Those cans are from the Railroad builders camp cook wagon, They would move the camp every few miles as the tracks were laid. You’ll find more piles as you follow the rail bed.

I was visiting Mount Rushmore and it was the height of the tourist season. We were lectured about not disturbing the 'trash' we found along the hiking trails because they are artifacts from the distant past of humans who had been here before. As we left the place we pulled out into one of those vista points to look back at Mt Rushmore. As I looked down at my feet there before me was a loaded diaper. I said to my wife, 'look dear it's an artifact.'.

I really enjoyed this drive. I especially liked when you said,”I don’t know what the hell I’m talking about, ever”. That made me laugh!!

In the 70's we had old topographical pictures taken by the military of the Sonoran and Mojave deserts in the 1940's and we would find the old wagon trails you could only locate from the sky and followed them in our 4x4's.. We found old wagon wheels and furniture and just all sorts of old things from the 1800's.... A lot of those roads we made that we like a lot are now popular four wheeling roads today.. and the people driving them don't even realize we made them with our trucks following wagon trails... That thing you found (power line you called it) is an old telegraph cross member... The telegraph lines used to run down the sides of the train tracks mostly...!! Those Santa Cruz cans are old black powder cans From a company called California Powder Company...re: for explosive... they ran from the 1861 to 1914... so those cans are old. I know a ton about the deserts in AZ, NV, CA.... Spent many years out wandering them.

Those California Powder Works (CPW) cans were made before 1906 when DuPont bought them out. CPW was the first explosive manufacturer west of the rocky mountains. That was a cool find.

Railroads used to have telegraph lines running along beside them for communications. Those wooden pegs were original and had glass insulators on them but the steel parts were added much later to carry power for lights and switches, etc. For some reason they removed them all over the US. A friend got a government contract about 15 years ago to remove them in parts of Oregon. That sign you read about the rails meeting there is interesting. Two different railroad companies started from the east and the west and that is evidently where they met. It was a really big deal at the time and they had a big ceremony with news people from all over the world. The President was even there and they drove in a solid gold spike. You can find pictures and Will Smith had it in a movie. All those people would account for all those cans. BTW, did you notice how those cans were made? Not crimped but each one individually soldered by hand. Lead poisoning.

The concrete box was most likely a battery tub for the early railroad signal system.

Thanks, with the price of gas these days you just saved me a $100.00 and I got to see it all from the sofa.

Back in the early 1970s, there was a thaw in the Rocky Mountains. Some campers found a few dead bodies with Asian body features. They alerted the police and coroner. They found more dead bodies in the snow and ice. It was not a serial killer. They were deceased Chinese immigrant railroad workers from the 1800s. In the pockets of their ragged clothes were a few pennies from the 1800s. Harsh working conditions.

Growing up in the 60s in the Mojave desert my parents were avid Rockhounds. Camping out in middle of nowhere for a weekend was not unusual for us and when I say middle of nowhere it was. We found many trash piles old bottles and at time old Indian villages especially around the Barstow area . I even found a snail fossil ( still in a museum in Victorville) we had a blast

The Santa Cruz CPW (tin or can) or California power Works was a manufacture of smokeless powder in the late 1800s.

I like real people doing and saying real things. I'm interested in where and what you show next.

I hope you carry plenty of water with you as that seems like you get pretty far off the path!

Between California and Nevada I found several of those little stashes of pots and pans,soup and food cans, cigarette and tobacco tins. It's almost like taking a little trip back in time when you find something truly unique and can actually read the name branded into the steel or what the containers purpose was.😁👍 EDIT: That large can that you found was actually a powder keg from California Powder Works ('CPW' for short) and it was explosives for the military and it might have been used in blasting for the railroad. That can could be dated as far back as 1846!!! That post that you found looks like it might have been for a telegraph which could explain why you're finding those cans in specific areas there might have been some type of structure put up so that there was some type of communication be made through telegraph wires crossing the distance of the desert parallel to the railroad. GREAT FINDS , COOL BEANS!!!

Alot of that you'll find in southern Nevada will be from Patton's army as it trained there back in the early 40's. We still have tread marks in parts of the Anza Borrego desert here in San Diego County as well as plenty of can filled creek beds and ravines just like that.

I’m just glad to hear some of the cowboys lived to be that old. I wouldn’t think their lifestyle was conducive to such longevity.

Just found your channel. Great stuff, and I am a Trooper guy too! I own too many. As for the can dumps, I disagree that they are 120 yrs old. Given where you are in the Mohave, I’d suggest it’s left over from 1942-44, the US Army’s Desert Training Center. And the large concentrations of cans are mess/feeding sites for soldiers. One hint is how they are opened: by the irregular cuts made by a P38 type can opener. A mess section would have the larger P38 type can openers.

Old dump sites are interesting to go through. On my father in-laws property in Southern Oregon there is an old dump site from Camp White during WW2.

Santa Cruz CPW (California Powder Works). Those cans were at one time filled with gun powder for mining and railroad construction. The company was founded during the civil war. Later the company became a subsidary of DuPont in 1903. So, yeah! Those cans have probably been there 120 years or more.

Imagine, if you left your SUV in the desert, 120 years from now, people driving hovercrafts will come out and admire it :P

Interesting CPW California Powder Works operated from 1861 till 1903 making gunpowder and explosives in Santa Cruz

I enjoy watching your travels on GE as you go! Thanks for posting!

What REALLY interests me is those PVC pipes sticking up out in the desert. At 5:35 you can see one right there by the pile! It appears to be surrounded by relatively fresh ground disturbance like something is buried there. (Relatively is relative in the desert LOL) I always assumed they were USGS seismic detectors or something and that's the antenna. rive by or the train comes by and it phones home with it's data. (I reckon) seen those things all over in my travels around the southwest deserts.

The Nevada desert just blows my mind, that's one awesome place, and dangerous too. 😻

12:28 should be a cross beam that was on a pole. Each of the 4 woorden pegs would have had a glass insulators on them for electricity. The 2 rubber connectors on the end would have been for telegraph. I could be wrong

Rubbing compund likely mid-1900's Can probably was repurposed since was recloseable, a desireable feature pre-tupperware. Good wander.

You are just like me but about 40 years younger. I think that old trash is pretty cool also.

In the 1950’s and into the 1960’s my dad found a treasure of relics in Tin Can Ally near Calico and Barstow Ca. He had an old WW2 metal detector (used for clearing mine fields) that weighed a ton. His other favorite place to poke around were 50 year plus old outhouses, when someone lost something there they didn’t tend to go and retrieve it. Last Chance Canyon near Ridgecrest Ca was another favorite place of his to go. Nice vid.

I'm more interested to know what that capped-off piece of PVC pipe is sticking out of the ground.

6:10 would have been kinda nice if you hadn’t left the broken bottle with the points upward.

Can you imagine that people who were eating the contents of those cans 120 years ago helped to build this country & they're long dead. They must've been fearless.

This feels like a scene out of the game “Fallout.” I expect to see a Radscorpion jump out of the ground at any moment.

Nice can dump. I was in Nevada last month. Stopped off the highway near Luming and found an old Cone-top beer can. Still intact. Not as old as your find, but I was happy with it.

Outstanding, Stick a telescoping pole with hook on the end in the vehicle. Critters can also be under the blanket!! Maybe also some sort of GPS locator so the deputies can find your location.

Reminds me of the backroads outside of Tonopah NV. There's a huge fields of cans all over the place. I guess recycling wasn't a thing back then.

Could have been a chuck wagon for the railroad.

The hole in cap cans and the pre-ABM bottle base you found put this site in the pre-1904 range. I've been on nearly a thousand of these sites left by settlers, miners, travelers and in your case, railroad workers. I'll bet somewhere near there is a "hell on wheels" site of broken liquor bottles left by the people who used to follow the railroad camps and set up near the tracks to supply the workers with every type of vice they wanted.

Being from Appalachia I wasn't much of a desert fan but I did enjoy that you could actually go off road and explore the landscape unlike where I'm from.

I believe that bumper you found is off a late 60s early 70s Datsun pickup

I have lived in Las Vegas over 50 years. I enjoy doing power line roads and old miner roads. There is no shortage of them.

I'd get me a walking stick to poke around at things, instead of using your hand. Never know if a snake or scorpion is under it.

That pile of old rusted tin cans you were thinking was 120 years old is maybe incorrect. Did you notice that old oil can? Maybe 50's or 60's. Maybe a railroad crew or a highway crew camp. 50 men for a week goes thru a lot of cans of food before it moves onto the next camp down the road.

Dude you gotta expand to other states! Would be pretty cool to see what you find! And would make years of videos for ya!

The journey ,very interesting in observing small things left behind. 🤔🤓

You were 100% correct about that being a power line. Glass insulators would be screwed on the spiral dowel things on top. I found this interesting and kinda relaxing. Thanks for sharing.

The Santa Cruz CPW (California powder works) buckets were used for gun powder. Manufactured in sant acruz. Sant Cruz CPW became Dupont in 1903. Those are old buckets. Amazing trip!

Like the finds and areas but the camera spin is off setting take time to lan the area. Fast swing make viewer dizzy. I was a photog at times learned from TV. Thanks again for the views.

Found spot up in Cedar Ciyy UT a h like that. Still could make out the name on the cans of oil. Crazy.

So it is possible for a content creator not have their face and stupid ass humor be the center of attention! Also, mad props for recognizing the importance of not stripping the land of these artifacts or handling or altering them. Instant fan and subscriber.

Maybe they lived on a train, and that's where the railroad dumped the garbage. Large companies are kinda notorious for making messes.

imagine the weight of those cans full, quite a load for 100+ years ago. must have been several wagons full. They must have had bags of sugar and flour also...??? They could have been stuck in a snow storm for some time.

Where I'm from I can go out into the woods with nothing and survive no problems plenty of water food can make shelter but there I would be a skeleton after awhile.

Can from 2000s found in the desert: >:| Can from 1800s found in the desert: :o

What was the stick or pipe sticking out of the ground at the first pile of cans that you stopped at? Slow down panning the camera around. You move it around so fast it makes everything blurry - not good movie photography technique.

You can measure the wood to tell you the date of it... old 2x4 will be exactly 2x4 and newer is smaller

I live on a 1892 homestead and I’m constantly finding stuff from that era.

They actually did have a manual can opener. It was about a 2 inch triangle blade on a handle. They also came with a bottle opener and a cork screw, shortly upon inventing the "Tin Canned Fruit and Veggies". Meats, Fruits, Milk, and Veg's we're the 1st canned items. The can made an evolution from wrought iron and tin to a light steel, and 8n 1858 the can opener I referenced became available. It's an interesting History. Beth Sociologist and Historian Miners, Railroad Builders, and remote residents relied upon these products at the turn of the Century.

13:06 - quick google search shows that it's likely California Powder Works, a gun powder company established in 1860's. So potentially that can is even older than 120 years.

They used to put telegraph wire running close to same root as railway.The telegraph machines were at stations.What baffled me was the wire fence.

The wooden cones on the arms go into glass railroad telegraph insulators. The concrete box is likely a battery backup box for crossing signal or maybe train signal.

I'm sure somebody else has answered this but that's definitely a telegraph pole they typically followed the railroad line

My friends and I would ride dirt bikes, quads and now UTVS in mostly northern Nevada as we were always getting tickets in California for unimaginable stupid things. 30 years of exploration and a lot of good times. I would so pay for fuel to do that again as my friends just quit doing it for assorted reasons.

I've been there and found California Powder Works gun powder cans . The forerunner of Hercules Powder I do believe . Early 1900 they blew up a plant in California . Not there anymore . No rust in the desert so stuff doesn't rust away . I assume they were used in the construction of the early railroads . South Las Vegas Blvd , just before Jean .

Very fascinating,your dog is very well trained, loving going through your videos! 🙂👍🏻

I grew up near Fort Custer...a US Army Fort built soon after the Custer massacre, 12 miles away. In the mid 60's my friend and I found the Forts' garbage dump site in a coulee. We dug up bottles, uniform pieces, boot pieces, uniform buttons, LOTS of ammunition casings / slugs / intact ammunition and occasionally a "US" belt buckle. The property was owned by a friends family so we could come and go at will.

In the 50’s through the 80’s, car rubbing compound came in those cans.

My favorite back roads are the ones I haven't driven before. Looking for adventure. Those cans represent a lot of beans.😊 Thank you for the trip. ☮️💖🎶

"CPW Santa Cruz"..... California Powder Works was established in 1861, in San Francisco, CA producing black gunpowder. CPW closed in 1914

Pole is the top of a power pole, that had glass insulators that screwed on the post.

Reminds me of an old saying that was attributed to Mark Twain, the Great America writer who said, "Show me a man who says civilization is advancing and I'll show you an egotist." Judging from all the trash, it seems like we've not learned a damned thing! LOL

What you indicated to possibly be power lines were most likely telegraph lines. Or poles rather.

My idea of what Hell would look like. I do not understand why people think it is beautiful. No green. No water.

Those cans wouldn't last two years in Oklahoma

That rubbing compound was used by those lonely Cowboys for some lonesome rubbing at night.

6:21 what was that PVC pipe stick out of the ground? strange thing to be there, I would have never gone out there with shorts on there are to many rattlers there.

The Desert terrain kinda cool!

Surveyor Parties traversed over large tracks of land back in the day. Look for Brass monuments to confirm a good find.

If you go to the western edge of golden valley Arizona outside Kingman there is an old bar on your left if you are driving towards Laughlin Nevada, if you take the last road on your right take it out around 5 10 miles then venture over the mountain range when you come out the other side you will find a hidden tropical oasis with running water pond , sand and palm trees that absolutely should not be there, my dad's buddy lived out there we drove his Toyota land cruiser out there so as long as you got 4 wd you will be ok , if you decide to look for it please film it I have only been there 1 time with my dad and his buddy, it is one of my very last memories of him I would love to see it again be safe

Dog couldn't wait to get back in car.

There are areas like this in Oregon near Bend. It is all protected from harvesting.

The railroad company’s employees leave trash and it’s blamed on “cowboys”? It looks like that area could only sustain about one pair (one momma cow and her calf) per 300 acres for only 3-4 months a year…. Maybe

Dude, if your engine is "ticking" when the engine is on, it means your oil is low. That's very dangerous. You could destroy your engine. You need to do an oil change NOW!

Blanket covering something??? Should have pulled it away to know if animal or human remains inside. There are a lot of missing person cases whose families need closure ... & or police investigation. Just saying... unpleasant thought? Sure, but so much more so perhaps for whatever was under the blanket.

I'm not sure those cans are 120 years old, frankly they almost certainly are not, the elements reduce low grade, unprotected metal cans to dust in less than 30. Nice to think they are ancient relics but they aren't. Probably a desert rager from wild partiers sometime in the late 70's. Except that bumper, that thing was circa 1750

Makes you wonder about the people. Most are forgotten but something to indicate their presence remains.

Tya for the look around.

Canned 'bully beef' existed for 30 years before someone thought up the can opener. You can see the cans were opened using a knife.

All them cans is illegal dumping probably around the early 70s give or take, when I was young exploring these deserts I would find these all the time but they were not as degraded , although you can find some old private mines and little communities were people built their own towns , I have found some were I even found very old silver silverware old glass bottles like proctor and gamble Listerine bottles last I checked they was going for around a thousand each , I figured most stuff left behind would be done taken by now but I guess I'm wrong

It's pretty cool to think that some cowboys out there with his pocket knife and open that can of beans or corn or something a hundred and something years ago and sat there and ate that

Finding this historical stuff is pretty awesome and interesting but when people throw refrigerators and stoves ect in ditches or out on the prairies is a different matter 🤔

Always lock in your hubs when in the dirt, BEFORE you get stuck..

17:03 How could you not open that to see what's inside? I could hear something rolling around in it

At 5:35 looks like a piece of PVC sticking up. Are you sure those cans are as old as you say?

At least you're honest when you say you don't know what you're talking about

living in Florida this is like another country to me. I'd love to visit this party of the country.

Isn't it sad that often human history is learned from our garbage and pollution!

There's an old blanket, wrapped around something, I don't get too close.... I would say explore things and find out. You never know, you might find something interesting wrapped in that blanket.

Its a telegraph line. That beam held the insulators and wires on it

CPW incorporated in 1861 (Calif Powder Works) began manufacturing gunpowder in 1864 (per Google).

I'm thinking that piece of wood with the insulators on it, was a cross member from the top of a telegraph pole. A left-over from the days when telegraph lines were commonly installed along the right-of-way of railroad lines.