{"id":13166,"date":"2022-11-29T21:41:08","date_gmt":"2022-11-29T21:41:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/usnomadstudio.com\/usnomads\/blog\/?page_id=13166"},"modified":"2022-11-30T15:20:18","modified_gmt":"2022-11-30T15:20:18","slug":"13166-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/usnomadstudio.com\/usnomads\/blog\/?page_id=13166","title":{"rendered":"Notes From the Road — 15-20 March 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/p>\n
\n
\n

NOTES FROM THE ROAD<\/h2>\n
\n

< more recent<\/a> | 15-20 March 2022 | older ><\/a><\/p>\n

\n


<\/p>\n

CA to AZ: Going Up in Elevation\u2026<\/h5>\n


<\/p>\n

Forgot it was Winter\u2026<\/strong><\/h6>\n


<\/p>\n

20 March 2022:<\/strong> Camped at a favorite spot on the Mojave Road last night, with a nice campfire and a late night just watching the stars. Then it was time for another “marathon” drive day into Arizona. I randomly selected an AirBnB based on location and distances, forgetting about elevations! Ended up driving into the snow high up in the mountains (and saw some elk), and hit with a radical environmental change.\u2026<\/p>\n

\n


<\/p>\n

CA: Barstow to Mojave Road\u2026<\/h5>\n


<\/p>\n

Route 66 to the Mojave Road\u2026<\/strong><\/h6>\n


<\/p>\n

19 March 2022:<\/strong> Left Barstow after resupplying in the morning, then set out to catch a favorite part of the Mojave Road, picking up Route 66 for kicks. Made a lot of short detours for photo stops and just enjoyed the day. One cool sidetrip was up along the Pisgah Crater following a new-to-me trail that I stumbled across while doing photography. Love those serendipitous discoveries.\u2026<\/p>\n

\n


<\/p>\n

CA: Leaving Death Valley\u2026<\/h5>\n


<\/p>\n

Last stop at Keane Wonder Mine\u2026<\/strong><\/h6>\n


<\/p>\n

18 March 2022:<\/strong> Left Death Valley and headed to Barstow to start a loop back towards Arizona. Made one more last stop on my way out, to make a few photos of the Keane Wonder Mine in the morning light. Then I took a round-about-route out of the park, not really wanting to leave the desert, but knowing I had to start working my way towards Phoenix.\u2026<\/p>\n

\n


<\/p>\n

CA: Death Valley – Badwater and Borax\u2026<\/h5>\n


<\/p>\n

Brushing up on the Interpretive Narratives\u2026<\/strong><\/h6>\n


<\/p>\n

17 March 2022:<\/strong> Did some “deeper dive” research into some of the park’s popular tourist stops in the Furnace Creek area and attended “Ranger Talks” on Badwater Geology and the History of Harmony Borax Works — both subjects I don’t have much personal knowledge of but that are kind of central to the main touristic narrative of Death Valley. It’s always cool to learn something new\u2026<\/p>\n

\n


<\/p>\n

CA: Death Valley – Dunes and Canyons\u2026<\/h5>\n


<\/p>\n

Playing in the sand\u2026<\/strong><\/h6>\n


<\/p>\n

16 March 2022:<\/strong> Up early and out to play in the sand down by the Mesquite Sand Dunes before it gets too crowded with visitors. Got there just after sunrise and took some time to just become one with the landscape for a while, walking out into the dunes and finding a spot to observe where I was away from any crowds and could just focus on the place. After the dunes I continued on to 20 Mule Team Canyon which was surprisingly empty, and so I took the opportunity to just go walking into the badlands with no particular destination in mind.\u2026<\/p>\n

\n


<\/p>\n

CA: Death Valley – Titus Canyon\u2026<\/h5>\n


<\/p>\n

The scenic side between Beatty and Mesquite Springs\u2026<\/strong><\/h6>\n


<\/p>\n

15 March 2022:<\/strong> Decided to revisit some of the most scenic Death Valley sites today on a loop to Beatty NV and back to get cheaper gas (gas in the park is almost $9\/Gallon!). Started with Rhyolite in the morning then continued out to Beatty for the gas and some supplies. On the way back I took the Titus Canyon route, making a lot of photo stops along the way. It was nice to revisit these iconic sites with time to explore (and being on my own, as opposed to guiding or doing an event, I could linger as long as I wanted at odd places that only I would find interesting).\u2026<\/p>\n

\n
PREVIOUS NOTES FROM THE ROAD<\/a> ><\/a><\/h6>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n

THIS MONTH:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n


\nGetting ready for the next big road trip. Heading southwest and into the desert for some new exploration as well as a few of our favorite events. We will be road tripping south and then west, with some stops planned in Louisiana and Texas, before honing in on Arizona, SoCal and Nevada for a month or so…
<\/p>\n

\n

COMING UP SOON:<\/strong><\/p>\n


\nEvery Day Is a Clean Up Day<\/a> in 2021. Ladies Offroad Network<\/a> has partnered with TreadLightly!<\/a> to create a year-long program that encourages members to pick up trash on the trails whenever they are out off-roading. Participants simply pick up the trash, weigh it, take a photo, and log the location and time it took, then upload the details. At the end of the year there will be a series of prizes based on pounds of trash removed from the trails as well as participation in other TreadLightly! initiatives. This is a great way to do some good on a local level and make a larger impact via the national program…
<\/p>\n

\n


\nAdvanced sand dune training with Barlow Adventures<\/a> at the Imperial Sand Dunes in southern California. This three day driving and navigation program focuses on moving safely and effectively through large dunefields. Skills-building exercises are intended to improve pace, line choice and vehicle control, as well as developing precision map and compass navigation technique…
<\/p>\n

\n


\nTrail Guiding for the California 4-Wheel Drive Association’s second annual Death Valley Experience<\/a> 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\u2019s View, 20 Mule Team Canyon, Artists\u2019 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…
<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"
\nUSnomads.org is very proud to be presenting a brand new kind of rally experience for 2022 — the Nomad Overland Virtual Adventure Rally<\/a> 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<\/a> or Register Now<\/a> \u2026

<\/p>\n

\n

ABOUT RHYOLITE GHOST TOWN:<\/strong><\/p>\n


\nRhyolite<\/a> is perhaps the most “iconic” ghosttown of Death Valley for visitors because of it’s easy access and well preserved postcard-perfect ruins. The town began in early 1905 as one of several mining camps that sprang up after a prospecting discovery in the surrounding hills. During an ensuing gold rush, thousands of gold-seekers, developers, miners and service providers flocked to the Bullfrog Mining District. Many settled in Rhyolite, which lay in a sheltered desert basin near the region’s biggest producer, the Montgomery Shoshone Mine. Industrialist Charles M. Schwab bought the Montgomery Shoshone Mine in 1906 and invested heavily in infrastructure, including piped water, electric lines and railroad transportation, that served the town as well as the mine. By 1907, Rhyolite had electric lights, water mains, telephones, newspapers, a hospital, a school, an opera house, and a stock exchange. Published estimates of the town’s peak population vary widely, but scholarly sources generally place it in a range between 3,500 and 5,000 in 1907\u201308. Rhyolite declined almost as rapidly as it rose. After the richest ore was exhausted, production fell. The 1906 San Francisco earthquake and the financial panic of 1907 made it more difficult to raise development capital. In 1908, investors in the Montgomery Shoshone Mine, concerned that it was overvalued, ordered an independent study. When the study’s findings proved unfavorable, the company’s stock value crashed, further restricting funding. By the end of 1910, the mine was operating at a loss, and it closed in 1911. By this time, many out-of-work miners had moved elsewhere, and Rhyolite’s population dropped well below 1,000. By 1920, it was close to zero. After 1920, Rhyolite and its ruins became a tourist attraction and a setting for motion pictures. Most of its buildings crumbled, were salvaged for building materials, or were moved to nearby Beatty or other towns, although the railway depot and a house made chiefly of empty bottles were repaired and preserved. From 1988 to 1998, three companies operated a profitable open-pit mine at the base of Ladd Mountain, about 1 mile (1.6\u00a0km) south of Rhyolite. The Goldwell Open Air Museum lies on private property just south of the ghost town, which is on property overseen by the Bureau of Land Management…
<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n

<\/i><\/div><\/div>