Just wanted to UPDATE: they are closed indefinitely! Have been for years. We went to the museum…read moreinstead which has a nice little interactive video which is 2nd best to actually being there. Hopefully they reopen.

The Coso Range petroglyphs are America's answer to Notre Dame, Stonehenge, the Eiffel Tower and any…read moreother historical sites mentioned by Europe-centric amateur historians who scoff at our short history as a country here in the USA. Yes, our country is young but our continent is old and its residents have produced beautiful and compelling art for centuries. This stunning, gorgeous site contains petroglyphs up to 12,000 years old (about 4,000 years older than Stonehenge) and has a magnificence that has to be experienced to be believed. The setting is mystical, magical and unlike any other historical or archaeological site I have ever visited in my life (and I've been to quite a few.) The petroglyphs are located in a canyon that is not visible at first as you approach. As you walk over the typical high desert landscape, you see what looks like the end of a little arroyo. But as you get closer, and start to climb down into the canyon itself, the size and magnitude of the canyon and the artwork it contains overwhelms you. You enter another world. As you think about what the artists had to overcome to create the artwork (climbing up to dizzying heights, painstaking hours creating the artwork, not to mention the hardships and short life expectancy of the time), it's like time travel. Thanks to an unlikely turn of events (being protected due to their location on China Lake Naval Base), these petroglyphs are in absolutely pristine condition. It is possible to see the progression of the art work over time. An enlightened tour guide will be able to explain the development and possible meanings and uses of the petroglyphs. Keep in mind: there are many theories but few facts about the exact purpose of the petroglyphs since much of Native American history has been lost. But the artwork itself speaks volumes. Interested? Look here: http://maturango.org/petroglyph-tours/. Jump through any and all hoops necessary. It is worth it. (Make sure you wear good hiking or rock-climbing shoes, take sunscreen, and are physically fit. Hiking all the way to the end involves some rock-climbing skills.) I feel strongly that every American citizen should visit this site to appreciate our history and the natural and artistic beauty that our country has to offer. For all that are able, this site should be at the top of your to-do list. Go!

Just had our biobay tour with them last week, Nicholas was our host and it was great! The way he…read morespoke made you feel like you were friends with him for a awhile. Super friendly and accommodating. I usually don't leave reviews but this was some top level service, overall great vibes.

We did the bio bay tour at night, taking the boat ride to Bio Bay and then having the unique and…read moreamazing opportunity for a bioluminescense swim. Very memorable experience. Rodney and Nicholas were great guides, sharing lots of information about the biolumnescense and the island, and very friendly and personable to spend a short time with.

Since they opened back up I love going here the staff is reallly really nice especially Maria, she…read moreis one of my favorites,,she always so happy and nice , never got anything wrong , she brings an spark then that place , she very helpful as well

Area is clean and staff is friendly. Multiple lanes available. Food isn't the best. I didn't enjoy…read morethe pizza that much and was not impressed with their other items.

I've a bit of the wanderlust running through me, and it's getting stronger with each day passing…read more To try and negate some of this growing restlessness, I thought perhaps reviewing one of my past adventures would help to calm the stormy seas inside of me before I go insane. I have a dirty past. Quite literally. I am one of very few chicks that dug dirt and rocks from a very tender age (mind the bad pun). And they continue to excite me even after a decade away from school. There's hardly anything more exciting than hiking to gods know where for some geologic/paleontologic mindjob. Was that TMI? Oops, my bad. But, please, don't go anywhere! Allow me to share one of my fondest geology trips with you. I loved my majour in college. What's not to love about a study that allows you to spend more than half of your collegiate time outdoors, rain or shine? I was never much one for classroom settings. Don't let the geeky exterior fool you. I'm the type to bring a laptop out into the wild unknown to play my video games. ^_- Whoever said you can't have it all? All that's missing is a wonderful companion to share it all with. My Spring Fieldtrip assignment was to map Rainbow Basin, outside of Barstow, California. I believe the area we had to map was about 3 square miles, up and down peaks and in and out of valleys. 9 glorious days did we spend out there. Rainbow Basin is a gorgeous stretch of land. If you haven't been there yet, promise me you will. If only for a day. The best part is during sunset in the main valley. There's a specific point in the valley where you crest a rise and just sit there, waiting for the magickal moment where the sun dips just low enough in the sky to light up the cliff face where there's a huge syncline composed of various oxidized layers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rainbow_Basin.JPG). These layers, composed of various different minerals, oxidized over time to produce different shades of colours - red, purple, yellow, green, blue... The beauty is when the sun lights up these different layers to give you the most amazing display of coloured rock ever. Hence, the name of the basin itself. I'm thinking of a road trip back there this summer to view this phenomenom once more; only this time, I'll be bringing a camera to document my memories. Will you join me? Bring your sleeping bag, but forget the tent. We'll snuggle under the summer stars together.

Beautiful place. Love the colors and formations. Geology is wonderful. Enjoyed the scenic drives as…read morethe valley walls get closer and closer as your car wanders through the basin. The road Is nicely graded that goes through a wash. Very epic, scenic panoramic views. Highly recommend spring, fall or winter times to visit as it can get hot!! We went in February, Not too far of a drive from Barstow or on the dirt road. We also hiked among the Mojave desert vegetation and enjoyed the Joshua trees. Think we got a glimpse of the lakebed with Goldstone. Great picture taking opportunities!

It was sunset on the trail... I had never been to Ridgecrest before…read more An important little place in the middle of a desert. As for this trail hike, we took a moderate one up the mountain to the peak to sit and take in the views on all sides. It really depends who you go with. The desert can be a lonely place. Especially as the day comes to a close, it is so quiet here, it could be just you and your thoughts. Sobering. We saw some rabbits and lizards. Be on the watch for coyotes and rattlesnakes. The steep trek down I thought, was harder than going up. Make sure you have really good hiking shoes. If you come here on a whim let's say, sandals or flip flops are not going to cut it. Bring plenty of water, very hot in summer and keep in mind that there are no bathrooms here. Please pick up all your trash. This was a beautiful, clean place. The parking area felt safe and fortunately for us, there were not a lot of people there on this given Sunday. I would go back in a heartbeat. The summit views were spectacular and I always welcome the exercise and time to reflect. It can also feel very romantic. I love the desert.

I just arrived in town and this was suggested to me at the Maturango Museum, as a quick place to go…read moreto become acquainted with some of the local plants. There were a couple of trail heads, the one behind the college having a parking lot close to the road. I walked a bit to see what was there and took some photos. I'm sure it would be more interesting the further out a person could go. It reminded me of bike rides in a state forest in Florida and I'm sure a quicker view would be more interesting but less productive for photography.

WOW! I can't believe we have such a high-quality escape room venue here in our little town of…read moreRidgecrest! I wish I could give an extra star or two. We had two groups of four that played Alice's Dream last night, and everyone had a blast and walked away extremely impressed. This was Room #16 for me, with the majority of those having been rooms highly recommended by the escape room enthusiast community. So I've experienced a dozen top-notch rooms. I'm very excited to report that The Game Vault rivals the best rooms I've experienced! It is readily apparent that an extraordinary amount of time, effort, love, (and probably money) went into developing this room. The room was extremely immersive, made good use of tech, and was right on theme. The puzzles were diverse and a solid level of complexity that should appeal to both the less-experienced and the enthusiast. This is not a chain or someone looking to cash in on a concept that is surging in popularity. This is created by people who are apparently Ridgecrest locals and obviously have an appreciation of the craft. The owners were very friendly, and we thoroughly enjoyed chatting with them about escape rooms, Ridgecrest, and their venture in bringing the two together. The entire experience was amazing! I will definitely be returning as they open more rooms in coming months. I highly suggest you check them out as well!

Don't let the current exterior fool you or concern you, the game vault is a great experience here…read morein Ridgecrest. My family and I had never done an escape room, and we had a lot of fun, once we figured out the idea ( still got the 3rd fastest time). Cool artwork, great props, clever puzzles, solidly constructed. We can't wait til they get their next room ready!

Just wanted to leave a shoutout for Rudy! He was incredibly friendly, welcoming, and went out of…read morehis way to make sure everything ran smoothly during our visit. You can tell he really cares about the guests and helps create a fun, positive atmosphere. Great customer service like that makes a big difference, and Rudy definitely stood out. Thanks for making our family night even better!

We are on a bowling fanatic kick right now since we bought our own bowling shoes. We were on our…read moreway home to Los Angeles but decided on stopping by and trying out this place. It was a Sunday afternoon and it wasn't busy and I asked about the prices which are 33 bucks per hour up to six players. We only wanted to play 1 game but they will prorate it once you start the game. The 2 of us quickly bowled a game and I went up to pay - it only came out to 9 bucks. Now that's more like it and we had a fun time.

Great place with great people! I recommend this gym plenty of classes and clean equipment.read more

The price is worth it, if your in town for a short time. It is a big open gym with plenty of…read moreequipment. Best gym for the price. And staff is awesome

My hubs recently was told by a local that a great place to hike is RHV, which is near the 365…read morehighway and where S. China Lake Blvd meet or end depending on where you're coming from. It can be easy to miss if your coming from out of town, but thankfully there is a tall brown sign that helps you find the right turn in spot. Just a word of advice, if you have a truck or a car that sits higher, definitely take that as opposed to a low riding car. My car sits low and was painful to hear the scratching noise it made while I drove into the parking area and out. There's actually no designated parking lot but you do have the option of parking closer toward the entrance or further in. I wasn't sure exactly how far to go, so I parked near a semi circle where there were a row of rocks and noticed while we were walking, if we went in a little further, we would've found another lot. This was our first time there and I LOVED it! We normally go to RH behind Cerro Coso College, but we've been trying to find alternative routes since we like to let our dog off the lease and there tends to be way more hikers/atv/mountain bike/bikers there. There were a few other cars there but we didn't run into anyone walking. We did see a few bikers, but thankfully there's a couple paths to choose from that lead to similar trails. The only thing I didn't like about this area, which like the other is there aren't any trash cans around. But other than that, there are definitely some challenging trails with steep paths, that seem to go on and on for miles. We also saw a couple piles of shingles, broken bottles, trash, shotgun shells and heard what sounded like loud booms (which I've heard on the other side of RH plenty of times. Now that it's getting warmer and soon, very very hot, make sure you take plenty of water, as there are no water fountains nearby. There is a Shell gas station about a quarter of a mile away, so you can pick up a couple bottles if you forgot your own!