Februrary 18-19, 2025 Tecopa to Death Valley National Park, California

 79 and sunny. 

I hiked with Michael, James and the Judy's on the Shoshone to Tecopa leg of their B2B hike. Judy, James, Michael and Judy ahead of me on the way to Tecopa.

Lunch break and the view from lunch.

A couple of the different textures of the salt crust on the ground on our hike. It was an 8 1/2 mile hike. My body gave out at about 6 miles. They pulled ahead of me.

Cool textured salt crust and the Resting Springs Range.

They are now way ahead of me. It rained for the first time in months and below the salt crust was mud. It was harder walking. Mud hills outside of Tecopa. 

The 9 acre fire from last week near Tecopa. It burned the marsh that was the main wild life refuge for the endangered Amargosa vole. The Grimshaw lake marsh outside of Tecopa. The frogs sounded wonderful.

 

We stayed at the Tecopa Hot Springs resort and had dinner at Steak and Beer. One of the best steak houses we have ever been to. Michael, Susan, John, me, Judy, James and Judy. 

The Judy's taking off this morning. Only 72 more miles to Badwater! We are now parked at Sunset campground in Death Valley. 

Sunset tonight.

February 15-17, 2025 Shoshone, California

 High of 67, partly cloudy and windy.

I wrapped a couple of jewels. The top left one still needs to get patina. The long thin one is about 1 x by 1/4 inches. It was almost impossible to bevel and polish, it is so small it is hard to hold. I didn't think I could wrap anything that small, but it came out cute.  Sunset on the way back to Death Valley Junction this evening. 

We went back to the Amargosa hotel for the 57th anniversary of the opening of Marta Beckett's opera house. 

Judy first in line at the opera house. These were some of the performers from the the dance studio and the theater group from Pahrump. John asked them if they were stars and got all their autographs. 

 It took Marta 7 years to painted the inside of the opera house with an audience. 

James, Judy, Judy and John in our seats. It took Marta another two years to paint the ceiling. The 4 corners have the 4 winds. 

The performance was wonderful. Today I wore one of my new wrapped pendants.

Susan was asking me for directions and saw my pendant and ended up buying the small glass one she has on. John finished cutting back the monster mesquite bush from my sisters new house. There is still a pile of branches on the right, the dumpsters are full, so as soon as they are emptied they will take the rest. It will grow new branches and green up in the spring. 

Sunset. I finished this basket. It is made from muley grass, dyed pine needles, polyester thread, a hand painted Mexican tile and glass beads. It is 9 x 1 1/2 inches. 

Yet more wrapped jewels. John with a pile of lumber he cut. He is going to build a  bridge on the blue trail over the treacherous river crossing.

The drop to the river is about 8-10 feet John estimates and the sides are straight down and always wet and very slippery. You can see the slide marks from people who slipped in. The other side is even steeper. You have to grab the pole and pull yourself up to the roots to get up. The river is about 4 feet across, not that deep now, but you get your feet wet, even though people have put logs in to step on. 

Sunset tonight.

I went out to the car after dinner and the sunset was still going on with Venus bright in the sky.

February 12 -14, 2025 Shoshone, California

 High of 61 and partly cloudy.

We drove to Tecopa this afternoon. There was a fire last night where the cars are. We went to do a dump and visit the hot springs. 

View from the dump. This area was a wetland with a hot spring called the bore hole or the mud springs. They were drilling for minerals here and hit hot water and were unable to stop the water flow. Since then the wet lands developed, which are the main habitat  for the endangered Amargosa vole. The spring is very popular. The thought is that the fire started at the spring. 

The bore hole fire. Sunset south.

Sunset west. Rainy and in the 50's. We drove up to Death Valley  Junction to meet the Judy's at Amargosa Hotel where they were spending the night as part of their 170 mile backpack. Since it is in the middle of nowhere, there is no where to get dinner. So we catered.

Eagle Mountain in the rain. Amargosa Hotel. 

Amargosa Hotel is famous for the Opera house. Marta Beckett, a famous ballerina in her time, bought the old Borax 'town' and fixed it up. She  did a one woman show every night with ballet and opera. She made all the costumes and painted the backdrops. She starting in 1967 and performed well into her 80's. She performed whether there was a audience or not. She painted the inside of the old recreation hall with a with an audience, including the king and queen. She and the opera house became famous and in the end her shows were mostly sold out. We are coming back on Saturday for the 57th anniversary of the opera house and to watch a ballet on the opera house. Our room. Marta painted the head board and the 'statues' on the wall.  Not all the rooms have paintings, but the ones that do, all are different. 

I stretched my legs and walked to the Timbisha Shoshone campground. Part of their reservation is a small lot near the hotel. There is a dispensary on it and this new campground. For $35 you get a gravel pull through site with a picnic table and fire ring, plus a pit toilet, right off the highway. Firewood $15. No hook ups or water. We had our dinner in the dining room of the Inn. There are murals on the walls. 

The Judy's heading out in the morning. The hotel and opera house are run as a non profit. Sadly since Marta passed away the property has become very run down. It's too bad, since the place is a historical landmark. 

Evidence of the rain in Shoshone. The city hauled away about half of the branches that John cut off the giant bush. Filled one dumpster, with just as many on the ground next to it.

The city hauled away about half of the branches that John cut off the giant bush. Filled one dumpster, with just as many on the ground next to it. A nice new sign with the hiking trails in Shoshone. 

Sunset.