More Music Mountain Mayhem

 November 17, 2025

   Let's start in the middle of the story. In 1938, Republic Pictures released "The Man From Music Mountain" with Gene Autry and Smiley Burnette.

   According to historian Greg Scott, "Autry actually filmed the picture near the recently completed Boulder Dam (renamed Hoover Dam in 1947) and the theme included electrification and land sales and several songs. Gene had previously used a Colorado River Dam project, Imperial Dam north of Yuma, in 1936 in Red River Valley which also included Smiley (Frog Milhouse) Burnette and was partially filmed near my great grandfather’s farm on the Colorado River above Yuma. 

   "In 1943 Republic films again used the title Man From Music Mountain this time starring Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers." 

   Again, quoting Greg Scott, "This effort had nothing to do with any river or reclamation but was standard sheep herders vs cattlemen filmed in the famous Alabama Hills on the lower SE side of the Sierras. The Lt. Joseph Christmas Ives Expedition of 1857-1858 was responsible for naming the Music Mountains although the Hualapais may well have had a perfectly good name for that range."

—Greg Scott

   So, last Friday, myself and Rooster Rob Mathiasch motored up to Truxton and north from there on dirt roads to try and get close enough to fly a drone up and across those allegedly musical strata and get a good, close up shot of it. 

The Music Mountains from Truxton

   We were using GPS and traversing long crisscrossing dirt roads and we crossed a couple cattleguards, and it looked like we might break out into the open to get the shot, but then we ran into this guy.

Shotgun Wielding Meth Head

   So, we exchanged a few words, I gave him a True West magazine (Billy the Kid issue) and we turned around without getting the shot. I have to admit, about half of it was fun, half of it was terrifying and the rest was educational.

"To be old and wise, you must first be young and stupid."

—Old Vaquero Saying