Last weekend I had the chance to be back in the desert of Southern California again. Originally I was supposed to stay longer, but plans can change unexpectedly, and in the end my stay was reduced to a long weekend. On the bright side, I finally got to visit a place I had been curious about, slowing down each time we drove by to look at the "sights". Though it appeared to be a well organized junk yard, I kept referring to it as the museum because of its collection of old vehicles. As it turned out, I was not entirely wrong.
An Actual Museum of Old Trucks
Keeping my expectations low, I simply wanted to see if we could find someone at the place who would let us walk around and take a look at the numerous ancient trucks standing around on the property. But when we got there, the caretakers welcomed us as visitors to their museum. They explained that originally it was merely a place to store old trucks some friends of theirs had brought, since they had no other place to put them. As their collection grew, they applied for non-profit status, and recently made their transition to a museum official. So of course we could check out their collection. They merely asked us for a voluntary donation, and to spread the word about the place. We were happy to help them with both.
Not Your Typical Motor Vehicle Museum
What I enjoyed most about the Motor Transport Museum is that it didn't feel like a museum at all. The trucks came pretty much as they were, dirty and rusty, like you'd expect them, broken windshields and ripped upholstery being the norm. However, many of them had informative signs attached to them, telling the visitors about the particular vehicle, the uniqueness of their auto makers, and what that particular truck was known for. We ended up learning a lot about work vehicles of the past.
From the Earliest Automobiles up to the 1970's
All together there had to be at least a hundred different trucks from various eras, starting at the early 20th century when motor vehicles first started appearing. They were almost exclusively work vehicles, including everything from dump trucks to school buses, fire engines to milk delivery trucks, and cranes to garbage trucks. Many of them had crank starters, and even airless tires of solid rubber. A select few had been restored into near pristine conditions, and were parked in the only building, a former mill. Most of them were scattered on the property among the sage brush, under the clear desert sky, adding greatly to the overall appeal.
A Slow Progress, But Worth A Visit
As you would expect from such an institution, their progress of improving the place is very gradual. The remoteness of the place only makes this even more difficult. However, in my opinion, this is exactly what I value most about it, adding to the experience. Though I had to keep reminding myself that it was NOT a junk yard, and the exhibit items were to be treated as such: no touching, no climbing around on them, even if the temptation was strong. However, I did take lots of photos, the best of which I'm happy to share here. Should you happen to be passing through the eastern part of San Diego county, I can highly recommend visiting the town of Campo. The town itself is hardly worth the mention, but the Motor Transport Museum is most certainly worth taking a look at.
