March 29 – May 2, 2021
Wine Ridge RV Resort & Cottages
3800 Winery Road
Pahrump, NV 89048
Close to town, yet relatively quiet and comfortable. Can walk right into the desert from the park. We would stay there again.
A quick Friday afternoon visit to Shoshone, CA
04/16/2021
Shoshone is one of the gateway “towns” of Death Valley. Population was 17 in 2019, even though the sign still claims 31. Elevation is 1,585 feet. I’m always interested in places where the population is lower than the elevation in feet. The town also had a good vibe when we drove through the first time. So we decided to visit one Friday afternoon after work. It’s only a short trip from Pahrump, NV.
Shoshone has an RV park that looked decent. Unfortunately, there is no cell signal and we wouldn’t be able to stay there until we are retired.
The town was founded in 1910 by a Death Valley businessman and is still owned today by his descendants. It was a railroad town until 1940 and has a rich mining history. It’s quite vibrant for a town of 17. It has a gas station and a market, an airstrip, a post office, a town park, an Inn, a research station, a museum, and a cafe/coffee shop/saloon. We sat down for some chili in the cafe, but couldn’t eat it. It was way too salty. The wine was good, though.
Walking barefoot on the sand dunes …
… until my feet had blisters.
04/21/2021
It was 3pm on a Wednesday afternoon. I was done with office work. JJ and I sat down in the shade provided by our favorite tree. It was pleasantly cloudy (which is rare where we are) and the light breeze felt good on our skin. We had a piece of Tiramisu to share and I poured us a small glass of our favorite red wine (Crush) because we have had enough coffee for the day already. I enjoy sitting outside so much that, whenever I do, I regret that I’m not spending more of my working hours outside our trailer. It’s been a very good day already when JJ said: “Why don’t we go to Death Valley?”. We both were drawn back to the sand dunes anyway. Within 15 minutes we were on our way.
Every time we drive through the desert it is a different experience. This time the clouds around us looked almost scary. As if we would be getting pounded by violant thunderstorms any minute. It did rain a little, enough to switch on the windshield wipers for a while. But the time we reached Death Valley, the sun was peeking through the clouds – and the sand. There was much more wind than last time and so much sand in the air that we had to keep our masks on most of the time.