You heard me – Zzyzx. Pronounced Zi-Zix. The last entry when all geographic place names are listed alphabetically. Anyone who has driven the I-15 stretch from LA to Vegas knows that mysterious, middle-of-nowhere offramp to ‘Zzyzx’. It finally tempted us and this time we took the exit to explore all that Zzyzx has to offer.

But first we had unfinished business in Afton Canyon. Since we couldn’t pass the Mojave River in our truck when approaching from the west, we hopped back on I-15 and took the exit to the east end. This time we were easily able to get into the canyon where we checked out a few ‘Mojave Sites of Mystery’ – and old mine site with unique stacked rock walls and a buried railcar, supposedly left there after a derailment on the nearby tracks. I’d love to learn more if anyone is familiar with either of these sites.

After wrapping up our Afton exploration it was time to check out Zzyzx. Heading south from the freeway, the road dead ends after a while at the former site of the Zzyzx Mineral and Heath Spa, now the Desert Studies Center. There’s a surprisingly large pool with a fountain and lots of ducks, some nice facilities, and a view across the dry Soda Lake. As an extra bonus we spotted several sheep in the nearby rocky mountainside.

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