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Probably Not a Wintering Ground

Too few dugouts. Back to that unnamed canyon between Pahrump, Nevada and Shoshone, California.

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An Indian Wintering Ground?

Anthropologists, please weigh in.

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Quick Nighttime Fluorescent Mineral Hunt

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Little cooler today so I hiked out to the Nancy Ann Mine with my heavy shortwave field lamp to do a nighttime fluorescent mineral hunt. Saw this rattler just in time to step back. Still close enough to get rattled at. #hiking#mining#inyocounty#flourescent #rocks#geology#mojavedesert

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Further up the trail. #geology #roadtrip #rockhound #inyocounty #hiking#minerals#mining #prospecting#

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Glow sticks mark off important points. They’re not meant to illuminate but these from Home Depot are very bright. I came back with a headlamp, of course. #desert#mojave#mojavedesert#rocks #geology #minerals #inyocounty #hiking#explore

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Unedited bat footage. Fairly recent maps call this the Shaw Mine when in actuality there are a number of entrances and the name has changed from owner to owner. Open ground now that is in Wilderness status and only walking permitted. No bicycles, no handcarts, no machines of any kind. #nopahwilderness #roadtrip #geology#inyocounty #pahrump #mojavedesert #hiking

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A few nice red pieces but nearly everything else is yellow calcite that fluoresces under SW and LW. The red material only fluoresces SW. You can see in the first few seconds that even my Dragonfly won’t light up this side of the rock but then SW gives a nice red. The other side glows the usual calcite yellow. #flourescent #hiking #mojavedesert#geology #geologyrocks #mining #minerals #inyocounty#nopahrange

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I’m always hesitant about leaving my vehicle at night near a major road. I turned off my headlamp a quarter mile before the trailhead and walked with only moonlight in case something was waiting. No one at the vehicle but very loud music from another vehicle a hundred yards away out in the creosote, the first human activity I’ve encountered at this trailhead. I had my keys in hand and motored away in seconds. I’m sure those people were friendly but I wasn’t going to chance it at night and beyond cell phone range. My sat phone would need a few minutes to connect. I might not have had that time. #mohave #desert#hiking#explore#geology#geologyrocks#mining#history #inyocounty#

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Making my way back. #geology #roadtrip #rockhound #hiking ##mining#nopahrange#inyocounty#explore#geology#desert#mojavedesert

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Unedited handheld iPhone video. SW. Properly photographing fluorescent minerals takes a tripod and hours of fiddling to get the colors correctly displaying what they actually show under a lamp. The blue rock shows the infamous blue bleed that every photographer fights against, it is a problem between camera settings and the lamps themselves. Getting every rock in a group to show correctly on your screen is a major project, a great deal done in post. Too much time in post! #ecplore#geology#flourescent #minerals#madness#desert#mojavedesert#inyocounty

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August 27, 2023 - Pahrump to Barstow

August 27, 2023 - Pahrump to Barstow

Long day but I found a number of interesting places to explore or hound on my trip. Real work will begin when temperatures fall into the 90s or below. Today, at least on the stretch between Baker and Shoshone driving home, temps were 103 to 109 degrees Fahrenheit. 

The next time I travel the desert I will take plastic tubs to fill with water for desperate wildlife. I stopped at one place along the road and a bedraggled bird appeared from nowhere. It went straight under my truck, I thought for shade, but it was clearly wanting water. I left some in a small reservoir I fashioned from a plastic bag.

I’ll take more water for other people, too, not just myself. I noticed a big rig idling at a turnout with its emergency triangles in place. A breakdown. The driver had the engine running and the air conditioning must have been going. I approached. The driver said she was fine but eagerly accepted the bottle of cold water I offered her. Even with air conditioning, it is very uncomfortable to be thirsty in the desert. Very. At another time, I was walking back to my vehicle after doing some photography. A California Highway Patrolman slowed down to ask if I was OK. I said I was fine, thanked him, and waved him on.

With these kind of temps, and rural driving in general, I like to wave at every vehicle. If you’re not the friendly type, get friendly for remote places. This will help you and others, we all need to watch out for each other.

317 total miles.

These are just some of the things I saw. The highlight of the trip was talking to Don DePue of Diamond Pacific Tool in Barstow. We met outside after I got the three gallons of rock saw oil I had ordered a few days before.

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The Twenty Mule Teams started here! #borax#deathvalley#tecopa#mules#mining#roadtrip#geology#inyocounty#history

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Some still photos of the area of the Amargosa Borax Works’ site near Tecopa, CA. This is where the 20 Mule Teams loaded up for their one hundred mile trip to Dagget. As the sign says, there was another deposit of borate minerals in Death Valley itself. Look for the video I did of this place earlier in the day. #tecopa#shoshone#inyocountytourism #geology#mining#mojavedesert #mojave#mules

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Dumont Dunes OHV recreation area. Sand dunes. #desert#mojave#ohv#sandunes#desert#roadtrip#geology

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Baker, CA. Highway town. One way to get to Death Valley. NOTE: Hotel may be out of business! deathvalley#bakercalifornia #roadtrip#freewayattractions #roadtrip

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Your Ibex Pass footage for the day, complete with truck. You’re welcome. 2,072 feet. The Pass marks a border point between Inyo and San Bernardino County. Death Valley Park nearby. #inyocounty#roadtrip#mojavedesert #desert#shoshone#tecopa

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Moving Out and Up!

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Your complimentary summer desert rain footage. #rain#mojave#desert#clarkcounty#roadtrip

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Old Spanish Trail Marker on Sandy Valley Road off of HWY 160. These are close or near to highways. The one at the top of Emigrant Pass in the south Nopah is fully one mile off of Tecopa Road by foot trail. #nopah#clarkcounty#roadtrip#oldspanishtrail #history#

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Upcoming move. #moving#nyecounty#kingdomofnye#artbell#coastocoast#nevada#geology#movingishell#rocks#mojave#mojavedesert

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