Trona, California Abandoned Desert Town Documentary with Train "Balloon"

Pretty cool. That house you chose to cheer everyone up with the decorations and blue car in the front yard, is actually my house.

I just moved to trona from growing up in one of the most beautiful parts(Nob Hill) in San Francisco, and let me tell you, I have never seen such beautiful skies, at all times of the day its beautiful and I would rather live here with the heat and desert and somewhat desolate town than ever live in SF ever again.

I went to Palmdale High school in the mid 1960's, we played against Trona on that field. I remember them throwing dirt in our eyes, how do you forget that. Good old memory for this old guy.

I raised my kids in California City in the 1990s and they played youth football. The kids on the team loved playing against Trona but would groan when it was Trona's turn to be the home game because they had to play on "The Pit!" Thanks for bringing back some memories!!

I lived in Ridgecrest for almost 15 years. My best friend went to school in Trona. The high school team is one of two schools in the USA that play on dirt. The only other one is in Barrow Alaska. I moved from there in 2017 and it’s sad to see how much has changed in just the last few years. The highlight of Trona is the Gem show in November it’s always a fun event that teaches visitors and children about the minerals found in the area. Thanks for sharing this in the most kind way, a lot people rag on these smaller “pseudo abandoned” places. Darwin and Olancha both are quite similar towns not far from trona up 395 who have seen their glory days long ago. I know from personal experience having grown up in the Owens valley the people who live in these communities take a great deal of pride in where they are from.

I'm retired aerospace engineer. Work took me frequently for test activities at China Lake decades ago. I spent free time exploring all around the base and continue to visit that area and the Owen's Valley. Experienced Trona in it's better times as well as a far less developed Ridgecrest. Sad to have witnessed the decline of Trona and the loss of a local economy that supported so many hard working families. Thanks for this YT story.

Drove through Trona about a year ago on the way to Death Valley. We stopped at the High School and watched them play football. They play football on pure gravel desert dirt - and they love it!

I was coming out of Death Valley 2 years ago and heading through Panamint Valley. Came across Trona at dusk. It was the creepiest, eeriest place I'd ever seen.

Nice video. I was born in Trona, at the company hospital. So we're my sisters. The hospital was bulldozed many years ago. My father worked at the plant for about 6 years. We moved away in '65. I visited our old house in '98. Life is weird. The desert is beautiful.

I'm from Trona went to school there from pre-school to high school. Had some good times and yes, Trona had some of the best people there. Love all my Tronite families. Thank you for the documentary....brought back some good ol memories.

I have fond memories of Trona. Every October for twenty five years myself and a whole lot of other motorcyclists did a 1,000 mile loop from the San Francisco Bay Area, to Death Valley and back through Trona. We would often stop to regroup in Trona and get gas. One time two young teenagers came up to us to look at our bikes. We got to talking with them and somehow it was asked how long before each graduated high school. Each blurted out the exact number of days till they graduated, and could leave Trona. Those kids are now middle age adults somewhere.

I grew up here. It was a thriving town. A wonderful place to grow up and receive an excellent education. It’s still “home” to me. I love going to high school reunions … it’s about the people. We have a special relationship! You should have filmed some of the houses in Westend and Pioneer Point that have people living in them. Still looking good. Not just the abandoned ones.

Around 1918 my grandparents migrated to California. My grandfather had a job painting train stations, and they worked their way west. One of the locations they talked about was Trona, which was getting a train station at the time. What my grandmother recalled was the heat of death valley. She said my grandfather and the other men on the crew were given salt tablets daily to help them cope with the heat, and that it was so hot that she had to soak the bedsheets in ice water so they could sleep at night. It was nice to see your video and see what it looks like today, and thrilling to see the actual train tracks.

I lived at nearby Ridgecrest, CA and worked at the Kerr McGee plant as a mechanic on its vehicles. It was a lot different then. (1990s) I went on active duty shortly after :) The "Trona Pinnacles" (rock formation) was featured in a Star Trek movie :)

I went to high school in Barstow, California and we played Trona high school in basketball every year. Fortunately, we weren’t playing basketball on dirt. It was very noticeable that there was no grass growing in the entire town. My understanding was that the soil would prevent grass from actually growing and thriving. Trona is so out of the way as no busy highway actually runs through it. Highway 395 is about 15 or 20 miles away and that is a heavily traveled route for people that are heading north to Mammoth to ski or to vacation in Bishop and other areas in Mono county. Sad to see the condition of this town because I remember it being quite busy and normal except for the lack of grass when we would go there to play our basketball games.

This is such a fabulously informative and beautiful video. Thank you! Trona can use our support for sure!

One of my good friends grew up in Trona. I delivered product to that refinery for a year. I like the solitude of the town. That Shell station have some great chili verde burritos !!

The last time my husband Karl and I drove through Trona, we were living in Death Valley. I still remember the strong chemical smell going through. When the earthquakes hit that area, my sister and I, who live in Fresno, felt it all the way up here. I remember hearing about broken water and sewer pipes after the quakes.

My dad retired from Kerr McGee in 1987. My sister and I would take our kids to the salt pools. Its a great stop coming out of Death Valley and we use Hwy 190 to 178 to go home to Ridgecrest. The little fast food place called the Trails in Pioneer Point has great food. Be sure to stop there coming from or going to Death Valley. My nephew still works in Trona.

I love your video. ❤ Good historical info. Your town seems hearty. Keep up the fight to keep your town alive! 👍🏾❤️