After being on the road for months, we forgot how much of a home Dory, our camper, had become. We were reminded a couple of nights ago when we decided to camp out by the Warm springs in Death Valley, CA. The roads to the Warm springs are not really maintained and have a lot of stone and debris. So taking Dory there was out of question. Instead, we packed our trusty jeep with a tarp and blankets and took enough food to last 24 hours and left Dory parked on top of the mountains at South pass. The road was rough to say the least. We bounced around for a good three hours along Saline valley road and finally reached the oasis of Warm springs.
The water is heated by contact with hot rocks far below the surface in regions with recent volcanic activity. The water is hot, not warm. We took some good soaks and then had our dinner and made a makeshift tent and fell asleep. Woke up the next morning, had breakfast and then soaked another time after which the water started feeling a little too hot. True to its name, Death Valley got deathly hot around mid day after which we headed back “home” to Dory.
We left Death Valley yesterday. It was via the Saline Valley road which is quite rattly in itself, especially with Dory. It was a long drive, but we finally got to the highway. We decided to let Rosie out for a second and guess what.. we had lost our jeep in the drive! We spun around and found the jeep after a mile. It had come undone and slipped off into wilderness. But we were amazingly lucky that it stood straight and had not rolled over. It started right up and we were able to drive to Lone Pine, CA. Now we are in the process of getting the tow fixed! Quite an adventure, to say the least.
Other than this, we have been to some pretty cool places last couple of months. One was Trona pinnacles which looks other worldly. It has these tufa (CaCO3) pinnacles jutting from the ground. We also saw the lovely red rock canyon, Joshua tree and other places of less significance to other tourists. We love the offbeat places, though.
Talking about offbeat, we ran into Pisgah lava tubes on our way to red rock canyon. This place had many underground tunnels from volcanic activity. We got a chance to go in and through these tunnels. It is incredible.
Dory is able to provide us with good showers and all kinds of comforts (food storage, electricity). All the things we take for granted take a whole new meaning on the road. Our most important concern is usually where we will find good water. Still, the rewards make it worth any discomforts.
One other thing we have started doing is working in local libraries. We visit them whenever possible and use the internet, read books and generally unwind. It is highly rewarding and a unique perspective.
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