March 20 – 29, 2021
Longstreet Hotel Casino & RV Resort
8750 Nevada 373
Amargosa Valley, NV 89020
Leaving Catalina
After 21 weeks in Desert Hot Springs, we were ready to move on!
We were so ready to leave! The winds had picked up during March and our trailer started showing some damage. As much as we loved Catalina, what we wanted even more is getting away from the winds, being able to leave the awning out, spending more time outside in the evenings sitting by the fire, not being afraid of everything you leave outside being blown away or covered in sand.
Hard to believe we stayed in the same place for 21 weeks (from October 24 to March 20)! It felt like home. Apple Maps called it home. We did not need the GPS anymore to find our way around. We met so many nice people and became good friends with some of them. We explored the area, especially around the Salton Sea and Borrego Springs. Coachella Valley, which we drove through countless times, never failed to put us at awe. La Quinta was the cutest little town. We fell in love with it on first sight. If we had to pick a permanent place to live right now, La Quinta would be it. Never before, since we left MA, we had that feeling. Thankfully though, it’s still time for exploring and discovering.
Packing up and getting ready for the road again felt a little strange. It took longer. We had acquired a few more things that needed to be stored. It was less smooth, yet still without hiccups. We were excited to get going again! Before we left Catalina, we made reservations for the coming winter. Staying a little shorter and trying to avoid the windiest months.
The road we took out of the area felt so familiar. Up through the Morongo Valley, descending into Yucca Valley, passing through the towns of Joshua Tree and Twenty Nine Palms, and then turning North. What followed was the road less travelled. Driving for hours through the Mojave Desert with very few signs of civilization. We stopped at the historic little town of Amboy on Route 66. The last time we were there we got to know the postmaster, fire chief, and self-proclaimed police chief. This time, we watched a group of women bikers taking off on their Harleys after a break and a pilot practicing take-offs and landings at the little airstrip next to Roy’s Cafe. It seemed there is always something going on in Amboy on Route 66. As we continued driving through the desert, we passed by the old Kelso train station, Shoshone, the famous Amargosa Opera house in the ghost town of Death Valley Junction, and crossed the border into Nevada just before reaching our new destination: the RV Park at the Longstreet Inn and Casino.
We stayed at the Longstreet Inn Casino and RV Park in Amargosa Valley for just over a week.
We left Amargosa Valley earlier than planned. Our main concern was internet connection. The was no cell service and we had to rely 100% on the RV park’s WiFi. While it was mostly ok, it still made us a uncomfortable and the performance dropped whenever the park was filled up.
So, off we went to Pahrump on March 29. It’s less than an hour away from Amargosa, which is why we did not even load the motorcycle on the truck. I got to ride it to Pahrump!
What stood out for us in Amargosa Valley?
- The Longstreet Casino and RV Park is in the middle of nowhere. It was something like a culture shock for us, coming from Desert Hot Springs. Fortunately, we recovered quickly.
- Did I mention we wanted to get away from the Santa Ana Winds? Did we succeed? Not so much. It still was windier than we liked and with more sand in the air.
- Death Valley! We were yearning to come back and spend more time in the park. It was wonderful to visit our old campsite in Texas Springs where we motorcycle-tent-camped just over a year ago.
- Ash Meadows! We never heard of it before. It’s the largest oasis in the Mojave Desert and we stayed right next to it! What a gem. We are still processing our experience there and struggle describing it. In some ways, it feels more interesting to me even than Death Valley National Park. While we were exploring the oasis and seemingly had hundreds of acres of wildlife to ourselves, people crowded the Casino at the Longstreet Inn.
- Martell Market. In search of a little grocery store nearby, we discovered Martell Market. That’s a story of itself!
Martell Market
People who inspire us…
Both Joerg and I are interested in stories that people create something with positive impact in their community.
We thoroughly enjoy discover something local: people, business, plants, sceneries less grandeur but not less magnificent, the spirit of people and places.
Amargosa Valley is a town on the East side of Death Valley. Less than 1500 people live there but it spreads out for many miles. If you ever make it to Amargosa Valley, be sure to stop by Martell Market.
It was dark already. The Chrtistmas-type lights were visible long before we arrived. A few cars were parked in the courtyard. There was a barn with the door wide open but no lights inside. The main building looked like in a Wild West movie, with a front porch and a door on the side. Could this be the entrance to the market? It was kind of spooky. Our truck looked clearly out of place. Are we safe here? We parked close to the road so that we can get away quickly if need be.
When entering the market, we were greeted immediately by a friendly “Hello”, a female voice with an Asian accent. Really?! She was moving boxes from one place to another. A few steps down an older man sat on a recliner chair, watching Fox News. He was barely noticing us.
This place looked messy. A typical country-type store with a little bit of everything. We were browsing the aisles for a few minutes and were astonished by what we found. Korean noodles, German Schaschlik Soße, Belgian chocolate, and everything in between.
As I finished browsing, Sunny, the Asian woman joined me at the checkout counter. “Are you the owner?” I asked. ”Yes”, she replied with relative heavy accent. “How long have you been living here”? ”Twelve years“ she said. Then she started telling us her whole story and showed us around.
She and her husband, Ed, moved from Las Vegas to Amargosa. Ed flys plane, and he loves the open space, so they settled there… Sunny started showing us different parts of their store. In that barn, it’s huge “hardware” store, again with incredible wide range of selections.
Sunny and Ed know almost everyone in town, who to trust, who are flaky. When a few have to count pennies daily, they simply let them to take a few things. Sunny runs a kitchen. She said that she would like to offer kids there with the exposure of different kinds of food, like Philly Stake sandwich, some Asian food, etc.
If you read the online reviews from Yelp, you will see that they are the local go-to people if you get stuck in the Sand Dune.
How they care about the community stood out for us.
They are making a wonderful impact in that community!
We left there with a sense of respect and admiration.
And here are what we bought. Haha…
