< more recent | 15 – 22 February 2020 | older >
22 February 2020: A farewell dinner and a late night flight from New York as we both continue heading off in different directions for now …
21 February 2020: We arrived early in the morning and drove out to “homebase” on Long Island, getting organized for our separate departures over the next two days, and going for a walk on some familiar trails nearby …
20 February 2020: We spent the last day wandering a bit in the Valley of Fire and then slowly making our way back towards Las Vegas with stops around Lake Mead NRA, then a night flight from Las Vegas to New York …
19 February 2020: We made it back to Valley of Fire this afternoon, but all the campsites were full so we found a place just outside the park on BLM land to spend our last night out under the stars for a while …
18 February 2020: Up early to start exploring the area around the Pinnacles on foot and by Jeep, then made a gourmet lunch at camp before packing up and beginning the return journey back towards Nevada…
17 February 2020: We left Death Valley and made our way to the Trona Pinnacles where we set up camp at the foot of the spires and watched the stars come out in all their splendor in one of the most otherworldly spots on the planet …
16 February 2020: Today we spent the morning at the sand dunes, which were super-crowded with tourists, then decided to find a less trafficked area of the park to explore in the afternoon. Taking the 20 Mule Team Canyon as a starting point we went off exploring some of the paths into the colorful badlands in that area — walking out into the maze of canyons it was easy to see how people could get disoriented in this part of the desert …
15 February 2020: Spent the day on the trail today, taking our time to get out to the Racetrack at Death Valley, and enjoying the route. Walking across the playa was a surreal experience and just being in this amazing location was a gift…
THIS MONTH:
The 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…
COMING UP SOON:
Tierra del Sol’s 58th annual Desert Safari 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. …
A short stop in Moab for some classic red rock trail time…
Roadtrip across the country from west to east back to New York…
Joining 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…
TRONA PINNACLES
The Trona Pinnacles are an unusual geological feature in the California Desert National Conservation Area. The landscape consists of more than 500 tufa spires (porous rock formed as a deposit when springs interact with other bodies of water), some as high as 140 feet (43 m), rising from the bed of the Searles Lake dry basin. The pinnacles vary in size and shape from short and squat to tall and thin, and are composed primarily of calcium carbonate. They now sit isolated and slowly crumbling away near the south end of the valley, surrounded by many square miles of flat, dried mud and with stark mountain ranges at either side. Access to the site is from a BLM dirt road (RM143) that leaves State Highway 178, about 7.7 miles (12 km) east of the intersection of State Highway 178 and the Trona-Red Mountain Road. The 5.0-mile (8 km) long dirt road from State Highway 178 to the Pinnacles is usually accessible to 2-wheel drive vehicles, however, the road may be closed during the winter months after a heavy rain.
DEATH VALLEY
Death Valley National Park 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—these 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.
THE VALLEY OF FIRE
Valley of Fire State Park 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 1,320–3,009 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 °F to 75 °F and overnight lows in the mid 30’s °F to mid 40’s °F. Storms moving east from the Pacific Ocean occasionally bring rain during winter months. Daily summer highs usually range from 100 °F to 115 °F and on occasion may reach near 120 °F. Thunderstorms from the Southwestern Monsoon can produce heavy showers during summer. The average annual precipitation is 6.50″.
Nesconset | Paris | Danville PA | Akron OH | Toledo OH | South Bend IN | Oglesby IL | Davenport IA | Des Moines IA | Omaha NE | North Platte NE | Denver CO | Grand Junction CO | Moab UT | Hurricane UT | Mesquite NV | Valley of Fire NV | Lake Mead NV | Las Vegas NV | Death Valley CA | Trona CA | Laughlin NV | Sedona AZ | Phoenix AZ | Yuma AZ
MORE NOTES FROM THE ROAD:
8-14 February – Southwest Roadtrip
1-7 February – Glamis to Vegas
27-31 January – Yuma to Glamis
15-26 January – Nevada to Arizona
1-14 January – Starting the New Year
24-31 December – Holidays on the Road
16-23 December – Cross-Country Drive
9-15 December – New York
1-8 December – Paris
16-30 November – Paris & Rennes
1-15 November – New York
14-31 October – Arizona
8-13 October – LON TOP TEN
1-7 October – Girl Gang Garage
16-30 September – Women’s Wheeling
1-15 September – Long Island
9-31 August – Serbia
1-8 August – #LONCON2019
16-31 July – Roadtrip to Atlanta
1-15 July – Cape Cod
15-30 June – Eastern Long Island
1-14 June – Bantam Jeep Festival
May – PA Trail cleanup
22-30 April – Minnesota
16-21 April – PA Trails
1-15 April – New Jeep
15-31 March – Paris
1-14 March – Arizona
Archive
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]
