Edwards AFB is in California but mostly it's sort of "nowhere." There's nothing nearby, it's a long drive from anywhere you can even park a car, much less rent a room, and the usual heat and dust make it unsuitable for habitation by even hardy camels. (Besides it's "stony desert" and the pebbles hurt the camels' feet.)
The description at the website of the "long lines" to get onto the base are probably accurate, but I'd guess the lines didn't reach "civilization" of any indentifiable kind at the longest tail end.