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Uncle Rob drives up the curvy San Gabriel Canyon Road, past the San Gabriel Reservoir, then turns onto East Fork Road, which follows the San Gabriel River into Shoemaker Canyon.
The road narrows, and the pavement becomes gravel. As they drive deeper into the canyon, the road degrades to a dirt track through the wilderness.
The extra weight of the X-37 strains the old truck. After five miles of driving through huge potholes and traversing the shallow river three times, the dirt trail takes a sharp right turn. The truck drives up a long steady rise before the road widens and levels out.
As they crest the hill, the screens inside the old truck display the image of an arched bridge spanning a canyon. There is a large flat gravel area in front of the bridge and an old rusted shipping container on the left. Rob brings the Suburban to a stop. The white cement bridge glows in the bright beams of the aircraft lights mounted on the X-37.
“Wow, that's cool,” says Alyssa.
"Did somebody misplace a bridge?" asks Courtney.
Rob is tickled by their reaction. "It’s the Bridge to Nowhere."
Ethan’s mood has not changed, but he can’t hold back his interest in the strange bridge. “Because it's in the middle of nowhere?”
”Because it leads nowhere. See, it’s a dead end," Alyssa says, pointing.
“You’re both right. A long time ago, a road was being built between the San Gabriel Valley and the small town of Wrightwood on the north side of the mountains. During the winter of 1938, there was a flood that wiped out the road. The bridge construction was already complete. After the flood, they gave up building the road, so here sits a bridge in the middle of the canyon, leading to nowhere. I present the Bridge to Nowhere.”
The kids and Courtney laugh and Rob laughs with them.
“For many years, the road was no more than a narrow hiking trail. Weekend hikers and bungee jumpers were the only people to visit this lonesome bridge. That old shipping container stored bungee jumping equipment.”
“Bungee jumping. I wish we could try that,” says Alyssa.
“Before there was a bridge to nowhere, do you know what the San Gabriel river was known for?”
“Fishing?” Ethan offers.
“Nope. Gold mining.”
“Gold mining. Here? I thought they did all the gold mining in Northern California,” says Courtney.
“People have mined the San Gabriel River, off and on, for over one hundred and fifty years. In the early 1930s, there was a small village with huts and shops for miners. There was a large mining excavation in the riverbed a mile downstream from the bridge. Mines were dug into the mountainsides. The gold rush didn’t last, neither did the village. The flood of 1938 wiped out everything including the road. Then in 2023 some guy discovered a large gold deposit, and gold fever was back! The road we just traveled was re-built.”
“I wouldn’t call that much of a road,” Courtney declares.
“Well, like most gold strikes, it soon went bust, and they stopped maintaining the road. Now, we drive over the bridge and we're home.”
"Is the bridge safe?" Courtney asks in a concerned tone.
“Rock solid. They built this bridge to last. It's in great shape. I drive across almost every day,” Rob says, as he slowly drives onto the bridge.
“On the far side of the bridge, we take a quick right turn, or we’ll drive directly into the side of the mountain.” Rob maneuvers the sharp turn, drives sixty feet to the end of the dirt road and stops. He leaves the aircraft lights on, pointing up the canyon.
Everyone piles out of the old space shuttle and looks around. “Here we are. Great spot isn't it?” says Rob.
“I thought we’re going to a cave. I don't see any caves around here,” says Ethan.
“Well, it’s called a hideaway. It’s supposed to be a secret, so I made it hard to spot. It’s tough to see during the day, so if you don’t know where to look the entrance is nearly impossible to see in the dark. I don't want strangers showing up without an invitation. Follow me.” Rob grabs a flashlight and leads the group along the trail lit by the aircraft lights. The rocky trail hugs a steep hillside that drops nearly straight down, one hundred feet to the river below.
Courtney stays next to the space shuttle. “That looks dangerous.”
“It’s perfectly safe, dear,” Rob says.
Rob walks along the trail until he disappears beyond a rocky outcropping. Thirty yards past the outcropping there is a narrow recess in the mountainside populated with large bushes and small trees. The trail continues past this point. A hiker would walk past the recess and continue walking up the canyon.
Rob stops at the bushy recess and calls out. “Come on! It’s just in here.”
Alyssa runs back to her mom.
“Hurry, Mom,” Ethan calls to encourage his mother.
Alyssa holds Courtney’s hand, pulling her mother along the trail. As Courtney walks, she notices the trail is wider and less scary than it looked. Alyssa and Courtney make it around the rocky outcropping and find Rob and Ethan waiting for them.
Instead of continuing down the trail, Rob walks into the bushes growing in the recessed area along the mountainside. He reaches into a bush, inserts a key into a lock, and pulls open a cyclone fence gate with plants growing on it. The gate and steel fence posts are painted to match the color of the dirt and rocks, camouflaging them. The cyclone gate is built into the mountainside, covering the entrance. Rob pulls the gate open wider to reveal the entrance of the mine.
"This is so cool." Ethan jumps with excitement. "Can we go inside?"
“That’s the idea. You can prop the gate open with that stick behind you. Let's go!” Uncle Rob leads the way.
The entrance is dark and the rock roughhewn. Rob beams a flashlight into the mine. Five feet inside the cave is a wooden door painted gray, secured with a heavy chain, a big lock and warning signs. One sign reads Danger Do Not Enter. Another sign has skull and crossbones, with a chemical insignia underneath the words: Dangerous Gases - Sudden DEATH will occur. A third sign looks official, posted by the County: Unstable - Cave-in–DO NOT Enter. Pasted on the door is an old yellowed newspaper clipping with a photo of a young man, and an article describing how he died in an old mine, presumably this one.
"We are not going inside there. Rob, this is quite enough. Kids, we’re going back,” Courtney says in a panicked tone.
"Relax. sweetheart. I designed this to scare people away.”
Courtney shudders, feeling goosebumps on her arms. “Well, it’s working.”
“See the little altar.” Rob moves the beam of his flashlight to an altar mounted in a small niche carved out of the rock wall. “Nice touch, don't you think?” The flashlight illuminates burned candles, a statue of Mother Mary, and dried flowers placed in the small niche. Rob laughs as he unlocks the chain.
“Just one more door till you see the living quarters.”
Alyssa and Ethan are pushing to move forward. "Kids backup, don't crowd your uncle," says their mother.
Courtney stands rigid with her arms crossed talking to herself. "Is he crazy? This is all crazy. We're in a damp, dark, abandoned mine that might collapse on us any second and he’s taking my children inside."
The kids follow on the heels of Uncle Rob as he moves through the rough-cut tunnel. Courtney moves only because she doesn’t want to be alone in the dark.
“They dug this mine into a mountain of solid granite. I assure you, it won’t cave in. It was dug in the early 1900s to mine gold. They found veins of quartz and gold running through the granite. They dug deeper and deeper following the veins, mining out the gold ore. They must have done well. The mine has two levels and goes nine hundred feet into the mountain. They abandoned the mine in the 1930s before the bridge was constructed,” Rob explains as they walk deeper into the mine. “I bought the mine four years ago and have been working on this little project ever since.”
Rob comes to a steel door welded to iron braces embedded in the cave walls. The door looks like one you would see in a submarine with a metal wheel that turns to unlock the door. A lock and chain secures the wheel.
Rob removes the chain, turns the wheel, and pulls the heavy door open. “I call this the blast door. It's three inches of solid steel built into the cave wall. I got it secondhand from a scrap yard. It used to be on a navy ship. Nothing is getting through this door. Hopefully, no one uninvited will ever venture this far.” He looks at Courtney, who seems in shock. “Hopefully, the threat of death by cave-ins, and toxic gas will keep most people out.” Rob laughs.
Courtney nods agreement.
"Come Inside, let me show you our humble mountain retreat." Rob steps across the threshold of the blast door and flips the lights on.
A rocky tunnel comes into view. Overhead LED lights hang every ten feet, illuminating the mine shaft. The tunnel is tall and wide. The floor is solid granite; roughhewn but flat. The air is cool. The walls are damp. A small gutter cut into the sides of the floor drains away the dripping water. Ten feet down the tunnel is an opening the size of a large bedroom cut into the left side of the mine. The room is brightly lit. A large wooden worktable sits in the center of the room. Gun lockers line the walls of the room.
“This room is the armory. If we ever need to defend ourselves, I've got guns, ammo, and a few surprises. Hopefully, we never need it, but you never know what will happen when people are desperate. You'll notice more rooms like this one along the mine shaft. Come along. The room on the right is for general storage, clothing, blankets, and sundries,” Rob explains as they walk through the tunnel, passing a carpentry workshop with a worktable, wheelbarrows, ladders, saws, and other tools.
The mine shaft curves sharply to the left before they enter a large room with a high ceiling. The room is a long, wide, rocky gallery. The ceiling is twenty-five-feet high, giving the space a dramatic ambiance. The granite ceiling and walls glisten in the bright lights. Thin veins of white quartz run the length of the room along the ceilings and walls.
“This is the main gallery. It’s a natural structure inside the mountain. Have a look around. I’m not the best at decorating, so I copied pictures of a model home.”
Courtney spins slowly around looking at the amazing room that features an expansive wood floor with large area rugs surrounded by groupings of modern couches and chairs. Ethan and Alyssa explore the room.
“Hey. There’s an entire wall covered with thin-screen,” shouts Ethan.
“We have a thousand movies and TV shows stored, ready for viewing,” added Rob.
“Mom, look! There’s a library filled with hundreds of books—actual books,” Alyssa cries.
“I love the dark wood shelves and the wooden ladder, too,” says Courtney.
Beyond the living room are two long dining tables with benches; each table large enough to seat a dozen or more people. Decorative chandeliers hang over the dining tables. Ethan stands in front of two large windows cut into the rock wall, parallel with the dining tables. “Whoa. We have windows. I thought we’re in a mine. I can see the bridge outside, and there’s the river. Hey? Isn’t it nighttime?”
“I designed these windows to make the place seem larger and to bring the outside in. Each window is a whopping thirteen feet wide by eight feet high. They aren’t real windows, but they look realistic, don’t they? Rest assured, we are in the mine. I have cameras mounted several places outside, and I have many stored live motion landscapes. The windows will help us feel like we’re someplace other than inside a mountain. If you don’t like the view of the canyon, we can change it. Watch this,” he explains.
The windows instantly display a live scene of the Oregon coast with waves crashing on a rocky shoreline. “There you go. You now live at the beach. The perspective gives you the perception of looking out the front window of a beach house.” Rob turns with his arms stretched wide. “This is the main gallery. What do you think? Do you like it?”
“Rob, this is amazing. It looks like a hotel suite. I admit it’s not what I expected to find inside a cave,” Courtney says, as she strolls through the gallery. “How did you ever get the money to– “
“Courtney, sweetie, if I’d told you and Rick what I was doing up here, you’d think I was crazy. So, I kept the project under wraps. You would have tried to stop me.”
“We certainly would have stopped you. You built a house in a cave, just in case a disaster struck? This is too much. How much did this cost?” asks Courtney.
“But it came in handy tonight didn’t it, Uncle Rob?” Ethan states, as he moves around the room testing the furniture.
“Yes, siree, mister. I built this place because I believed Earth at some point would suffer a major catastrophe. I didn’t know if it would happen in my lifetime or the children’s. I felt I needed to prepare a refuge. The asteroid impacts are horrible. At least we’re safe, and we will survive this,” Rob explains.
“I can totally live in here,” Alyssa says as she runs to a couch and plops down on the cushion.
“Well, you haven’t seen it all. Gather round my desk.” Rob directs them to the far end of the room where he has a control center with a large monitor mounted on the wall over a large desk. “From here we can check the status of various systems throughout the mine complex such as power generation, water filtration, irrigation, air conditioning, lighting, interior and exterior cameras.”
“Cool,” says Ethan.
“I’ll give you a quick overview of the hideaway layout. You’ll have plenty of time to explore things on your own. The hideaway is a fully self-contained, self-sustaining environment. That means it will take care of us as long as we take care of it. Watch the screen as I describe the features of our hideaway. Just past the main room is the galley. There is a fully furnished restaurant style kitchen with a pantry, food prep area, and a walk-in refrigerator. I got all this cheap at a restaurant supply bankruptcy sale,” Rob says cheerfully. “After the galley are the living quarters with nicely furnished rooms.” The thin screen displays an image of a bedroom.
“That looks cozy,” says Alyssa.
“There are several rooms like this along the main shaft. The goal was to develop an environment that allows up to fifteen people to live comfortably for several years.”
“Years! Did you say years?” Courtney asks.
“Prepare for the worst. Just in case dear,” Rob says, in a consoling tone. “The living quarters include personal hygiene areas with toilets, showers, sinks, and what not. We’ve got his and hers, but it’s somewhat communal. The showers and toilet stalls are private.”
“Well, if we have to stay here a while, at least we’ll be clean,” says Ethan.
“That will be an improvement for you,” Alyssa teases.
“Hey.” says Ethan.
“We equipped the hideaway with ample water storage, water filtration, recycling, and composting systems. Solid waste makes great fertilizer. Just wait and see.”
“Who is we, Rob? You and who else?” asks Courtney.
“What? We, oh...” Rob stammers.
“You couldn’t have done all this work by yourself. Who helped you build all this?”
“Oh, Martinez Construction. Very nice young men. Eddie and Rodrigo. They’re smart engineers and very handy. Couldn’t have done it without them. You’ll be meeting them soon. The deal was, if we ever need to use the hideaway, the Martinez brothers and their families will join us. I got a big discount on the work. Part of my negotiation. They are sworn to secrecy about the location and the capabilities we’ve developed here,” Rob explains.
“We have to share our cave house with people we don’t know?” Alyssa asks.
“Yes, dearie. Don’t worry. They’re very nice people. Rodrigo has a boy about your age. I think Eddie also has kids, so you’ll have playmates while we live here,” Rob says with a wink. “Look here on the map. There are stairs to the lower level, where the more interesting parts of our environment are located—.”
“Oh yeah. I saw it on the blueprints. We have a garden and a farm,” cries Ethan.
“That’s right, son. The garden and farm make use of other galleries like the main gallery. These are natural spaces in the mountain. Kind of like giant bubbles in the granite. Luckily, we didn’t have to excavate much to create the spaces. We installed special grow lights down there so we can to grow all sorts of fruit and veggies. We’ve got orange, apple, and lemon trees, and your typical garden veggies. We’ve got to work together, but we can grow enough food here to keep everyone well fed and nourished,” Rob instructs.
“Especially if we’re vegetarians,” says Alyssa.
“I am very impressed, Rob. It seems you’ve thought of everything,” Courtney says.
“Well, we aren’t finished. There are a few more things to tell you about before we unpack the truck and get moved in. The farm contains livestock pens and a chicken coop.” The screen displays an image of the farm in a rocky gallery with a low ceiling.
“A farm with a red barn and everything. Wow, Uncle Rob, this is cool,” says Ethan.
“Well, the barn is cheeky, but no harm no foul. You’ll be unloading the chickens, pigs, and lambs and putting them in their pens, young man. You said you wanted bacon and eggs.”
“So, we won’t be vegetarians?” asks Alyssa.
“You can if you want. I’ll eat eggs and bacon,” Ethan says, pushing his sister aside to get a better look at the farm.
“One last treat to show you. I call it the Atrium.” The thin screen displays images of a circular room with a low, narrow entry. The roof of the gallery is like a cathedral rising to a peaked ceiling at least sixty feet high. Lights around the perimeter of the floor point up to the ceiling, illuminating the room in a rainbow of colors. Embedded in the walls are wide ribbons of white quartz and veins of gold sparkling in the light. Soft peaceful music plays in the background. A bench sits at the center of the gallery.
“We stumbled on this gallery when we enlarged the opening to the farm. Good thing the miners never found this room. They would have mined the gold, destroying this masterpiece.” Courtney and the kids stand silently in awe of the room.
“It’s beautiful,” says Courtney.
“I love it,” says Alyssa.
“If we’re cooped up in this cave, this will be a nice spot to spend some private time. It’s beautiful, Rob,” says Courtney.
Ethan doesn’t grasp the concept of peace, solitude, or quiet time, so he tugs on Uncle Rob’s hand to get his attention. “The map shows a door at the end of the mine shaft. What’s that?”
“It’s a back door!” exclaims Alyssa.
“No, I bet it’s an escape hatch,” counters Ethan.
Rob stands, shaking his head.
Courtney puts a hand on Ethan’s shoulder and squeezes. “There is no back door or escape hatch. Is there, Rob? What is it?” Courtney asks cautiously.
Ethan, using his finger, traces the map of the hideaway, silently mouthing the words of the environmental systems, then pauses, turns his head and squints.
“Is this what it looks like when he’s thinking?” Rob asks.
“I’m not sure. We’ve never seen him think before,” replies Alyssa.
“It’s the power station,” the boy says enthusiastically.
“Right you are,” says Rob, surprised by Ethan’s guess.
Ethan looks like he’s thinking again. “But what type of fuel? We can’t store enough gas or diesel, besides the exhaust would kill us. We’re in a mine, solar is out. You said we can live here for years. So, what’s the power source?” Ethan asks.
“Quite a quandary. It was one of the biggest problems to solve. But, thanks to government budget cuts, I got my hands on this beauty.”
The screen displays a small room with a cylinder that is shorter and fatter than a typical water heater found in American homes. Attached to the cylinder is a large metal box. A shaft runs between the metal box and a generator. The generator has a thick cable running to a power inverter and junction box.
Everyone looks at the water heater contraption with confusion.
“What is it?” asks Alyssa.
“It looks like a big battery,” says Ethan.
“Well, it is like a battery of sorts. It generates heat, which moves fluid in that metal box. The moving fluid turns the generator and voila! Let there be light,” Rob explains.
Ethan examines the sophisticated yet simple contraption. “Ah. Is this what I think it is?” Ethan asks, with a puzzled look at Uncle Rob.
“It’s a simple process. A chemical reaction that creates heat, discovered over one hundred years ago, involving very hot salts. There are no moving parts in the module. It can generate more power than we will ever need for up to twenty years, based on our expected consumption levels.”
“What kind of salt exactly?” asks Ethan.
“Well, um, it’s a natural reaction,” Rob says, as he moves to whisper in Ethan’s ear. “It’s Uranium Hydride at a 10 percent level.” Rob pauses. “It’s self-contained, self-monitoring, factory-sealed, fully shielded, incredibly stable and safe.”
“Uranium,” Ethan says loudly.
“Uranium! Robert! You’re exposing my children to radiation!” Courtney screams, freaking out. Courtney grabs Alyssa and Ethan by the hand and moves rapidly through the main gallery toward the blast door.
Rob chases after them. “Sweetie, it’s incredibly safe. Maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned the uranium part.” Rob catches up with Courtney and the kids and stops them. “Courtney, relax. I’ve studied every reactor type.”
“It’s a nuclear reactor?” shouts Courtney, as she marches through the blast door, pulling the kids behind her.
“Honey, slow down. Let me explain. It’s not the kind of reactor used in old power plants. Universities have used this type of reactor for research and NASA has used them in spacecraft for decades, with no accidents.”
“I was beginning to relax. But, underground farms and nuclear reactors, preparing all this to live underground for who knows how long. I can’t! I won’t live like this!” Courtney sobs.
Alyssa comforts her mother. Courtney trembles. Rob stands in front of the girls with his hands on his hips.
“I know. It’s a lot to absorb. I think you are scaring the kids more than my nuclear reactor did.”
Courtney looks down at Alyssa. Alyssa looks up with wide eyes as she tightens her arms around her mother’s waist. Alyssa asks, “Are you gonna be OK, Mom?”
Ethan tries to soothe his mother’s fears. “Don’t worry, Mom. It’s like we’re in a nuclear submarine cruising under the seas. Nuclear submarines don’t blow up or meltdown or whatever do they, Uncle Rob?”
“No. Not that I know of.”
“See, it’s the same, except we’re cruising under a mountain in a mine shaft instead of underwater in a submarine. At least we can breathe and go outside if we need to,” Ethan rationalizes to help calm his mother.
“Courtney, I didn’t mean to shock you or the kids. The technology is stable. It cannot go supercritical or meltdown. It’s not possible. It’s a fully sealed, self-contained system and does not emit radiation. It’s safe to stand next to the device. If it wasn’t safe, do you think they would have built it for the Explorer Three manned space mission?”
“You mean Explorer two? I’ve never heard of Explorer Three,” says Courtney.
“Work on Explorer Three was almost complete when they canned the project. After Northrup canceled the project, they had spare parts lying around. I borrowed the power system.”
“Borrowed?” questions Ethan.
“Well, I checked it out for research. They weren’t going to use it, and it solved our power problem,” Rob explains.
“I don’t think you can check out nuclear power systems like library books, Robert,” says Courtney.
“Well, I did, and they haven’t come asking for it, so finders’ keepers!”
“See Mom. It’s just like living in a submarine,” Ethan says.
“With much better furniture and bigger beds!” exclaims Alyssa.
“But we need a periscope,” Ethan says.
“I’ll show you that later,” Uncle Rob says with a wink. “Let’s get moved in.”
