Death Valley - Ho! - Our Home Has 6 Wheels

April 9, 2015

Kingman, AZ to Tecopa, CA

Up early and on the road. From Kingman we headed West on Hwy #68 (Arizona)/Hwy #163 (Nevada) to Laughlin, then I-95 to Searchlight (no idea why they have that name) then #164 through Nipton. Very nice back-country roads through very barren and inhospitable desert where the only vegetation is creosote … and rocks!

Then I-15 (what a super-busy highway!) to Baker, then up #127 to Death Valley. Quite a circuitous route, but very interesting in it’s own way. We saw a very interesting ‘solar farm’ near Nipton which stretched for miles and miles and had (we think) giant mirrors which looked like giant lights (or some kind of alien landing field) shining on the panels. Weird looking place.

Alien landing field! – actually the Ivanpah Solar Farm near Nipton, CA

Rest stop on Hwy 15 in the Mojave National Preserve

Hwy 127 Baker to Death Valley Junction

Then, as we were headed up Hwy#127 we passed a sign saying ‘Tecopa Hot Springs’. Screeeccchhh. What’s this? Hot springs? I love hot springs! Let’s check it out! The only info I had was our CAA camping book that listed a Tecopa Hot Springs Resort & Camping at $10 per night so we headed in! Wepassed by some neat salt/mineral encrusted flats on the way to the ‘resort’ on the Old Spanish Trail. Hmmm. Well, it DOES have hot springs … and it DOES have spots for RV’s … but it’s a stretch to call it a resort. Basically a barren gravel parking lot. And it’s not $10 – it’s $20 but that includes entry into the hot springs so we went for it.

Flowers along The Old Spanish Trail to Tecopa, CA

We got settled, changed into our bathing suits and at that point Bruce noticed the ‘tickets’ we were given to get into the hot springs said “No Diving/Swimming; No hair or shampoo in water; No smoking, food or drinks; and …. NO CLOTHING!!!! WTF?? Bruce went up to check and make sure we were reading it right and yes, it’s a nude soaking spring. It did have separate pools for male and female but … now … I’m no prude (well, maybe just a little) … but I didn’t relish soaking alone in a tub full of naked strange women. So … BEWARE … if you come this way … be prepared to ‘nude it up’ with strangers.

Tecopa Hotsprings

Bare bones camping at Tecopa Hot Springs Resort & Camping

However … they did have a ‘private’ pool that you could rent by the hour for $10 (which they drain and clean between each rental) so we opted for that one. It was kind of weird … a very small concrete room (walls & ceiling) with a tiny tub with steps down into it. And it was HOT!!! … Around 104F!!! We forced ourselves to soak for about ½ hour and couldn’t take it any more. It felt good but I just can’t take that kind of heat for too long.

There was a conical hill not far from the campsite and you could see a trail winding up it…to hard to resist so we made the decision to climb it in spite of the hot temperatures. 360° views from the top!