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6 April 2022: Visited the Witchita Mountain National Wildlife Refuge in the morning to see the buffalo and prairie dogs — and even saw a coyote running across a distant field. Didn’t stay very long but felt like it was a good stop. Then back on the road crossing the rest of Oklahoma, but this time going a different way, along a more southern route into Arkansas …
5 April 2022: Made it to Texas and the usual pilgrimage to Cadillac Ranch, then lunch at the Big Texan and back on the road, with just a very short photo stop at the Charles Goodnight homestead site to photograph a pile of cow skulls. Caught the sunset somewhere along the way and ended the day at Lawton Oklahoma …
4 April 2022: Decided to make the journey home a continuation of the exploration and make stops along the way at key locations. The first of these was the archeological sites at Homolovi State Park in Arizona where I had a chance to explore some pueblo ruins where there are many many pottery shards. The next stop for the day was in New Mexico at El Malpais National Monument where I went looking for La Ventana, an interesting arch then took a short walk out on the Sandstone Bluffs before continuing my journey …
3 April 2022: Broke camp in the morning and started the long road towards home, still undecided about the route I would take, but knowing I needed to head east. I decided to leave the Park on the southern route and maybe I would see a coyote. Of course, I didn’t see any animals, but I did stop at the Ashford Mill ruin for some solitude and photos. From there I continued to Shoshone, and after a quick lunch stop at the cafe there, got back on the road making it as far as Winslow AZ before stopping for the night.…
2 April 2022: My final run for the DVE event this year was The Racetrack, and I had a small group who were all friends and really didn’t need much “guidance” from me — though I did my best to still give them as much of the narrative as was appropriate while doing my best not to “chatter” too much on the radio, so they could talk among themselves. We did chat a bit more together on the lunch stop when I filled in some gaps in knowledge about the mining history and answered questions. Back at the Ubehebe Crater at the end of the run we all split ways and my 2022 DVE work was done…
1 April 2022: Echo Canyon is one of my favorite trails here in Death Valley, and I particularly like the way we have the route set up for this event because instead of doing the “out and back” version of the trail we continue the route through the “waterfall” obstacle and then across the open desert and on to Beatty. It is a perfect combination of scenic wheeling, mining artifacts, a challenging obstacle, and then a fun faster drive across the sand. I had a good and capable group and the day was fun…
THIS MONTH:
Trail Guiding for the California 4-Wheel Drive Association’s second annual Death Valley Experience fundraiser event running March 30-April 2, 2022. Each day will feature a choice of runs to some famous, some infamous and some secretive points of interest within Death Valley National Park. The runs will depart from Furnace Creek and from Stovepipe Wells. Some of the points of interest we will visit during Death Valley Experience 2022 include Zabriskie Point (famous), Barker Ranch (infamous) and the Racetrack (learn the secret of the moving rocks). Other points of interest include Dante’s View, 20 Mule Team Canyon, Artists’ Drive, Chloride Cliffs, Aguereberry Point, Skidoo, Titus Canyon, and Darwin Falls. All of the trail runs are suitable for novice drivers and SUVs with high clearance and 4-wheel drive…
COMING UP SOON:
USnomads.org is very proud to be presenting a brand new kind of rally experience for 2022 — the Nomad Overland Virtual Adventure Rally a ten week event that participants can do from anywhere within the continental U.S.A. Competitors design their own routes as part of the rally, then drive it in a points-based online competition that includes optional activity tasks, quests and weekly challenges. The rally will run from 6 June – 14 August and is open to any driver within the United States who has an off-road capable vehicle — stock or modified. Registration is now open and continues until 31 March or until the event is full, whichever comes first. For more information see the Rally website or Register Now …
ABOUT EL MALPAIS
The El Malpais National Monument is a land of volcanic wonders, covering a large section of west-central New Mexico. This wilderness area includes huge cinder cones, jagged lava fields, miles of underground lava tubes and year-round ice caves. While this relatively new landscape was created from lava flows about 2000 to 3000 years ago, the Sandstone Bluffs region is a remnant of an ancient sand dune. Sandstone Bluffs offers one of the few overlooks within all of El Malpais National Monument. Every direction offers a different view with a different feature to observe. Below the bluffs are the lava flows of El Malpais. To the north is a dramatic view of Mount Taylor. The Bluffs feature unmarked hiking trails which follow the edge of a sandstone ridge for miles. During exploration of the bluffs, hikers may encounter potholes in the sandstone, called tinajas. When filled with rainwater, these tiny pools provide a mini ecosystem for fairy shrimp, tadpole shrimp, water insects and spadefoot toad tadpoles. Providing a miniature oasis in a dry climate, all types of area wildlife stop to quench their thirst at these pothole sites. Just a few miles from the overlook, etched into the area’s high sandstone cliffs is La Ventana Arch. One of New Mexico’s largest natural arches, La Ventana Natural Arch, is located just off Route 117 about 12 miles south of Grants NM. Wind and water eroded away the softer parts of the sandstone cliff, leaving behind a spectacular arch tucked away in a small canyon. Although the arch area is surrounded by extensive black lava fields, the arch itself is composed of Zuni sandstone. Compressed sand dunes were eventually hardened enough to become a soft rock, easily eroded by wind, water and frost wedging. Deep cracks found in the rock allow water to penetrate. When water expands by freezing temperatures, rock fragments are forced out. Constant freeze and thaw cycles eventually form an opening in the arch face. The talus slope below the arch reminds us that the size of the arch window will continue to grow as it weathers, and some day in the distant future it will return to being sand. The arch is not technically a part of El Malpais National Monument (it is managed by the Bureau of Land Management as part of El Malpais National Conservation Area surrounding El Malpais National Monument). Thanks to the rugged lava landscape, there are no roads through El Malpais. Two paved state highways – NM 117 & NM 53 – follow the eastern and northwestern borders of the monument, and a rugged dirt road – County Road 42 – crosses the southern boundary. County Road 42 is also known as the “Chain of Craters Backcountry Byway.” This road travels along the western boundary of the park in the National Conservation Area. The byway’s name comes from a visible line of cinder cones volcanoes along the drive. This road provides access to the Big Tubes area and a segment of the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail from both the north and south. It is lightly maintained road and can become impassable after heavy rain or snow. A four-wheel drive, high-clearance vehicle is recommended if using this route…
MORE NOTES FROM THE ROAD:
27-31 March – Death Valley- DVE
21-26 March – LON Skills Camp
15-20 March – Death Valley
8-14 March – Nevada
1-7 March – Glamis Training
16-28 February – Roadtrip Southwest
1-15 February – Long Island
8-31 January – Long Island
1-7 January – Florida to NY
28-31 December – Okefenokee NWR
24-27 December – Ocala National Forest
19-23 December – Heading South
10-18 December – Long Island
1-9 December – Paris
16-30 November – Paris
1-15 November – Roadtrip East
25-31 October – Roadtrip East
17-24 October – LON Top Ten
7-16 October – Rebelle Rally
1-6 October – Rebelle Training
24-30 September – Rebelle Training
16-23 September – Roadtrip West
1-15 September – CT Training
August – Paris
July – LI & CT
June – LI & VA
16-31 May – Long Island
8-15 May – Return to NY
1-7 May – Southeast Utah
23-30 April – LON Bogi’s & 5+
16-22 April – LON Navigation
8-15 April – Sedona
1-7 April – Nevada
Archive
SPECIAL REPORT
All about exploring ghost towns and abandoned places in the USA and beyond, with tips, and information on the many different types of sites to be found across the globe, including detailed guides for eight specific sites… [read]
REFLECTIONS
EGYPT: CAIRO REFLECTIONS
A quick overview of impressions from a stop in Cairo during our recent scouting mission in Egypt and Sudan … [read]
SPECIAL REPORT
A look into south-eastern Algeria on the border with Libya and Niger: overlanding with the Tuareg in one of the most remote corners of the Sahara … [read]
