The Silence and The Sun

An historical account of the people, places, and events near old Route 66, and railroad communities in the Eastern Mojave Desert, California

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Book cover titled "The Silence and the Sun" by Joe De Kehoe, featuring images of a road, a sheriff's badge, an abandoned building, and a desert landscape in the Eastern Mojave Desert of California.

Celebrate the Centennial of Route 66 with the 3rd edition of The Silence and The Sun.

In 1999, Joe de Kehoe began transcribing oral history tapes for the Mojave Desert Archives, adding great value to the Oral History Program. In the early 2000s, Joe began conducting oral history interviews on his own, gaining access to collections of historical photographs in private hands. His geographical focus was roughly along old Route 66 in the California Desert. This work, which spanned a decade, resulted in his writing and publishing The Silence and The Sun: An historical account of people, places and events on old Route 66 and railroad communities in the Eastern Mojave Desert, California. The latest edition contains all the material in the first editions and more - newly discovered historical photographs, new stories, and contributions from Steve Reyes, Francis Blake, and Roger Hatheway.

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Dilapidated wooden house with a rusted metal roof in a desert landscape.
A desert landscape with sparse vegetation in the foreground and a large mountain range in the background under a clear blue sky.
Desert highway with Route 66 shield painted on the road surface and a small roadside building in the background, under a cloudy sky.
Long stretch of Route 66 highway in a desert landscape with cracked asphalt and sparse vegetation, with distant mountains under a cloudy sky.
Old, abandoned wooden watermill with large metal wheels in a desert landscape with rocky terrain and sparse shrubs under a clear blue sky.
A barren desert landscape with sparse shrubbery and small bushes, surrounded by rugged brown mountains in the background under a clear blue sky.
Train tracks running through a desert landscape with mountains in the distance, under a partly cloudy sky.
Old, dilapidated wooden house in a desert landscape with sparse bushes and clear blue sky.
A straight road extending into the distance through a desert landscape with sparse vegetation, with mountains and a partly cloudy sky in the background.

Buy The Book

Looking to buy The Silence and The Sun? You can find it at select retailers or order directly online through the Trails End Publishing website.

Please note, the book isn’t available on Amazon due to previous customer service concerns.

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Book cover titled 'The Silence and the Sun' showing a desert landscape with mountains, a dirt road, and a clear blue sky, with images of a roadrunner, Route 66 road sign, and an old wooden building at the top.
Golden anniversary badge commemorating 100 years of Route 66, with text and a shield emblem.

About the Author

“Joe de Kehoe is relentless about history. A retired geologist ... de Kehoe loves nothing more than to hang out with ghosts for days at a stretch in the mind-melting Mojave Desert of eastern San Bernardino County.” - Kevin Gerrity, The Bakersfield Californian Staff Writer

Find out more about Joe de Kehoe's history, expertise, and passions.

Man standing on rocky ledge overlooking a deep canyon with rock formations and a blue sky.
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Featured
An Underground Cabin
An Underground Cabin

About one-eighth of a mile east of the cluster of buildings at Danby on National Trails Highway, old Route 66, are the remains of a tiny 'cabin', which was built of railroad ties and mostly underground except for a 2' section above ground that was lined with sheets of tin as weatherproofing.

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Essex, California
Essex, California

Essex has seen better days.  When Interstate-40 was completed in the mid-1970s the 70-mile stretch of highway between Ludlow, California and Fenner was bypassed, and towns like Essex and businesses that depended on motorists – motels, service stations, garages, and cafes - died almost overnight.

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"Hank's Place", East Essex, California
"Hank's Place", East Essex, California

About a half mile east of Essex, at the junction of National Trails Highway and Goffs road was the site of a Texaco service station that was commonly known as “Hank’s Place”, named for Hank (Henry Joseph) Cusson who wanted to get out of the San Diego construction business. 

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Clipper Mtns. cabin
Clipper Mtns. cabin

When I first discovered this cabin in the late 1990s the roof was still relatively in tact, but it has since collapsed.


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