Back to Death Valley

Again, to battle boredom, we headed back to Death Valley. Last time we only skirted the edge of the Park. Despite finding some new gems, we didn’t really make it into the interior of the Park. This time we decided that we would drive through the length of the main road that hits the vast majority of the attractions.

We drove through Badwater Basin, the lowest spot in the US at 279 feet below sea level. As we approached the Basin, the thermometer in the Equinox registered at 115 degrees, which really put Vegas to shame. As we entered the parking lot to think about venturing out into the basin for a short walk, I saw the thermometer briefly register 116, so we took a pass and just continued on.

We headed to Furnace Creek, the site of the historic resort and golf course to see what might be going on. Sadly, the Resort was closed, as was the golf course. In fact, the only fuel station within the Park was closed as well. There wasn’t much action going on at all, except a car every now and then. Even though not as low as Badwater Basin, 190 feet below sea level is still enough to decide to shut everything down.

On our way back we headed through Pahrump again. The skies had begun to cloud up and they even got a little dark – yippee! By the time we got to Henderson it was full blown monsoon conditions out. It didn’t rain very hard, but it did rain enough to get the sidewalks and roads wet. What fun!

We hope to be talking to you soon.

Nuther Corona break - did good this time

Back in the days when we had a trailer rather than a motorhome, we visited Big Bear Lake in California. We had such fond memories of the resort, the lake and the area that we decided to check into whether we could visit for a few days during the week. We were able to get a site right on the lake, and learned that weather at 8,000 feet was wonderful! We needed jackets when we walked along the water around diner time!

On the way there we visited Seven Magic Mountains. We had seen it in the distance from I-15 on the way to California many times, but never stopped. In 2016 the Nevada Museum of Art engaged Swiss born mixed-media artist to develop this large-scale land art sculpture. It is one of the largest land-based art installations created in the US in the last 40 years. This site was chosen near legendary Jean Dry Lake, where predecessor Swiss artist Jean Tinquely and California born Michael Heizer created significant sculptures.

The Woman had determined that the Pacific Crest Trail ran just under 40 miles through the Big Bear Valley. It didn’t take too much work to figure out where the PCT crossed roads in many nearby areas. So, each day we set out part of the day for some day hiking on the PCT. All in all, we maybe clicked off another 5 miles or so in this stretch.

Of course, the Woman was in her happy place anytime that we were clicking off some mileage on the PCT. We managed to locate 4 places where the PCT crossed roads – one was on Highway 38, a significant main highway through the valley. The other 3 were on unpaved forest service roads, but they were navigable enough for us to be able to get there. The Woman wanted to steal this license plate, but I talked here out of it.

We roamed around the Big Bear Ski Resort. We never skied here. In fact, we had never even been here in the winter time to see what it looks like all covered with snow. Although it is more convenient, most Californians continue on to Mammoth Mountain where the skiing and boarding are real mountain quality.

This ended up being a great break from the Vegas July heat wave. In addition, we were able to easily socially distance. There weren’t many folks on the trails we chose, and very few folk roaming around in the RV Resort. We felt it was a great location to dodge both the heat and the Covid.

We hope to be talking to you soon.

More Covid boredom break

To break the boredom on another day, we headed to Death Valley via Tecopa Road, which at the California border, turns into the Old Spanish Trail Highway. We had never been to Tecopa California before, and didn’t know if its post-apocalyptic appearance was due to the pandemic or it just being off season. We got the distinct impression that this may be a snowbird haven in the winter, having an abundance of RV hookups in several large parks in town. While a bit decrepit looking, there was also a number of hot springs soaking facilities in town, which we didn’t even try to figure out if they were open or not.

Outside Tecopa we found the China Ranch. Apparently pre-Civil War time, this was a mining area, and Chinese man got his hands on a ranch property in a crevassed wash that had natural spring water. While he mined and ranched the land, it was eventually abandoned as the water supply weakened. Today the current owners have planted date palms and run a tourist facility selling date products and other gifts. Again, we took a pass on either the gift shop or the small museum.

We made a big loop through Tecopa to the eastern most edge of Death Valley National Park. We were pleased to spot the old Amargosa Opera House in Death Valley Junction. In our early days in Vegas we would visit the Opera House to see Marta Becket do her wonderful and bizarre ballet presentations. Born in 1924 in New York City, she performed on Broadway and in the Radio City Music Hall, eventually touring the US doing a one-woman show. Because of a flat tire, she and her husband discovered the old Amargosa Opera House, built in the company town by the nearby Borax mine, and performed there nightly for over 4 decades.

Making our way back home through Pahrump, we decided not to see how business was at the local Nye County brothels. We assumed that despite the pandemic, that business would be brisk at the Chicken Ranch and at Shery’s. However, we wondered how the ladies could even do their jobs while wearing masks as required by Nevada’s Governor. We did manage to spot some wildlife while in Death Valley that made the very long drive worthwhile.

We hope to be talking to you soon.