Little Lake Hotel/Bar

By kiki

In the 1960s, 70s, and '80s, on our multiple yearly treks up Highway 395, we had a "must-stop" place. It was the bar at the Little Lake Hotel. It was where we would stop to down a few cold ones and sometimes meet with others, making the trek with us on the famed highway to God's Country, "The High Sierra."

One time, we stopped at the Little Lake Hotel/Bar to meet other guys on the camping trip with us, shoot some pool, and drink a few cold ones. Little Lake Hotel/Bar, in the middle of the Mojave Desert, was where you could meet all kinds of desert rats living out their dreams of one more gold strike. But unfortunately, the hotel has since burned down. So the bar, usually a busy one, was empty that warm 1960s summer night, and as we walked in, Ernie, one of the guys with us, noticed an old piano in a corner and asked the barmaid if he could play a few bars.

"Go ahead; it hasn't been played in years," the barmaid replied

Now, Ernie can play a mean Boogie Woogie, and after clearing off a few cobwebs, he played a few bars of "Buick 59" those few bars soon had people coming out of the woodwork, all desert rats of both genders. 

After Ernie had played some tunes and downed some cold ones, we decided to get back on the road, but the desert rats had other ideas; they wanted Ernie to continue hitting the ivories. 

Ernie was happy to oblige as long as they kept piling up the beers on top of the piano, which we would grab as soon as they were set up.

Before we knew it, the 2:00AM closing time was upon us, but with locked doors, we'd continued to party into the wee hours of the morning. We finally returned to the campers just as the sun was rising over the horizon. Needless to say, we slept till early afternoon before we got back on the highway…That camping trip was unforgettable and memorable in our travels up that famed highway, "395."