Filmed on Monday, February 26 2024, I drive around Baker, CA to see what's going on.
Baker was founded as a station on the Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad in 1908 and was named for Richard C. Baker, business partner in building the railroad.
Baker was established in 1929 by Ralph Jacobus Fairbanks (1857-1942), who was an American prospector, entrepreneur, and pioneer who established several towns in the Death Valley area of California.
Baker's economy is based primarily on tourism. The town is frequently used as a stop for food and fuel by drivers on Interstate 15 between Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
The town's most prominent feature is a 134-foot thermometer, dubbed "the world's tallest thermometer". Its height commemorates the hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth, 134 °F, in nearby Death Valley on July 10, 1913.
Alien Fresh Jerky is located in Baker, a quirky store selling various types of jerky and alien-themed merchandise. The store is itself a tourist attraction with statues of aliens and architecture resembling galactic ships. During the filming of this video, a "UFO Hotel" was under construction.
Baker contains a few notable abandoned structures, such as the tiki-inspired Arnie's Royal Hawaiian Motel (opened in 1957, closed in 2009), which is covered in graffiti.
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