedanta Swami Prabhubada

Fred if your neighbors are looking at you funny you’d better lock your doors good after all the neighbors may take off with your pepperoni or there lookin to be you mate. The smoke bad today too, say the fires going to be out in september yeah right.
T.Willikers

We just spent two weeks in Ridgecrest — from July 17th to July 31st. I grew up there. In 1980 I left after joining the Navy. I’ve been back most years since leaving. I still love the place.

Like any town, Ridgecrest has its imperfections and problems. But I guess after living in a big city for the past 27 years, I see what real problems are.

I don’t much get into politics and other things like that, so that’s never a worry for me. When I’m there, I spend a lot of time in the Sierras trout fishing. I spend time up in Indian Wells Canyon exploring. I spend time up in the Radamacher Hills breathing in the stark beauty of the high desert.

Maybe you all know how fortunate you are to live there. Seems like some here do, and some do not. I guess it’s all a matter of perspective. I never knew how good it was until I left. I hope to return in about 7 years. In the meantime, breath it all in for me. Step outside and check out the sun setting over Owens Peak and Five Fingers. One morning drive up on 395 and take in the sun rising over the valley. It’ll take your breath away. Here’s a link to my blog where you can read about and see pictures of our recent vacation there. It’s in three parts. If you’re interested, just follow the links at the bottom of part 1. http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-kKMdMOQkdbIzRxt0C3cwo8CfNBzRYe3eZg–?cq=1&p=1283

Thanks, Daily! I appreciate your taking the time to go have a look. I definitely love the IWV, and do plan on returning.

I’m not stationed at NAS per-se. I left the Navy in 1987. I do work as a civilian at NAS, but my actual job is at another former NAS in Jacksonville called Cecil Field. Unfortunately, Cecil closed in 1999. Up until then, we had THREE Naval Air Stations here. Now we’re down to two. Confused yet? LOL. In other words, my parent office is at NAS, but I work at Cecil Field.

And now that I’ve discovered this place, you can count on regular appearances from me.

John thanks for the review. It was great and I love R/C and would never want to live any where else. I used to love hiking the Rademachers and looking at the Sierras take a drive on bowman road off of brown road at sunset heavenly. Try it in the spring with the flowers its great.
T.Willikers

Mr. Deffes, I loved your pages and envied you your vacation. What an evocative writer you are. Thank you for your link and other additions to this page.

Johnny D (#61) My grandfather prospected the El Pasos and Last Chance Canyon and knew both the Harts and the Armsteads way back in the 30’s. That’s where I’d like my ashes spread – all over the El Pasos and Black Hills. That’s where WE live always.

to T. Wilikers: Using my ATV to explore the Panamints I’ve chanced across a number of old claim markers with campsite nearby sprinkled with broken pieces of purple glass. Dates these sites to the 1890s. I disturb nothing,take nothing. There are canyons I wish to explore but the Navy guys with M16s give me consternation. Eventually of course I will be unable to resist and will go into those canyons. It’s like Area 51. There’s probably buried sound sensors,infrared detectors and a whole lotta other stuff. I may have to make shoes with soles of cotton and wear a thermal blanket to sneak in there unbusted. If I do get busted I hope to be dragged in front of a military honcho to whom I can plead my case with success.

Listen even thought its hot and humid. The lightening show on thursday and friday was fantastic just great. It looked like it touched the mountains on thursday.
Pros of living here thunderstorms the cons are heat with them.
T.Willikers

Technically your closer to Death valley than I am in R/C. Secondly I have met quite a few nice people from Trona heck its sad to say but I think some of the businesses in Trona are nicer than R/C they seem to be friendlier. I dont have a mental shock when I go to Trona but I do have a craving for egg salad sandwiches though??? Plus I realise that Trona is like a methaphor its gone through great times, not so great times, awfull times and still is living and not a ghost town. In Trona there are people who truely like living there and truely care about it. Likewise there are those of us who love R/C. I am outspoken about Trona because without my families heritage there I would never have existed because my father would never have met my mother because he would still be living in San Diego. Trust me none of the men she liked are as good as my father.Unfortunately Ive had the pleasure of meeting them!!!! Whew thank god for my dad. Listen I know you think Trona is overwhelming but really its not you guys have a better library than us, a better school than us and a darn sight better pool than us. Your town has a small town feel to it where everyone knows your name , here everyone knows about everyone but no one speaks here heck there all related in R/C everybody is somebodys relative through marriage.
T.Willikers

There was a time at least in the early 70’s that IMO Trona had way more class but perhaps less amenities than RC. I certainly like the Trona women better – being equally as educated as their RC counterparts.

BTW Fred, pay attention. Aliens are coming to kidnap all the cute, good-looking people.

Don’t worry. You are safe…I just wanted to say good-by 🙂

Hey Fred I agree that you should have the ability to express yourself without the childish behavior of used item and things being thrown at your house. Believe me I express myself all the time, your town is not beautiful in the business sense and is economically dependant on the chemical plant for income. On the other side of the coin is that R/C is dependent on the base without it we die. Believe me building wise ours are no more maintained than Trona. In certain areas of town the streets are similar to Trona ie criminal gardens and north of walmart. We got idiots here too and a few families who control the town as well. The reason we have no other large businesses here is a select few families blocked them from coming to our town. You see we have a few people who control our town too. As far as bending over and kissing ther fannies I dont but then I write under an assumed name so I dont recieve the presents you have. Here we have the drug connection if you piss a tweek off then you piss the whole towns tweeks off. Believe me I understand about nasty messages I recieve phone calls all the time because I pissed a prominate tweek off.
Oh well I figure they’ll over dose and it will be all over someday.
T.Willikers

I just wished that all the speed freaks and religious fanatics would go away. The town would be much better off without them business-wise.

Johnny D. The place you are talking about is the Desert Holly run by a young couple named Sandoval.

Funny that you commented on it again. Yesterday I told my gentleman friend that we needed to go by there because you had complimented it from one end of cyberspace to the other (If cyberspace can be measured that way. LOL) While we were there, I mentioned your compliment to the young lady in question and you would have loved to see how thrilled she was. (She is the young wife of the couple who owns it.)

I’m a blended coffee drinker but my friend, Len, totally agreed with your assessment of the smoothies.

Here is a tool to determine pros and cons of Ridgecrest and Trona if you are into demographics.

http://zipskinny.com/

Finding a decent burger these days that tasted like they did in the 60’s is downright tough.

Lovely that you feel that way, Johnny D. We have a map and pin set-up like that in the County Library just down the street.

Actually, the name of the place is the “Desert Holly Expresso”…don’t know how I left the last word off in my other post. You probably didn’t notice it because the major sign is on the South-west end of the building and not the front.

Mrs. Sandoval was really thrilled at your compliment. Her and her husband work hard to keep their business afloat. I was thrilled also…that is why I repeated it to her. LOL

RC is just a bunch of self-righteous mormons and really dull rocket scientists who never seem interested in carrying a conversation.

WHEATHER PROS OR CONS OF R/C, IT’S A PRETTY WAESOME PLACE TO LIVE. i GREW UP THERE 1958-1993. RE-LOCATED TO THE EAST COAST, YOU CAN TAKE TH GIRL OUT OF THE DESERT, BUT YOU CANN’T TAKE THE DESERT OUT OF THE GIRL! LOVE R/C!!

You forgot that it’s Hell on Earth!

It was fun growing up there in the 1960s and 1970s (born in Ridgecrest Community Hospital–remember all my old docs-Pinto, McBride) so I’m really, really a native, and graduated from Burroughs in 1979.

But I have to say I was fairly blind to some of the ugliness of the town. I’m sure it’s a fantastic place if you’re white, and somewhat conservative, and Christian and heterosexual (and, yes, I am all of those things). But looking back many years later, and having lived in Seattle, and Cheyenne, and Denver, and Chicago, I never, ever have since encountered the kind of racist talk I heard growing up, or blatantly anti-gay or anti-Jewish actions anywhere else.

There was a gay black kid in either my class, or the class after me, and the way he was treated makes me wish I’d have been more of a man and stuck up for him more. I would be that man today—I wasn’t then. In total hindsight, Edgar remains one of the bravest, most self-assured guys I ever met in my life. To this day.

I really feel for anyone of color, or who’s different living there, and although it’s better now than in my youth, I still visit 2 or more times a year and I never go into a bar or even the WalMart and not hear something that offends me.

But onto my PROS about Ridgecrest:

 I agree that the panorama view is still breathtaking, and I too never tire of it.
 Fishing so many places within 90 miles—the Kern, Isabella, Taboose, Independence Creek, etc., etc.
 Pretty exceptional four-wheeling
 That great, twisting road up to Isabella, even though it’s taken more than a few lives along the way (Bett Baer—you’re never forgotten).
 The good people—and there are lots, who never forget where you came from. And coming back and remembering all the old buildings, or where they were: the Suzie-Q diner on the corner of Ridgecrest and China Lake Blvds, Hucek Travel, almost the same spot, Ann’s Pamper Parlor, The Victory Market, the High Desert Saloon, John’s when it was near the main gate to the base, a thousand other memories
 Small town life with one major high school, and the Burrough gymnasium when it’s packed to the rafters.
 Going back and finding out one of my classmates is now the principal of the high school. Way to go, Ernie Bell!
 Midnight motorcycle rides behind the college
 Exploring mines as a kid
 Parties at the Rocks, the Quarry, Haystack, IWV canyon
 The smell of wet creosote after it rains. Here in Illinois there’s a telephone-pole manufacturing plant that coats its trees in creosote, and it never fails to make me homesick when I drive by after a rain.
 That great old A-frame house up by the college that the Sieferts built in the 1960s. On Kendall, I believe.

P.S. The pregnancy rate among teens 12-19 is also one of the highest in California. I would definitely call that a con that can affect any parents’ decision to move their family to this sex and drug-driven town.

Missy,
I frequently pine over the lack of theatre and arts here as well as the ability to purchase decent clothing at a reasonable price.
I too love the horizon and our wonderful sunsets, sunrises and stars.
The other thing that blows my mind is the lack of customer service in a great deal of our small businesses.
I have lived half of my life in NY (born upstate and lived in So. Westchester County for awhile) and the other half in CA (Ridgecrest and a short time in Lancaster). I’ll take the pros here versus NY any day.
NO MOSQUITOES and we aren’t stuck indoors for months (although skiing helped to alleviate that when I could get to go).
Thanks,
MLM

I also grew up in Ridgecrest. My parents and Grandparents opened Champs Market. My Mom at one time worked for the Huceks at the travel agency. I graduated in 1970 and lived in Ridgecrest most of that time until I moved to Florida 15 years. I still love the desert and the people.

The one thing I hated about Ridgecrest was the majority of doctors up until the time I left were not current on up to date medicine, were incompetent and arrogant. I also did not like the way the Ridgecrest Hospital was run. I have some real horror stories from my own experieces with the doctors and the hospital there. I told my brother that when I’m visiting him in Ridgecrest that if I’m sick or hurt not to take me to the Ridgecrest Hospital. He’d be in real trouble if I wake up there. I hope things have improved since I left. I know the hospital does have many fine and dedicated nurses.

I do love the brightness of the sky, the jeep rides in the desert, the mountains, the smell of wet dirt, and, after 15 years in Florida, dry heat. I’m happy here in Florida but since I moved here I have really curly hair. I can always tell when it is going to rain because my hair gets bigger.

Another pro about Ridgecrest is that there is no hurricanes there. When hurricane Ivan hit I had water squirting out of a nail hole in my wall. We had about $25,000.00 to our house.

Even though my husband and I will probably retire and live here in Florida, I still love Ridgecrest and miss the people there.