Spring Mtn. NRA, Toiyabe National Forrest

6,200 ft. elevation. The white triangular area left of center in the distance is the Mercury Site in the Cactus Range. Also in the same general area are the Yucca Mtn. Repository, the Nevada Test Site, Indian Springs and Nellis Air Force Bases.

Roads galore - many more than we had imagined - and views that go forever. The winds had picked up and taking photos from inside was a nice option.

Photos never seem to show the steepness of the climbs but this one was particularly steep.

Hedgehog cactus

Juniper berries

Cholla

Ephedra (Mormon Tea)

Chloride City and Chloride Cliffs

Sunshine is what brings us west each winter. Bragging about the near constant sunshine is what I do best. In the almost three weeks we've been here this winter there have been two and a half days of cloudiness! Sunday was one of those days. We headed out to Chloride City and the nearby Chloride Cliffs area. This was at one time an active mining region. Except prospect holes, tailings, rusting bedsprings, bean and tobacco cans not much evidence remains. We did have a phenomenal view into Death Valley. It took five pictures to capture the entire expanse. Kathie Taylor a friend and contractor (and computer guru) here at the refuge stitched together the five for our viewing pleasure. Thanks, Kathie!

Clouds in Death Valley are an occasion and complete cloud cover a real rarity. Had there been an unobscured view we would have seen Mt. Whitney. Badwater in Death Valley at 282 feet below sea level and Mt Whitney at 14, 4505 feet are the lowest and highest elevations in the contiguous United States and yet are only 100 miles apart.

The Racetrack and Grandstand

Last week we linked up with the Jeep Junkies, a local Jeep club. In conversation Vic mentioned that he was taking me to the Racetrack and Grandstand in Death Valley on Sat. A few members expressed an interest and, next thing we knew, Vic was the lead driver of a group of five Jeeps.

We began the off-road portion of our journey at the Ubehebe Crater parking area.

The first stop to take photos and stretch our legs was at Teakettle Junction which was 21 miles from the crater and just 6 miles short of our destination.

The Grandstand is a rocky outcropping, an island in the middle of the north end of the Racetrack. The Racetrack itself is a playa 3 miles long by 2 miles wide which is a dry lakebed. The lake dried as the climate changed 10,000 years ago and became beige-colored mud. The National Park Service believes the mud, a very fine clay, to be at least 1,000 feet deep. When wet it is an extremely slick surface.

The Grandstand and playa, still a few miles away, as we approach.

The surface.......

From low on the Grandstand.....

Rocks from the Grandstand and the surrounding mountains occasionally fall and roll onto this playa. Although no one has ever witnessed it, the rocks move and leave amazing trails. Scientists have come to the conclusion that this is caused by the rare combination of 1/2" or more of rainfall and winds of at least 50 mph. In a place where 2" of rainfall is the annual maximum, it truly is a rare occurence. Many of these tracks change direction. The dog (not ours) is Jeep who, with Vic, is trying to sniff out the mystery.

We walked out to the Grandstand before driving to the south end of the playa where most of the rocks with trails were to be found. We took lots of photos, oohed and aahed in amazement and ate a picnic lunch before heading further south to the Lippincott Grade. This descends 1800 ft in a short distance and makes for a breathtaking experience - lots of switchbacks and beautiful views. Unfortunately I was able to get only one photo - of 2 Jeeps following us - as it was getting late. The drivers wanted to be out before dark. We barely made it back to Ubehebe, a total of 97 miles off-road, before complete darkness set in. A perfect day.

And a Joshua Tree on the return.

All pix can be expanded by double-clicking.

Nevada at last......

The trip west this year has been intense, heartbreaking and emotional, not to be repeated. Departure day came two days later than planned. Five hours into the drive we got a call from John. Charles, our 18 yr. old grandson in Texas, had died the night before. The next 3+ days were spent enroute to be with family there and to attend his memorial service. To say it has been a rough time for everyone is an understatement. Now we are at Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge where we will spend the next 4-5 months as volunteer (me) and employee (Vic). The Jeep made the trip safely also and we've been out off-roading a few times already. The above photo is the beginning of our trail for that day, Thanksgiving. High solid clouds - unheard of in this part of the world. Photo #2 - an historic mine in the mountains. Photo #3 is halfway into the 30 mile trip - a 4 ft dry waterfall area. This stood my hair on end as I had to 'spot' for Vic. It looks like I will getting more of this type of experience. What fabulous scenery! This is what it's all about...... Photo #4 is "The Eye of the Needle", a natural formation in Death Valley National Park - near the end of the trail for the day. And photo #5 is a wonderful cave we found on Day #2 in Cottonwood Canyon - also Death Valley NP. These canyons aren't good places to be found on a day that threatens rain. The cave was formed by the flood waters cascading through the canyon. The photo at top is the view from inside the cave looking out.

We've learned of a club, the Jeep Junkies, based out of Pahrump that is holding it's monthly meeting tomorrow night. They have off-road outings almost every weekend. If we join, it will make for a fun way to explore places that it's wise not to go alone. What a fabulous country this is!

One more day before.......

Another day before departure. The auto hauler has been delayed and now we won't hit the road until Sat. morning. With an extra day and everything ready to go there is time to post an "after" shot of the new toy.

Ancient history

These photos are from last year. The rocks are part of an ancient geoglyph. A geoglyph is a drawing made on the land with stones or other natural materials. They often are so large they can only be viewed from the air. No one knows what this one indicated. It is simply a straight line over slightly rolling terrain and is about 1/4 mile in length. The largest known in the world is in Australia, is a figure of a man and is over 2 1/2 miles in length - pretty amazing.

Here is the new toy prior to build-up. I think we're going to have a really great time.

October 14,2008

Blogging is something new to me but it might be a fun way to share what we are up to this winter. Right now departure is planned for Nov 14th when we head back to Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge in NV. The refuge is nearly 2 hours from Las Vegas, only 6 miles from the CA border and about a half hour from Furnace Creek Visitor Center in Death Valley National Park. Vic has a new toy that we will ship west this year - a Jeep Rubicon that he is building up for some serious off-roading. We hope to spend a lot of time in really remote places and see country otherwise not accessible. There are so very many places we've wanted explore but have been unable without a high clearance 4-wheel drive vehicle. Who said we had to grow up?