20 Mule Team Museum — Attraction in California

It's interesting history of Boron where it's located is on a street named " 20 Mule Team Road" referring to the 20 team of mules that used the path the street is on to haul Borax in wagons in solid wooden crates. The museum is free! However, there is a donation box. The first room as you enter is a visitors book to sign in. That area is also the gift shop where one could purchase a helmet with a working light fir a child for 19.00 I did not include tax with that price. There are rocks fir sale- they are from the area and have names such as Boron, TV rock etc. Some of them really unique and are in the periodic table. Post cards for .50 cents a piece, T shirts which I did not price, a book explaining the mining with pictures for 2.99!! Jewelry and many more. On to the other rooms I learnt that Pyrex could be put into ovens and not break because it secures the glass and they purchase the Boron from the Boron Mines. There is so much to learn here and the people are all volunteers! There is also a pedestal with a book documenting the making of the movie Erin Brokervich in Boron and the movie poster and a picture of the actual person. Also of Ronald Regan and I cannot remember why There is also the history of when they began with the wind turbine farm and the solar panel farm. So much more. Outside is great seating in their outdoor theatre and other artifacts which I did not explore well to write about. Next door is the Aerospace museum which has several types of historic planes permanently outside. Ever so often you would hear sonic booms and its normal as the air force is testing their various ....

Opposite is the museum cafe. I could not find anything to eat there as they use flour in everything and their french fries are frozen and not made from scratch.they make their own tortillas.but a the restaurants there do that also. The best place to go to eat as the cook from scratch is lola"s Diner. It has free parking, they use real potatoes the cut themselves and fry it separate and do not put any flour in it. Their tacos are made there with corn flour their poblano peppers stuffed with cheese I requested no our and the put eggs to hug that tasty poblano. Or it was yummy. The cost for 2 of those that comes with shredded crispy lettuce, tomatoes and sour cream. A side if those french fries, some tacos and green sauce with a cranberry juice was 13. And some change. The 20 % tip came to 2.75 The place is clean, neat looks new as Patricia the 60yr old mother and grandmother rents the space. I could go on and on about how lovely the service is here. The do serve hamburgers here. But I am a pesco ovo vegetarian who has celiac disease. Enjoy your visit and friend me on Facebook Maria Teijmul. I am visiting a friend in Boron I live in ...

We were on our way to the Saxon Aerospace Museum (next door) and we arrived right at opening time. As luck would have it the place was locked. No one around. Well as places like this are usually, especially in the smaller town, like Boron, staffed by volunteers, we weren’t too surprised. A few minutes later a pickup with two guys pulls up and they wave one finger indicating, I think, that it will just be few minutes. Well they park their truck and tell us that the person who is opening the museum today, was having breakfast and they pointed at the restaurant across the street. No problem I say. So I wander next door to the 20 Mule Team Museum. Now this place I have driven by for many years, and not stopped as the grounds look pretty sad, A bunch of ferric oxide disguised as mining equipment. So I go into the museum, which is also the chamber of commerce of Boron, and sign the guest book and start looking around. Seemed a bit small and then I was greeted by the staff member and told about the back room, which she lit up and and museum begins to take shape. There are several back rooms with models, displays, and photographs of the 20 Mule Team Experience. There is a viewing area for a movie about the mules and how they were used in the transport of the borax and mining effect. The movie is informative and told me more about mules than I ever thought I would need to know. The collection of history is a nice stop to break the trip, be it Vegas, Phoenix or beyond. I enjoy the work volunteers put into preserving history that would otherwise just fade to dust in the desert.. Oh Yes! Free. So help support it...

A nice museum. Well kept and inviting with many interesting exhibits. The museum is in an old "Foremans" home that has been expanded to hold all the antiquity. There's also a large yard full of outdoor exhibit items. I went hopeing to see the too scale replica Borax Wagon but once there I was informed it's actually over at the Visitor Center for the mine itself. So no Engles Coach work but a very fine miniature replica.

Admission was free. Parking was directly in front on the street. The Gentleman that was working was kind and informative. Photography was allowed although I didn't take but a couple images being that I've seen much of the eye candy many times before. But there is a lot to see and it's well worth stopping by to support our common history of...