West Quest Part Deux - Day 55

Goat walks and train loops in Tehachapi, California

Oct 04, 2022

Monday, 3 October 2022

Today was was a unique and interesting day here at The Dam Ranch owned by dear friends Scott and Marie Burris. Situated on 20+ acres in Tehachapi, much of the property was once covered by a manmade retaining pond back in the 19th Century.

We started the day off with a morning “goat walk.” This involves letting the seven goats Scott and Marie care for out of their holding pen, and walking them, like dogs, around the property so that they can freely graze. It was a blast.

Here’s a picture of our camping spot with the earthen dam behind Ollie. The water would have been on this side of the dam back in the day.

Shortly before noon, we headed out for some sightseeing in the local area including the historic Tehachapi Depot.

An amazing museum honoring Tehachapi’s place in railroad history, some 50+ freight trains trains pass by daily. In the hour or so we were there, three went by. Here’s the first:

I prefer my fast-moving trains up close and personal.

The museum itself is well worth a visit.

The second train…

And the third train…

After the museum, we headed to the observation point for the famous Tehachapi Loop that Frieda and I had passed by on Sunday without realizing what it was.

Once we got to the observation point about eight miles from downtown Tehachapi, Marie kept us entertained by providing train trivia while we waited 25 or so minutes for a train.

We were not disappointed.

In the next photo, the two engines are visible as they come around the hill on the right.

In the next shot, the rear engine is apparently helping to slow the train as it descended. The entire train is in the photo with the two front engines out of view but passing under the middle of the train.

It was quite an experience to see an entire freight train loop around itself. We then continued down the road parallel to the tracks, which allowed me to get a few more shots.