< more recent | 15-21 March 2023 | older >
21 March 2023: Arrived to Death Valley and the wind was so strong it destroyed the registration tents that were set up for the Death Valley Experience event. We were literally all holding them down to prevent everything from blowing off into the desert. There had been more snow and the distant mountains had a white crown, which while beautiful, was not a good omen for the Goldpoint route that already had snow blocking it just a week or so ago…
20 March 2023: Took some time to stop in Nevada and visit Grapevine Canyon and Christmas Tree Pass, a favorite route when in that area. Making a brief visit to the petroglyphs and then just enjoying some solitude in the desert on the edge of the Spirit Mountain wilderness is always energizing …
19 March 2023: Fun day sharing the trail with good friends out in the Tonto Basin area. The impact of the recent wet weather continued to force us to adapt our plans, but with a few small alterations we were still able to check out the trails we had planned on. It was remarkable to see this part of Arizona looking so green. And then there were the cows on the trail, lol…
18 March 2023: Went from Bulldog Canyon down to Superior to check out some unfamiliar trails, but had to adapt the plan to account for flooding and washed out trails in some places. The heavy rains have added an element of “surprise” to navigating what are normally easy to follow routes…
17 March 2023: Left Sedona and set up camp for a few days in the Bulldog Canyon OHV area of the Tonto National Forest. The sun was back out and Arizona was “Arizona-like” once again. Though all the rain had made areas that were usually dry and parched look lush and green…
16 March 2023: With the skies clearing a bit, it was a nice day to just enjoy some scenic driving and short walks in some of the beautiful Red Rock areas around Sedona …
15 March 2023: The rain has mostly stopped but it is still overcast and there is still a lot of flooding and fast moving water in places that are usually dry. Someone put up an ironic addition under the Dry Beaver Creek sign — but the warning is real. These washes can be dangerous to cross when the water is flowing, so definitely a “turn around, don’t drown” scenario …
THIS MONTH:
Roadtrip time again. Heading southwest and into the desert for some new exploration as well as a few of our favorite events. Lots of details still to be determined, but we’re on our way…
Joining the Barlow Adventures crew at the Imperial Sand Dunes in southern California to document the training process for a seven-day driving and navigation program focused on moving safely and effectively through the desert…
Trail Guiding for the California 4-Wheel Drive Association’s second annual Death Valley Experience fundraiser event running March 22-25, 2023. 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 2023 include Zabriskie Point (famous) and Barker Ranch (infamous) as well as Dante’s View, 20 Mule Team Canyon, Artists’ Drive, Chloride Cliffs, Aguereberry Point, Skidoo 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 the second edition of the Nomad Overland Virtual Adventure Rally in 2023. This is a new kind of rally experience — 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 2023 rally will run from 5 June – 13 August and is open to any driver within the United States who has an off-road capable vehicle — stock or modified. Registration for 2023 is open now. For more information see the Rally website …
DEATH VALLEY
Steady drought and record summer heat make Death Valley a land of extremes. Yet, each extreme has a striking contrast. Towering peaks are frosted with winter snow. Rare rainstorms bring vast fields of wildflowers. Lush oases harbor tiny fish and refuge for wildlife and humans. Despite its morbid name, a great diversity of life survives in Death Valley. Death Valley in the northern Mojave Desert, bordering the Great Basin Desert,t is one of the hottest places on Earth. Death Valley’s Badwater Basin is the point of lowest elevation in North America, at 282 feet below sea level, and it is 84.6 miles east-southeast of Mount Whitney, the highest point in the contiguous United States. On the afternoon of July 10, 1913, the United States Weather Bureau recorded a high temperature of 134 °F at Furnace Creek in Death Valley, which stands as the highest ambient air temperature ever recorded at the surface of the Earth. Death Valley runs from north to south between the Amargosa Range on the east and the Panamint Range on the west; the Grapevine Mountains and the Owlshead Mountains form its northern and southern boundaries, respectively. Death Valley is technically a “graben”-—a downdropped block of land between two mountain ranges. The valley is extremely dry, because it lies in the rain shadow of four major mountain ranges (including the Sierra Nevada and Panamint Range). Moisture moving inland from the Pacific Ocean must pass eastward over the mountains to reach Death Valley; as air masses are forced upward by each range, they cool and moisture condenses, to fall as rain or snow on the western slopes. When the air masses reach Death Valley, most of the moisture has already been lost and there is little left to fall as precipitation. …
GRAPEVINE CANYON
Grapevine Canyon, known for its remarkable petroglyphs, is located in the Spirit Mountain Wilderness within Lake Mead National Recreation Area, near Laughlin, Nevada, along the route known as Christmas Tree Pass. Spirit Mountain, also known as Avikwame by some tribes, is an impressive white granite peak topping out at 5,963 feet that is sacred to tribes of the lower Colorado River as a spiritual birthplace. Grapevine Canyon features over 700 petroglyphs and many rock shelters. While the petroglyphs extend through the canyon, a significant concentration lies at the entrance to the canyon which is at an elevation of 2,395 feet. The petroglyphs cover both sides of the granite bedrock “portals” extending all the way up and even below the current sand level. The rock art was created between 1100 and 1900 AD and reflects the cultural significance of the surrounding mountains, still considered sacred by several Southwest tribes. Both the exact meaning of the glyphs and who their creators were remains unclear although the area was inhabited by the Mojave. The etchings range in style from geometric patterns to anthromorphic depictions with one of the most famous panels depicting a group of six bighorn sheep. Some speculate that the canyon may have served as a ritual location and for summer solstice observations by the Mohave people…
MORE NOTES FROM THE ROAD:
8-14 March – Joshua Tree
1-7 March – Glamis
20-28 February – Southwest Roadtrip
1-19 February – Woman and Machine
January – Woman and Machine
22-31 December – Holiday Roadtrip
16-21 December – Holiday Roadtrip
1-15 December – Long Island
November – Long Island
22-31 October – Roadtrip East
15-21 October – Moab LONCON
8-14 October – Moab LONCON
1-7 October – Roadtrip West
22-30 September – Roadtrip West
16-21 September – Roadtrip West
1-15 September – Long Island
August – Long Island
15-31 July – Serbia
1-14 July – NE Roadtrip
16-30 June – NE Roadtrip
1-15 June – Long Island
May – Nomad Rally Prep
16-30 April – Long Island
7-15 April – Heading Back to NY
1-6 April – Heading Back to NY
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
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]
