The Calico Buffalo
The Calico Buffalo
A Run for Fun To the Dealers' Diggins
CALICO is a town that once had a population of 4500, but this dropped to a head count of two when the silver vein petered out and the Mojave Desert city achieved the status of ghost town. Calico, just about half way between Los Angeles, Calif., and Las Vegas, Nev., now is a Wild West tourist attraction which blends measures each of history and Disneyland. Mine shafts, tailings heaps, restored remnants, a passable restaurant, a tram ride, a train ride, a museum and various other attractions make a motorcycle trek to Calico a pleasant venture.
Doubling the pleasure of a fast two-up run across the high desert of California on a touring machine was the fact that at Calico awaited the ninth annual buffalo barbecue sponsored , by Los Angeles area motorcycle dealers Dave Mason, Skip Fordyce and Fd Kretz.
Nearly 1000 road riders from las Vegas. Phoenix, Ariz., and Los Angeles converged on the former mining town that is anything but ghostly. Buffalo meat, coleslaw, grubstake beans, lemonade, coffee and strawberries were at the end of the monumental chow line. And, standing in that line provided the opportunity to meet people, renew acquaintances, and talk about motorcycles.
The good motorcycle dealers awarded some merchandise prizes on the luck of the draw. Then the 1000 motorcyclists said so-long and headed their respective ways homeward, leaving Calico to the ghosts and the desert wind.
