"I saw a mansion in the desert"

(After a trek through the Mohave Desert
From home into L.A., December 28, 2009).

I saw a mansion in the desert
With glossy paint and picket fence.
Lamp posts lined the dirt path,
Large plastic creatures strewn
Among a few nude white statues,
As I drove down Highway 395.

A couple miles back I passed
A rusted old car, heap of scraps,
Long ago forgotten beside
The boarded up gold mine--
Once valuable treasure trove,
Now an abandoned hollow.

AUTO PARTS is painted
On a few old wooden planks
Nailed on a crumbling garage.
Hard to tell if it's still open
Or if no one really cared
To pull 'em down before they left.

Well, it looks like one still lives
In this lone desert mansion.
The land must 'a been a good deal--
Not much competition for this plot.
Think it was a young girl or an old fella
Paid this time, seekin' to fulfill the dream?

I wonder how long 'til this soul
Grown weary of barren heat and sand
Flees without glancing back,
Leaving another old roof to rot,
Another stack of boards to break up
Vast stretches of dirt, rock, an' weed.