Uploaded August 2024 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
The desert of Southeastern California was notoriously hard to cross. Despite the Spanish arriving in California in the early 1500s, they would not explore the area until the time the American Revolution was beginning. With the coming of the automobile, road travel through the dunes was nearly impossible. That was until the wooden plank road was built in 1915.
For eleven years the plank road led people across the desert, but few people know the story of the town where the road was assembled. A town with no water that by all rights should have faded from existence long before it did, but somehow it lasted nearly 80 years.
Starting as a railroad town, Ogilby saw a gold rush, became the hub for the plank road, a place for people trying to strike it rich during the depression, and finally a stop for soldiers on the way to the Desert Training Center during World War II, before the town vanished.
In this video we visit the plank road, explore what's left of Ogilby, see the canal that created the Salton Sea, and check out the nearby southeast corner of California on the Colorado River.
Our video on the plank road: youtu.be/-y6ja0M2178
Our video on the Alamo Canal and the creation of the Salton Sea: youtu.be/ik_gnwKUWI8
○ Gear we use: amazon.com/shop/sidetrackadventures
►Please subscribe for weekly updates showcasing some of our adventures: youtube.com/channel/UCdueDRFYPVgzPAAOM_bxVWA?sub_confirmation=1
►Also please follow Sidetrack Adventures on Instagram: instagram.com/sidetrackadventures
►Music in this video is from Epidemic Sounds; use our link for a free trial: share.epidemicsound.com/v927fj
The desert of Southeastern California was notoriously hard to cross. Despite the Spanish arriving in California in the early 1500s, they would not explore the area until the time the American Revolution was beginning. With the coming of the automobile, road travel through the dunes was nearly impossible. That was until the wooden plank road was built in 1915.
For eleven years the plank road led people across the desert, but few people know the story of the town where the road was assembled. A town with no water that by all rights should have faded from existence long before it did, but somehow it lasted nearly 80 years.
Starting as a railroad town, Ogilby saw a gold rush, became the hub for the plank road, a place for people trying to strike it rich during the depression, and finally a stop for soldiers on the way to the Desert Training Center during World War II, before the town vanished.
In this video we visit the plank road, explore what's left of Ogilby, see the canal that created the Salton Sea, and check out the nearby southeast corner of California on the Colorado River.
Our video on the plank road: youtu.be/-y6ja0M2178
Our video on the Alamo Canal and the creation of the Salton Sea: youtu.be/ik_gnwKUWI8
○ Gear we use: amazon.com/shop/sidetrackadventures
►Please subscribe for weekly updates showcasing some of our adventures: youtube.com/channel/UCdueDRFYPVgzPAAOM_bxVWA?sub_confirmation=1
►Also please follow Sidetrack Adventures on Instagram: instagram.com/sidetrackadventures
►Music in this video is from Epidemic Sounds; use our link for a free trial: share.epidemicsound.com/v927fj
