“Never underestimate the power of 80 mph winds,” Jim Cullen told us on the first visit to the Desert Star Ranch (More fun than should be allowed!), co-owned with his brother Jeff.
Although all boards had been primed on six sides, attached by hundreds of screws and reinforced by new stringers, the
Big Ron Paul
Billboards have nonetheless taken a beating over the last four years. The hillside overlooking the I-15 between Las Vegas and Los Angeles now promotes the “ON PAUL EVOLUTION” (which may be a better slogan!) and “BON PEIL RETIRE THE AWARE” (think about it).
But, thanks to a group of Las Vegas fanatics, the big billboards will get a 2012 upgrade.
A Quarter Century Fuse
In 1986, Mark Carducci started med school. As a former trader on the board of trade he had read the books and done the math: the economy of the United States, courtesy of an unaccountable Federal Reserve Bank, was on an unsustainable course. Surveying the political scene, Carducci was drawn to a Texas OB/GYN who was vying for the presidency of the United States " Dr. Ron Paul.
“I'd fallen in love with all his things,” Carducci said. However, 25 years later, in his zeal to support the 2012 candidacy of the same Ron Paul, Carducci has run upon a substance no love can overcome: the sands of the Mojave desert.
Getting There is Half the Battle
The trail from the former Stuckey's (which now sports a convenience store, bar and restaurant) is neither interesting nor remarkable. Any vehicle wandering a foot off either side, though, quickly finds itself buried in the fine sand beneath the brittle desert crust. Getting to the ancient, creosote soaked poles is just one of a million logistical concerns at the sites, which are a quarter mile from the trail.
Although “they” say tracks in the desert take 100 years to “heal,” the trails we cut to the billboards are all but unrecognizable four years later. Scouring winds and vegetation have obscured the tracks which only lizards and sidewinders have traversed lately.
Four wheel drive is helpful but not sufficient to get to the signs, as the '07 crew, who watched Ernie Hancock bury a man lift in the sand, will attest. Carducci (who pushes all credit toward Matt Kingsley and Jimmy Barber) and his brother have contracted with a professional sign company that is also supposedly having troubles getting heavy equipment to the worksite.
The signs are printed on new vinyl and ready for installation as soon as the backing boards can be repaired. The signs will be fitted with a solar panel and lights for night illumination.
The group has also put up billboards along the Las Vegas 215 beltway, I-40 in Tucson, and I-90 in Montana.
Donations to the big billboards (no matter how big or small, all are appreciated) can be made to:
Desert Star Ranch
C/O Jim Cullen
45307 Afton Road hcr-2
Baker, California 92309
