Today marks the second unfortunate experience I've had with that nut at Bowen Ranch. I will never go that route again, and I certainly will not not pay him to be rude to me. Instead, having done some research, I found this route from LA, that I will do in the future, and no dirt roads. Free parking. No rude nut job to harass you at the gate.
http://studentreader.com/deep-creek-hot-springs/
enjoy!
The site says that this route is closed from the north, and cannot be accessed from Highway 15, fyi, anyone coming from the north.