Not even 2 minutes in and I have to comment - thank you for the LOL! " . . . but maybe we'll see a chupacabra or Elvis or something . . ." I greatly enjoy your humor and narration along with your wonderful videography.
Here in Australia we have a big feral Camel problem, a legacy from the importation of Camels in the early to mid 1800's. They were used at first to carry supplies for expeditions deep into the Australian desert and later with the help of "Afghan" or "Ghan" cameleers they were used to ferry goods and supplies all throughout the remote areas of Australia. This all ended however once motorised transport in the 1920's took over and many of the ten's of thousands of camels which were imported where let go to fend for themselves in the Desert and subsequently thrived in the decades which followed. Last estimates is that there is approximately 300,000 of them roaming around so a lot easier to find if you know where to look! Just wanted to also say I've been watching your channel regulary since I found it earlier this year and I'm loving the content! I love history and there is just something beautiful about the desert regions of America which reminds me so much of places here in Australia. Also I love the fact that you show off the beaten path places in the US, places which most people outside of America wouldn't think of visiting as the focus is always on the big cities and national monuments. To me if I was to ever go to the USA these are the kind of places I would want to go so thank you for allowing me to go on these virtual tourist trips. Keep up the great work!
I was just thinking about the feral camels 🐪 in Australia Australia seems to be the land of feral animals you should load up a boat full and ship them to Arizona . LoL 😂
The camels in the desert here in the US did not fair well. Their hooves could not walk rock very well.Maybe the conditions in Australia were more conducive. They certainly died out here and did not multiply much plus our trigger happy idiots thought they were monsters from outer space so they shot them.
About 10 years ago, I saw a movie based on a true story of the lady who hiked across half of Australia from Alice Springs to the west coast. She had two or three domesticated camels to carry her camping equipment and supplies. What was ironic was when this Aussie movie had a limited American release, the only place I could locate the movie was across metropolitan phoenix in Scottsdale. The theaters name was “Camel View” ( or a similar name)
I've lived in Arizona and New Mexico since 1983 and I've never heard the red ghost story. You are one of the best historians of the southwest I've ever seen. Keep up the good work.
The irony in this video is that over the last few days I did see Camels about 19 on my expedition/explores. I also was going to a WLR here in NM but these camels were / are on someones land beside the refuge. So it's another story@@SidetrackAdventures
Too bad you didn't see a wild camel 🐪. You would have been famous and your channel exploding. But maybe Sasquatch of the Desert will cross your trail cam. The videos are to my liking since most of my life was SW Texas.
Another great piece of history! I camped in Kofa 30 years ago but didn't see any camels. However, two years ago I found bones from three different 20,000 year old camels in the Mojave near the Mojave River. They were officially collected by paleontologists and now reside at the San Bernardino County Museum. Camels and horses are actually originally from North America but died out at the end of the last ice age around the time of the Younger Dryas climate events.
Hi Jolly's grave and monument, is my litmus test of my traveling partners. I build hot rods for a living here in Phoenix, so many times a year, I find myself headed west on I-10, going to L.A. for shows and parts buys. By Quartzite, it's always time for a break, especially when you are in a '20s or '30s roadster, so "Let's visit Hi Jolly" it is! Reactions have ranged from my wife's first time visiting, and the subsequent 10-15 times she's been back since (She's a naturalized American, originally from Hong Kong) to a good friend, that was pissed beyond belief that I "took time for that!". It's always a good stop, though, and the history of this place is amazingly weird, sometimes, just like the folks that lived it. I'm damned proud to share this history in the capacity that I have all my life. Your production on this subject, as always, is absolutely awesome. Thank you for taking the time to do these!
Thanks so much for this video, really enjoyed it. Many years ago, probably in the 1970s, I read an article in the San Diego Union about these camels and the Army program that brought them over. One of the things I recall from the article is that the experiment was considered a big bust because camels evolved in sand dune country and their feet didn't hold up very well in the rocky deserts of the US Southwest. As always, appreciate the research you do for your videos and the old photos you always manage to come up with.
My dad was an avid student of the southwest. He and I (this is in the late 50s and all thru the 60s) wandered over all SoCal and a little of western AZ. Man dad claimed to have found camel track and dung in the Borrego and Ocotillo Wells areas. Then again, he also claimed to have seen the Thing (a ghost) in Thing valley. Steve, thank you for bringing my childhood and memories of my dad back to me in your videos. I’m a fan. And I wish Desert Magazine was still around.
@davidlarson2534 the thing you refer to is in fact the thing family, from the thing Ranch out by Mt Laguna, homesteaded in the 1800s and still live in the area today, talked to Frank Thing last year, he is retired now drilled many water wells in the Campo area, it's not some ghost story these people actually exist today. 🙄
There was a 1976 film called "Hawmps" by the Benji guy Joe Camp, which my mother took us to see at the drive in when it came out. I actually thought it was cute :) and is loosely based on this story, including a character called Hi Jolly. It even had Slim Pickens and Denver Pyle in it. Love and miss you, Mama.
Look up Camp Verde, Texas West of San Antonio.They had camels there in the 1849s,1850s.The military were looking at them because they could be used in the desert.
My family used to stop at the Hi Jolly monument on trips across the Southwest in the 60's and 70's. The history behind it was so odd and interesting that it stuck with me for decades. His grave is (or at least was, as of 2004) surrounded by a seasonal RV park and open-air market, which I think is a nice touch: the old pilgrim and cameleteer now rests in a _caravanserai_ , like the ones he probably knew in his youth. Camelids are still in use as packstock in the American West: I've come across the Park Service using llama trains above treeline in Rocky Mountain National Park.
I walked every step right along with you as I can't walk very well anymore. I look forward to them every week! I watched you grow since you started. And I love the research and the detail you put into your videos now! I'm glad you found an outdoor career cuz I really miss the outdoors
Steve, Just a quick note to let you know how much I enjoy your shows. My late husband and I were full-time RVers and spent a lot of time in the desert SW and your shows bring back memories of where we visited and places we enjoyed. You are a great narrator and story teller. Keep up the great work and keep teaching us and helping us learn the history of a part of the country that is greatly overlooked.
Hi Steve . . . i remember watching an episode of the "ghost camel" story on the old tv show Death Valley Days when i was a kid. Knew that the Army brought camels into this area in the 1800s - - i didn't realize there are probably no longer any feral camels running around Arizona. Lot's of them in Australia though . . . we took a train trip from Perth to Sydney and went through their hugh desert area in the middle of that journey - - trains still have to be careful of camels crossing the tracks as to not to hit them. This was a fun video once again . . thanks!
In south Texas there's a small herd of Nigali (African Antelope) imported by a rancher years ago near South Padre Island. You will likely NEVER see them, but a friend of mine and I rode up on the herd with e-bikes accidentally and spotted them. So, it doesn't take a large amount of land to hide a small herd of large animals. 😊
Your videos are getting better as time goes by, hi jolly used to deliver mail for the postal service clear down to Yuma, using the camel's, after the Army had no use for him,😊.
Hi, Steve. Great video. FYI - the Closed Captions turned Quartzsite into "court site" and Camel Corps into "camel Court." Fortunately, I'm used to deciphering CCs. 😊
"When you're looking for something that probably doesn't exist, I guess it really doesn't matter where you look," has become my favorite quote, and brightened a dismal day. Not to mention the "mule lobby," and even, "feral camels." Now I'm hearing a different version of Ghost Riders in the Sky, with ghost camels. Thanks!
Thank you, Steve. There might still be a stuffed camel from the U.S. Army camel logistics era in the museum at Fort Irwin, CA, north of Barstow. I'm not sure if the museum or the National Training Center base is open to the public any more. (I spent a year there 1968-1969, and visited twice in the 2000's. Darn! I'm getting old!) 🤗
I was out there for training once, but I never went to the museum unfortunately. I think anytime we had outside of the box I was more interested in sleeping. I think they allow visitors, so I may have to see if I can check it out. They sometimes do tours of the deep space network out there, and have always wanted to check that out.
@@SidetrackAdventuresI remember coming out of the movie theater at 10 pm and the asphalt parking lot was mushy! Gold Stone antennas were on my "round to it" list, but never made it out there.
Quartzsite is 20 miles east of me here in Blythe. My great grandmother lived there in Quartzsite, so I visited there a lot as a kid. She had one of the camels in her front yard....it had been taxidermied for many years, now I have no idea what became of her beloved "Lumpy".
Grew up visiting Camp Verde in South Tejas where the camels were once corralled hearing the stories about the cavalry, the road westward and all the rest. Would be so cool to learn there are survivors and don't see why there couldn't be some. Sadly, a rich 'Houstonian' bought the old Camp Verde General Store and removed the wooden Native American statue, spruced the store up so it doesn't look old and now it's a trendy destination for folks from afar. I miss, like the old timers, the good old days when we could fish by the river with grasshoppers we caught up in the corn field above on the bluff. sigh
A classy episode with no camels. You can pick them up in Mongolia. People start with the wrong attitude that you can be completely indifferent to them. Thanks for trudging around Yuma, and for your soft clear delivery.
I love your channel. I lived in SoCal for eight years back in the 90s and wish RUclips and the channel was around back then…I could have made a lot more back road trips. Oh, and with this excursion, it’s nice to reminisce about searching for the elusive camel toes 🐫 and camel claws 🐫 around SoCal! 🤔😳👍
Another great installment of your program! Props to the welder that made the Hi Jolly Memorial plaque. It took some patience and skill to do it that well.
In the early 60’s, my dad was friends with some of the last living Jackass Prospectors in the Tonopah, Nv area. I remember as a five or six year old them tell their fantastic stories to my Dad. One of them was about camels in the area of Belmont, Nv, supposedly around the time of WWII. According to the story, a small miner used them to carry high grade to the smelter. When he died, his camels were allowed to run free. So maybe, just maybe, it wasn’t a story after all.
The Mule Lobby! So funny how things like that were so serious at the time, and now a joke. Really enjoyed this one. Great story!! I've been through Quartzite numerous times, but never knew about Hi Jolly or that camels were there. I recall an episode of the TV series The Young Riders where a 'monster' was terrorizing people, and Anthony Zerbe's Teaspoon quickly identified it as a camel. The time frame of that series was 1860-1861, so it was plausible. I love the idea of the trail cam. We put up cameras about a year ago to solve the mystery of something chomping my rose bushes overnight. We are often treated to movies of raccoons, opossums, rats, skunks, coyotes, rabbits, or the occasional spider or confused bird. And, of course, cats. The creepy spider closeups are great! Boo! :)
Steve, Here is some oral history for you - from "Doc Birdsick's" mouth to my ear. Optometrist Dr. P.A. Birdick who was a fixture in Yuma my entire childhood often told me stories of the history and politics of the Yuma area. He was in Optometry school in LA during WWII and witnessed the AA firing up into the night sky - ostensibly Japanese aircraft, but to Doc it was a UFO - carbon arc spotlights and Ak-Ak shooting up into the sky that night. He moved to Yuma in the 30's and set up shop as the only spectacle 'Doc' in town. He fitted my grandfather and dad and Uncle and even me with 'eye glasses' for decades. Doc knew the skinny on darn near everybody and everything in the area of my home town, and told tales of many thing outside where we lived. Once he told me of Hi Jolly, and how that guy (from somewhere around Cairo) came to the US with Camels and Date Palms. According to Doc Birdick HJ tried to sell camels to the US Army as a superior pack animal to mules, but the troops didn't like the Camels because they were hard-headed, and they farted and spit all the time. Nobody wanted the Palm trees either, but somehow they became ubiquitous all around town and even up in the cutout of Palm Canyon way North of Yuma. The Cairo, Egypt area has much the same terrain and weather as Yuma, so Hi Jolly must have felt at home there, and the camels and date palms as well. To this day the Medjool Date of Winterhaven/Yuma are famous and sought-after dates shipped all over the world. As my BFF recently said, "Stories are like sourdough starter"...spawning "a great many loaves, each slightly different." Yet within all tales and myths there is much truth. As you alluded to Joachim's Razor is often the only tool we have to dig for the real story. Larry Doc 1919-2016 RIP
Nice touch with the trail camera and many years ago we’d hear about the camels because of living near Beale’s Cut. There’d be little references in the newspaper about sightings in the Palmdale/Lancaster area on Fort Teton Road but it definitely didn’t seem likely they were there either. It was fun to consider the possibility though. 🤷🏻♀️
Fascinating story, Steve. I was going to mention the camels out in Aussie, but two people beat me to it. Thank you. If you like 'odd' stories about foreign animals in the wrong country, many years ago some wallabies roamed wild in the Peak District of Derbyshire, UK. The story is that they belonged to an early wildlife park or private zoo and, at the start of WW2 the park, forced to close, simply turned them loose. They and their descendants roamed the moors for several decades, but haven't been seen for a good many years now.
PS. Nearly forgot - the 'Red Ghost' with his cadaver cargo reminded me of a legend from the New Mexico / Tex/Mex border country which I found on youtube a while ago; the ghost of a horse with a similar, headless rider. Is it named 'El Meurto'? It seems he was a noted rustler and outlaw, who having been caught and beheaded, was similarly lashed to his mount and turned loose. Long after the horse would have been dead the pair were reputedly seen wandering around the countryside. Now, I wonder, did the Red Ghost inspire that tale, or is there a more historic foundation for it? It seems unusual (to me, at any rate) for two such similar events to happen in the same area. Or was this a widespread practice for the discouraging of stock thieves in Texas and New Mexico?
Wouldn't trying to spot camels with a drone be a lot easier? Yes, but we wouldn't be able to enjoy the dulcet tones of Steve narrating yet another wonderful video. Keep it up
He'd have to launch and land the drone outside of the borders of the wildlife refuge. 50 CFR § 27.34 ...the unauthorized landing or take-off on a national wildlife refuge, except in an emergency, is prohibited.
One New Years nite in Quartzsite many moons ago, we were running hard in our Razors out in the desert and we came upon Elvis riding a camel... Kid you not, had his guitar and was singing "Hotel California" when we turned off our engines, but left our lights on and watched him and that damn camel snorting and bellowing to the lyrics ! Damndest thing you ever saw or heard ! Love your channel Steve
Great movie from when I was a kid, called Hawmps. We were living in Yuma when that came out. Had heard about them when we lived there in 1976ish. Another movie about camels in the desert, with James Garner called One Little Indian.
Thank you for this video! Another delightful videos as usual. Sorry for the camels, they went extinct. They might have established a breeding population with a little help and better management. There are four extant species of camelids native to the New World, the llama, guanaco, alpaca and the vicuña; Old World camelids are the dromedary and the Bactrian: the dromedary has one (D) hump and the bactrian has two (B).
Hope you find a stick lizard when you are searching for a chupacabra. Such a pleasant timeout each week to follow your adventures. I was born in Albuquerque, moved to San Diego when I was 6, spent my university years in Utah, then 7 years in the Imperial Valley, and now 40 years in Tucson. Seems like every episode brings back related memories of some kind. Thank you!
Steve, I always enjoy your adventures and look forward to each new post. We're fortunate to have you on this half of the country. How far east have you gone making videos?
Hey Steve I just wanted to say what a great channel you have and what a great historian you are, it’s very entertaining, and I get a history lesson every time I watch a new episode, thanks and keep them coming, you always do your homework.
Just so interesting now I mean yeah camels could definitely survive in the American Southwest and you can ride them like you can ride horses so I'm kind of not surprised they're still not around being used as such. Thanks for the awesome video, Steve as always, Hope you have a happy Halloween!
Really enjoyed this weeks episode, a facinating desert story, scenic landscapes and peaceful background music. We love the variety of your channel. Congratulations on the 200k we have been watching for a year or two now and will be sticking around. Thanks Steve and family. ❤ ❤ ❤
Great video as usual. There is a camel farm between Ramona and Santa Ysabel in San Diego east county. I was surprised to see camels the first time I rode by it on my motorcycle.
😂 I knew about the Arizona camels and always hoped a few were still out there. And I did a laughing double-take when we saw camels in a fenced field north of Fort Worth along I-35 about 20 years ago!
Nice video. I live in a ghost town on the Texas coast called Indianola. This is where all the camels from Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt and Turkey landed and the two camel drivers that came with the camels are buried.
Thanks for another top notch history lesson on the American south west. Looked really desolate too, so much untamed wilderness still out there. Too late in life for me to get out and about much but have to say I would have loved to explore that part of the world in my younger days.
Cool. There is a Mountain in Scottsdale AZ named Camelback Mountain because of its unique shape. Great vid. I will keep my eyes out for the ghosts next time I drink Mescal. thx.
@@billcampbell9611 That's just what I was brought up with in Southern Oregon during the 1950s and 1960s where many of the streams had "plasser" mining claims along the banks.
The MDHCA group at Goffs, CA have trail rides in the Eastern Mojave Desert. I haven't seen them in action, but there are some camels in the group. Thanks again, Steve!
I would not be afraid to ride a camel, having ridden horses for over 60 years. La Brea Tar Pits in LA has camels (from prehistoric times) in their collection. Like the horse, the camel and horse were definitely part of the prehistoric area of AZ and CA/
Back in the 90s a local here in Arrey,N.m.had a camel fenced in by the general store that they used to joke was a decendant of the Lost Army Camels. My dad having returned from Desert Storm just laughed&remembered the ones in the big"Sand Box" during Desert Storm. He ended out buying land near by to fish@Caballo Lake. I had read about these camels by finding an old book on ebay about this storys history. A major reason the camels were"disbanded&retired from Army service was that during the multiple trips with camel caravans through the southwest desert initially the idea was to be used on the Army highway to California from Texas&the Gulf of Mexico(port).They hadn't thought that the sands in the Mideast were much softer to the foot(hoof?)of the camels. Many camels suffered abrasions ect on their feet(hoof?) that slowed down the caravans to California from Texas. Once they reached around Death Valley the ground was so hard on them they couldn't continue due to the injuries&time to care for/heal them for hauling again.
Great story, I was at El Morro in New Mexico recently, they commentate the camel corps that you describe. They held a celebration of the camel corps. The participants visited and stayed at the Ancient Way Cafe at El Morro, great place to eat.
That’s a pretty cool story and a great video Steve. I’d never heard that story before. I did once see a video of an angry camel pick a guy up by his head and fling him across the yard. Probably a good thing you didn’t find any camels lol
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When you're looking for something that doesn't exist, it doesn't really matter where you look. That's some next-level zen wisdom stuff, Steve! 😂
Not even 2 minutes in and I have to comment - thank you for the LOL! " . . . but maybe we'll see a chupacabra or Elvis or something . . ."
I greatly enjoy your humor and narration along with your wonderful videography.
Here in Australia we have a big feral Camel problem, a legacy from the importation of Camels in the early to mid 1800's. They were used at first to carry supplies for expeditions deep into the Australian desert and later with the help of "Afghan" or "Ghan" cameleers they were used to ferry goods and supplies all throughout the remote areas of Australia. This all ended however once motorised transport in the 1920's took over and many of the ten's of thousands of camels which were imported where let go to fend for themselves in the Desert and subsequently thrived in the decades which followed. Last estimates is that there is approximately 300,000 of them roaming around so a lot easier to find if you know where to look!
Just wanted to also say I've been watching your channel regulary since I found it earlier this year and I'm loving the content! I love history and there is just something beautiful about the desert regions of America which reminds me so much of places here in Australia. Also I love the fact that you show off the beaten path places in the US, places which most people outside of America wouldn't think of visiting as the focus is always on the big cities and national monuments. To me if I was to ever go to the USA these are the kind of places I would want to go so thank you for allowing me to go on these virtual tourist trips. Keep up the great work!
that's kind of amazing, I had no idea there were camels in aus.
I was just thinking about the feral camels 🐪 in Australia
Australia seems to be the land of feral animals you should load up a boat full and ship them to Arizona . LoL 😂
The camels in the desert here in the US did not fair well. Their hooves could not walk rock very well.Maybe the conditions in Australia were more conducive. They certainly died out here and did not multiply much plus our trigger happy idiots thought they were monsters from outer space so they shot them.
another interesting bit of info - Australia exports those camels to the Middle East - specifically Saudi Arabia!!
About 10 years ago, I saw a movie based on a true story of the lady who hiked across half of Australia from Alice Springs to the west coast. She had two or three domesticated camels to carry her camping equipment and supplies.
What was ironic was when this Aussie movie had a limited American release, the only place I could locate the movie was across metropolitan phoenix in Scottsdale. The theaters name was “Camel View” ( or a similar name)
I've lived in Arizona and New Mexico since 1983 and I've never heard the red ghost story. You are one of the best historians of the southwest I've ever seen. Keep up the good work.
Thank you.
Absolutely he is!!
The irony in this video is that over the last few days I did see Camels about 19 on my expedition/explores. I also was going to a WLR here in NM but these camels were / are on someones land beside the refuge. So it's another story@@SidetrackAdventures
Too bad you didn't see a wild camel 🐪. You would have been famous and your channel exploding. But maybe Sasquatch of the Desert will cross your trail cam.
The videos are to my liking since most of my life was SW Texas.
@@PlanetEarth3141Where in SW Texas?
Watch for the 'jackalopes!'
My mom was born in Yuma in 1927!
RIP Mom! Thanks, Steve!
Honestly, I didn't't even see a squirrel out there!
Another great piece of history! I camped in Kofa 30 years ago but didn't see any camels. However, two years ago I found bones from three different 20,000 year old camels in the Mojave near the Mojave River. They were officially collected by paleontologists and now reside at the San Bernardino County Museum. Camels and horses are actually originally from North America but died out at the end of the last ice age around the time of the Younger Dryas climate events.
Interesting!
Hi Jolly's grave and monument, is my litmus test of my traveling partners.
I build hot rods for a living here in Phoenix, so many times a year, I find myself headed west on I-10, going to L.A. for shows and parts buys. By Quartzite, it's always time for a break, especially when you are in a '20s or '30s roadster, so "Let's visit Hi Jolly" it is! Reactions have ranged from my wife's first time visiting, and the subsequent 10-15 times she's been back since (She's a naturalized American, originally from Hong Kong) to a good friend, that was pissed beyond belief that I "took time for that!".
It's always a good stop, though, and the history of this place is amazingly weird, sometimes, just like the folks that lived it. I'm damned proud to share this history in the capacity that I have all my life.
Your production on this subject, as always, is absolutely awesome. Thank you for taking the time to do these!
Thanks!
Thanks so much for this video, really enjoyed it. Many years ago, probably in the 1970s, I read an article in the San Diego Union about these camels and the Army program that brought them over. One of the things I recall from the article is that the experiment was considered a big bust because camels evolved in sand dune country and their feet didn't hold up very well in the rocky deserts of the US Southwest. As always, appreciate the research you do for your videos and the old photos you always manage to come up with.
My dad was an avid student of the southwest. He and I (this is in the late 50s and all thru the 60s) wandered over all SoCal and a little of western AZ. Man dad claimed to have found camel track and dung in the Borrego and Ocotillo Wells areas. Then again, he also claimed to have seen the Thing (a ghost) in Thing valley. Steve, thank you for bringing my childhood and memories of my dad back to me in your videos. I’m a fan. And I wish Desert Magazine was still around.
@davidlarson2534 the thing you refer to is in fact the thing family, from the thing Ranch out by Mt Laguna, homesteaded in the 1800s and still live in the area today, talked to Frank Thing last year, he is retired now drilled many water wells in the Campo area, it's not some ghost story these people actually exist today. 🙄
There was a 1976 film called "Hawmps" by the Benji guy Joe Camp, which my mother took us to see at the drive in when it came out. I actually thought it was cute :) and is loosely based on this story, including a character called Hi Jolly. It even had Slim Pickens and Denver Pyle in it. Love and miss you, Mama.
Yes, I remember.
Look up Camp Verde, Texas West of San Antonio.They had camels there in the 1849s,1850s.The military were looking at them because they could be used in the desert.
My family used to stop at the Hi Jolly monument on trips across the Southwest in the 60's and 70's. The history behind it was so odd and interesting that it stuck with me for decades. His grave is (or at least was, as of 2004) surrounded by a seasonal RV park and open-air market, which I think is a nice touch: the old pilgrim and cameleteer now rests in a _caravanserai_ , like the ones he probably knew in his youth.
Camelids are still in use as packstock in the American West: I've come across the Park Service using llama trains above treeline in Rocky Mountain National Park.
I love hearing these type of stories. Thank you for sharing.
There is an RV park right near it, but mostly surrounded by other graves now.
The trail camera is a great addition to your travels. Thanks for trying to find the mysterious camels.
Thanks. I wish I could have kept it out longer, but that would have required planning more than a couple weeks in advance!
I love his sense of humor😊
Almost at 200k subscribers! 🎉 You deserve it brother. Love your channel. Keep it up.
Thanks! Will do!
200,000 hit....boom!
Whoop whoop! 🎉💥🙌
I appreciate all the effort that goes into the historical bits and pieces that go into your videos- renews my love for our American Southwest.
I walked every step right along with you as I can't walk very well anymore. I look forward to them every week! I watched you grow since you started. And I love the research and the detail you put into your videos now! I'm glad you found an outdoor career cuz I really miss the outdoors
Steve, Just a quick note to let you know how much I enjoy your shows. My late husband and I were full-time RVers and spent a lot of time in the desert SW and your shows bring back memories of where we visited and places we enjoyed. You are a great narrator and story teller. Keep up the great work and keep teaching us and helping us learn the history of a part of the country that is greatly overlooked.
Thank you, I really appreciate the comment and glad I can help bring back good memories.
your channel is one of my favourite channels I've discovered in 2024
Thank you.
I really appreciate the time that you spend on historical background information. ❤❤❤
Hi Steve . . . i remember watching an episode of the "ghost camel" story on the old tv show Death Valley Days when i was a kid. Knew that the Army brought camels into this area in the 1800s - - i didn't realize there are probably no longer any feral camels running around Arizona. Lot's of them in Australia though . . . we took a train trip from Perth to Sydney and went through their hugh desert area in the middle of that journey - - trains still have to be careful of camels crossing the tracks as to not to hit them. This was a fun video once again . . thanks!
Someone else commented about Camels in Auatralia...who knew!
I live in New England, which, is now is colder and getting gloomy. The blue sky's in these adventures are great in the southwest
You don't "Find" Bigfoot, Bigfoot FINDS you! Another cool episode, Thanks Steve....
In south Texas there's a small herd of Nigali (African Antelope) imported by a rancher years ago near South Padre Island. You will likely NEVER see them, but a friend of mine and I rode up on the herd with e-bikes accidentally and spotted them. So, it doesn't take a large amount of land to hide a small herd of large animals. 😊
Your videos are getting better as time goes by, hi jolly used to deliver mail for the postal service clear down to Yuma, using the camel's, after the Army had no use for him,😊.
Bigfoot, camels, chupacabra, and Elvis... what fun!
Hi, Steve. Great video.
FYI - the Closed Captions turned Quartzsite into "court site" and Camel Corps into "camel Court." Fortunately, I'm used to deciphering CCs. 😊
RUclips is adding dubbing in other languages now, so I can only imagine what that is getting wrong.
"When you're looking for something that probably doesn't exist, I guess it really doesn't matter where you look," has become my favorite quote, and brightened a dismal day. Not to mention the "mule lobby," and even, "feral camels." Now I'm hearing a different version of Ghost Riders in the Sky, with ghost camels. Thanks!
In the early 80's i remember My dad and I took a bus tour and i remember the guide talking about the lost camel's of Az
Great episode.
Thank you, Steve. There might still be a stuffed camel from the U.S. Army camel logistics era in the museum at Fort Irwin, CA, north of Barstow. I'm not sure if the museum or the National Training Center base is open to the public any more. (I spent a year there 1968-1969, and visited twice in the 2000's. Darn! I'm getting old!) 🤗
I was out there for training once, but I never went to the museum unfortunately. I think anytime we had outside of the box I was more interested in sleeping. I think they allow visitors, so I may have to see if I can check it out. They sometimes do tours of the deep space network out there, and have always wanted to check that out.
@@SidetrackAdventuresI remember coming out of the movie theater at 10 pm and the asphalt parking lot was mushy! Gold Stone antennas were on my "round to it" list, but never made it out there.
Quartzsite is 20 miles east of me here in Blythe.
My great grandmother lived there in Quartzsite, so I visited there a lot as a kid.
She had one of the camels in her front yard....it had been taxidermied for many years, now I have no idea what became of her beloved "Lumpy".
Awesome. Not that you hadnt already planned this one - thank you for taking my suggestion. Love this place!
Grew up visiting Camp Verde in South Tejas where the camels were once corralled hearing the stories about the cavalry, the road westward and all the rest. Would be so cool to learn there are survivors and don't see why there couldn't be some. Sadly, a rich 'Houstonian' bought the old Camp Verde General Store and removed the wooden Native American statue, spruced the store up so it doesn't look old and now it's a trendy destination for folks from afar. I miss, like the old timers, the good old days when we could fish by the river with grasshoppers we caught up in the corn field above on the bluff. sigh
A classy episode with no camels. You can pick them up in Mongolia. People start with the wrong attitude that you can be completely indifferent to them. Thanks for trudging around Yuma, and for your soft clear delivery.
Wonderful trip and story.
Thanks for all your ventures.
Thank you so much.
All this history around us. Very interestig. Thx.
Thanks for checking into this. I knew that you could make it an interesting story.
I love your channel. I lived in SoCal for eight years back in the 90s and wish RUclips and the channel was around back then…I could have made a lot more back road trips.
Oh, and with this excursion, it’s nice to reminisce about searching for the elusive camel toes 🐫 and camel claws 🐫 around SoCal! 🤔😳👍
Never saw a camel in SoCal, but I did see a Kamala once.
@@CarsandCatsWas the Kamala laughing like a hyena?
Another great installment of your program!
Props to the welder that made the Hi Jolly Memorial plaque. It took some patience and skill to do it that well.
In the early 60’s, my dad was friends with some of the last living Jackass Prospectors in the Tonopah, Nv area. I remember as a five or six year old them tell their fantastic stories to my Dad. One of them was about camels in the area of Belmont, Nv, supposedly around the time of WWII. According to the story, a small miner used them to carry high grade to the smelter. When he died, his camels were allowed to run free. So maybe, just maybe, it wasn’t a story after all.
I LOVEEEEE This story. I've known about it since I was a kid. Thanks for exploring it!
The Mule Lobby! So funny how things like that were so serious at the time, and now a joke. Really enjoyed this one. Great story!! I've been through Quartzite numerous times, but never knew about Hi Jolly or that camels were there. I recall an episode of the TV series The Young Riders where a 'monster' was terrorizing people, and Anthony Zerbe's Teaspoon quickly identified it as a camel. The time frame of that series was 1860-1861, so it was plausible. I love the idea of the trail cam. We put up cameras about a year ago to solve the mystery of something chomping my rose bushes overnight. We are often treated to movies of raccoons, opossums, rats, skunks, coyotes, rabbits, or the occasional spider or confused bird. And, of course, cats. The creepy spider closeups are great! Boo! :)
"a chupacabra or Elvis or something" 🤣
That was an interesting bit of history Steve. Thank you for the video.
Thanks Steve. I enjoy watching your videos so much. I like the trail cam, you should keep using it. Who knows what you might catch on film.
It’s Sidetrack Steve! I look forward to my lunch break every Wednesday.
Awesome information and footage. Supposedly, according to some old fishermen, there are camels on Padre Island National Seashore.
It's possible I guess. There is lots of open space in Texas.
Steve,
Here is some oral history for you - from "Doc Birdsick's" mouth to my ear.
Optometrist Dr. P.A. Birdick who was a fixture in Yuma my entire childhood often told me stories of the history and politics of the Yuma area. He was in Optometry school in LA during WWII and witnessed the AA firing up into the night sky - ostensibly Japanese aircraft, but to Doc it was a UFO - carbon arc spotlights and Ak-Ak shooting up into the sky that night.
He moved to Yuma in the 30's and set up shop as the only spectacle 'Doc' in town. He fitted my grandfather and dad and Uncle and even me with 'eye glasses' for decades. Doc knew the skinny on darn near everybody and everything in the area of my home town, and told tales of many thing outside where we lived.
Once he told me of Hi Jolly, and how that guy (from somewhere around Cairo) came to the US with Camels and Date Palms. According to Doc Birdick HJ tried to sell camels to the US Army as a superior pack animal to mules, but the troops didn't like the Camels because they were hard-headed, and they farted and spit all the time.
Nobody wanted the Palm trees either, but somehow they became ubiquitous all around town and even up in the cutout of Palm Canyon way North of Yuma.
The Cairo, Egypt area has much the same terrain and weather as Yuma, so Hi Jolly must have felt at home there, and the camels and date palms as well.
To this day the Medjool Date of Winterhaven/Yuma are famous and sought-after dates shipped all over the world.
As my BFF recently said, "Stories are like sourdough starter"...spawning "a great many loaves, each slightly different." Yet within all tales and myths there is much truth. As you alluded to Joachim's Razor is often the only tool we have to dig for the real story.
Larry
Doc 1919-2016 RIP
You're a national treasure, Steve.
Nice touch with the trail camera and many years ago we’d hear about the camels because of living near Beale’s Cut. There’d be little references in the newspaper about sightings in the Palmdale/Lancaster area on Fort Teton Road but it definitely didn’t seem likely they were there either. It was fun to consider the possibility though. 🤷🏻♀️
Great story! Thanks for taking us along to this beautiful area and for sharing all of your historical research. See you next week!
Awesome 👌
Fascinating story, Steve. I was going to mention the camels out in Aussie, but two people beat me to it. Thank you.
If you like 'odd' stories about foreign animals in the wrong country, many years ago some wallabies roamed wild in the Peak District of Derbyshire, UK. The story is that they belonged to an early wildlife park or private zoo and, at the start of WW2 the park, forced to close, simply turned them loose. They and their descendants roamed the moors for several decades, but haven't been seen for a good many years now.
PS. Nearly forgot - the 'Red Ghost' with his cadaver cargo reminded me of a legend from the New Mexico / Tex/Mex border country which I found on youtube a while ago; the ghost of a horse with a similar, headless rider. Is it named 'El Meurto'?
It seems he was a noted rustler and outlaw, who having been caught and beheaded, was similarly lashed to his mount and turned loose. Long after the horse would have been dead the pair were reputedly seen wandering around the countryside.
Now, I wonder, did the Red Ghost inspire that tale, or is there a more historic foundation for it? It seems unusual (to me, at any rate) for two such similar events to happen in the same area. Or was this a widespread practice for the discouraging of stock thieves in Texas and New Mexico?
Another great one Steve...cheers.
Wouldn't trying to spot camels with a drone be a lot easier?
Yes, but we wouldn't be able to enjoy the dulcet tones of Steve narrating yet another wonderful video. Keep it up
He'd have to launch and land the drone outside of the borders of the wildlife refuge.
50 CFR § 27.34 ...the unauthorized landing or take-off on a national wildlife refuge, except in an emergency, is prohibited.
One New Years nite in Quartzsite many moons ago, we were running hard in our Razors out in the desert and we came upon Elvis riding a camel... Kid you not, had his guitar and was singing "Hotel California" when we turned off our engines, but left our lights on and watched him and that damn camel snorting and bellowing to the lyrics !
Damndest thing you ever saw or heard !
Love your channel Steve
Thank you for the video! I love tales of the Southwest, one of the reasons I love exploring the desert.
Great movie from when I was a kid, called Hawmps. We were living in Yuma when that came out. Had heard about them when we lived there in 1976ish. Another movie about camels in the desert, with James Garner called One Little Indian.
This is your best one yet. I like it whenever you walk through the desert where the saguaros are. Thank you.
I have herd the camel legend. Never saw one. Never expected to. Did a fare amount of exploring. Enjoying your videos.
I loved this one! Ghost camels. Pretty cool! Loved the historical information about the army's camels and "Hi Jolly."
Excellent video. I remember hearing the camel stories when I was a kid. I always believed them, though. Keep looking . . .
Loving your channel. Thanks for uploading
Thank you for this video!
Another delightful videos as usual. Sorry for the camels, they went extinct. They might have established a breeding population with a little help and better management.
There are four extant species of camelids native to the New World, the llama, guanaco, alpaca and the vicuña; Old World camelids are the dromedary and the Bactrian: the dromedary has one (D) hump and the bactrian has two (B).
Hope you find a stick lizard when you are searching for a chupacabra. Such a pleasant timeout each week to follow your adventures. I was born in Albuquerque, moved to San Diego when I was 6, spent my university years in Utah, then 7 years in the Imperial Valley, and now 40 years in Tucson. Seems like every episode brings back related memories of some kind. Thank you!
Thanks for all your efforts in looking for the unusual in this desolate area. Mahalo good luck on your next venture😊
Fort Tejon in California, they had camels too.
Yeah, that was where the Beale expedition ended.
Steve, I always enjoy your adventures and look forward to each new post. We're fortunate to have you on this half of the country. How far east have you gone making videos?
If you don't count Italy, then western Texas.
Living in Michigan, for me your videos of historical Southwest are a real gem. I look forward to each one
Hey Steve I just wanted to say what a great channel you have and what a great historian you are, it’s very entertaining, and I get a history lesson every time I watch a new episode, thanks and keep them coming, you always do your homework.
Just so interesting now I mean yeah camels could definitely survive in the American Southwest and you can ride them like you can ride horses so I'm kind of not surprised they're still not around being used as such. Thanks for the awesome video, Steve as always, Hope you have a happy Halloween!
They probably were sterilized.
Your videos are always so good. A++
Great effort and great story!
Great storytelling Steve! Thanks for bringing us along.
Thank you for all the time and effort that you place into making these videos. This is my favourite channel.
Really enjoyed this weeks episode, a facinating desert story, scenic landscapes and peaceful background music. We love the variety of your channel. Congratulations on the 200k we have been watching for a year or two now and will be sticking around. Thanks Steve and family. ❤ ❤ ❤
Thank you. I really appreciate it.
Hi Steve, we still have feral Camels here in Central Australia 🇦🇺, as they helped establish railways thru Central Australia,
Thanks, always wondered why the camal stuff all over Quartzite!! Enjoyed another great adventure!! Thank you!!
Great video thanks man
Thank you.
Great video as usual. There is a camel farm between Ramona and Santa Ysabel in San Diego east county. I was surprised to see camels the first time I rode by it on my motorcycle.
😂 I knew about the Arizona camels and always hoped a few were still out there. And I did a laughing double-take when we saw camels in a fenced field north of Fort Worth along I-35 about 20 years ago!
I've seen that place as I've passed by too.
Nice video. I live in a ghost town on the Texas coast called Indianola. This is where all the camels from Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt and Turkey landed and the two camel drivers that came with the camels are buried.
Thanks for another top notch history lesson on the American south west. Looked really desolate too, so much untamed wilderness still out there. Too late in life for me to get out and about much but have to say I would have loved to explore that part of the world in my younger days.
Once again a view of obscure Southwest history, many thanks, and keep the trail camera handy for future adventures! Bart
Great show!!!!
Cool. There is a Mountain in Scottsdale AZ named Camelback Mountain because of its unique shape. Great vid. I will keep my eyes out for the ghosts next time I drink Mescal. thx.
Steve, this is so good. My wife and I are hooked on your videos. Thank you for doing this.
Great video, Steve. I've always heard "placer" pronounced "plasser" rather than "place" with a "r".
Exactly so, it’s pronounced “plasser” when referring to mining.
@@billcampbell9611 That's just what I was brought up with in Southern Oregon during the 1950s and 1960s where many of the streams had "plasser" mining claims along the banks.
The MDHCA group at Goffs, CA have trail rides in the Eastern Mojave Desert. I haven't seen them in action, but there are some camels in the group.
Thanks again, Steve!
Been under the weather as of late, but I'm still fighting this bug, Good video, never would have thought about camels. THE SARGE
Wow so intrigued ! I never knew any of this history, I hope people still appreciate it :)
I would not be afraid to ride a camel, having ridden horses for over 60 years. La Brea Tar Pits in LA has camels (from prehistoric times) in their collection. Like the horse, the camel and horse were definitely part of the prehistoric area of AZ and CA/
Another gr8 video Steve, searching 4 the red ghost
Thank you, very interesting piece of history. Also, thanks to your work, I will not have to look in AZ to see if there are any camels.. lol
So much fun! Thank you for all of your videos!
Back in the 90s a local here in Arrey,N.m.had a camel fenced in by the general store that they used to joke was a decendant of the Lost Army Camels.
My dad having returned from Desert Storm just laughed&remembered the ones in the big"Sand Box" during Desert Storm.
He ended out buying land near by to fish@Caballo Lake.
I had read about these camels by finding an old book on ebay about this storys history.
A major reason the camels were"disbanded&retired from Army service was that during the multiple trips with camel caravans through the southwest desert initially the idea was to be used on the Army highway to California from Texas&the Gulf of Mexico(port).They hadn't thought that the sands in the Mideast were much softer to the foot(hoof?)of the camels.
Many camels suffered abrasions ect on their feet(hoof?) that slowed down the caravans to California from Texas.
Once they reached around Death Valley the ground was so hard on them they couldn't continue due to the injuries&time to care for/heal them for hauling again.
Great story, I was at El Morro in New Mexico recently, they commentate the camel corps that you describe. They held a celebration of the camel corps. The participants visited and stayed at the Ancient Way Cafe at El Morro, great place to eat.
Cool video as usual. Love your chill vids.
There was a prehistoric Camelops in North America that went extinct about 11K years ago.
Fun video right at Halloween. Thanks
That’s a pretty cool story and a great video Steve. I’d never heard that story before. I did once see a video of an angry camel pick a guy up by his head and fling him across the yard. Probably a good thing you didn’t find any camels lol
Thanks