{"id":11727,"date":"2020-03-16T13:37:16","date_gmt":"2020-03-16T13:37:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/usnomadstudio.com\/usnomads\/blog\/?page_id=11727"},"modified":"2020-04-01T14:58:39","modified_gmt":"2020-04-01T14:58:39","slug":"notes-from-the-road-8-15-february-2020","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/usnomadstudio.com\/usnomads\/blog\/?page_id=11727","title":{"rendered":"Notes From the Road — 8 – 14 February 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"
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NOTES FROM THE ROAD<\/h2>\n
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< more recent<\/a> | 8 – 14 February 2020 | older ><\/a><\/p>\n

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Set Up Camp at Mesquite Springs…<\/h5>\n


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A Few Days in Death Valley…<\/strong><\/h6>\n


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14 February 2020:<\/strong> Entered Death Valley today and set up camp at Mequite Springs where we will be based for a few days while we do some exploring in familiar places and a few new-to-us spots too. The temperature is a bit warmer here and it looks to be a comfortable stay …
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A Stop at Big Dune…<\/h5>\n


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Playing in the sand…<\/strong><\/h6>\n


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13 February 2020:<\/strong> Headed out to Big Dune for some fun in the sand today and had the whole place to ourselves for most of the morning. Enjoyed the beauty of the dunes in solitude and played a little bit too …
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Some Quirky Desert Sites…<\/h5>\n


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A Car Forest and more…<\/strong><\/h6>\n


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12 February 2020:<\/strong> Did some exploring north of Beatty, Nevada, around Goldfield, a quirky almost-ghost-town where the “International Car Forest of the Lost Church” installation is located. This fun find in the desert is surreal and easy to miss if you don’t know where to look. We had the pleasure of wandering around on our own among the cars and then took a bit more time to walk around in the town before circling back towards Beatty for the night…
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Checking out Logandale Trails…<\/h5>\n


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Red Rock Trails near Valley of Fire…<\/strong><\/h6>\n


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11 February 2020:<\/strong> Took some time out to explore the Logandale Trails OHV area not far from our camp at Valley of Fire. This is a pretty extensive trail system and we just took a quick peek to see what kind of terrain it has available. There seems to be a little bit of everything, though for the moment we could only find one trail loop that is clearly mapped and easily accessed by stock vehicles — a fun and scenic route that offers a nice introduction to the trail system …
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Exploring the Valley of Fire…<\/h5>\n


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Back to Valley of Fire…<\/strong><\/h6>\n


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10 February 2020:<\/strong> We are back in the Valley of Fire for a few days, where it is quite cold and windy, but still well worth it to be out in the beautiful red rock wilderness again …
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Setting Up Camp…<\/h5>\n


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Welcome campfire…<\/strong><\/h6>\n


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9 February 2020:<\/strong> Cold and windy as we set up camp in the Valley of Fire this afternoon. Managed to get it all together before darkness set in, and got our fire going quickly…
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PREVIOUS NOTES FROM THE ROAD<\/a> ><\/a><\/h6>\n<\/div>\n
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THIS MONTH:<\/strong>
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\nThe original Team USnomads is back together for some southwest exploration around Nevada, Arizona and Southern California. Inspired by some of the Rebelle Rally routes, the team is taking some time to just appreciate the journey with time to stop and revisit intriguing locations or discover some new places to explore…
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COMING UP SOON:<\/strong>
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\nTierra del Sol’s 58th annual Desert Safari<\/a> at Ocotillo Wells from February 28th to March 1st. The event is one of the biggest Jeep events of its kind and the proceeds go towards the fight to keep Public Lands open. …

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\nA short stop in Moab for some classic red rock trail time…

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\nRoadtrip across the country from west to east back to New York…

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\nJoining the Texas Rovers for their annual South Central Area Rover Rally (SCARR). SCARR is a four-day event geared towards Land Rover enthusiasts that attracts people from all over the globe. SCARR attendees get to experience the off-road capabilities of Land Rovers in the beautiful setting of the Barnwell Mountain Recreation Area. Texas Rovers has reserved the entire 1,850-acre BMRA off-road park located in Gilmer, Texas for activities that include guided trail runs, lectures and off-road training, the ladies-only Barbara Toy trail run and much more…
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DEATH VALLEY<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Death Valley National Park<\/a> is the largest national park outside of Alaska. A desert valley located in Eastern California, in the northern Mojave Desert bordering the Great Basin Desert, it is one of the hottest places in the world. Death Valley’s Badwater Basin is the point of the lowest elevation in North America, at 282 feet (86 m) below sea level. Near the border of California and Nevada, in the Great Basin, east of the Sierra Nevada mountains, Death Valley is the principal feature of the Mojave and Colorado Deserts Biosphere Reserve. It is located mostly in Inyo County, California. It 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.Endless exploration and a diversity of experiences await: Hiking, exploring historic sites, traveling backcountry roads, viewing the night sky\u2014these are only a few of the opportunities available. With over 3 million acres of federally designated Wilderness it is possible to walk along majestic sand dunes, navigate twisted slot canyons, climb rocky peaks and stroll along salt flats. The variety of terrains offer everything from easy to very challenging adventures.<\/p>\n

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THE VALLEY OF FIRE<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Valley of Fire State Park<\/a> covers nearly 46,000 acres south of Overton, Nevada. The state park derives its name from red sandstone formations, the Aztec Sandstone, which formed from shifting sand dunes 150 million years ago. These features, which are the centerpiece of the park’s attractions, often appear to be on fire when reflecting the sun’s rays. It is Nevada’s oldest state park and was designated as a National Natural Landmark in 1968. The unique landscape was created by complex uplifting and faulting of the region, followed by extensive erosion. The rough floor and jagged walls contain brilliant formations of eroded sandstone. The site was home to Ancestral Puebloans from 300 BC to 1150 AD. The ancestral Puebloans farmed in the Moapa valley and their interaction with the park landscape probably involved hunting, food gathering, and religious ceremonies, although scarcity of water would have limited their stay. There are several petrogylph sites within the park. With an elevation between 1,320\u20133,009 feet, the Valley of Fire has a dry and warm climate typical of the Mojave Desert in which it lies. Winters are mild with daytime temperatures ranging from 54 \u00b0F to 75 \u00b0F and overnight lows in the mid 30’s \u00b0F to mid 40’s \u00b0F. Storms moving east from the Pacific Ocean occasionally bring rain during winter months. Daily summer highs usually range from 100 \u00b0F to 115 \u00b0F and on occasion may reach near 120 \u00b0F. Thunderstorms from the Southwestern Monsoon can produce heavy showers during summer. The average annual precipitation is 6.50″.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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