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Friends & Surprises
“Did you pass?” the Lady asked when I returned home Wednesday morning from my annual physical.
“Doc said I’m abnormal.”
“He always says you’re abnormal. Did you pass? She asked again.
“Yes, I passed. He also asked where are we off to. I told him we were waiting to see if I passed my physical. He looked at me over his glasses and stared.”
“I checked at Benton. Tub Five is open tomorrow night. We can leave in the morning,” the Lady continued.
“If we go, we can surprise our friends on Saturday in Shoshone,” I added. “Want to?”
And so, another trip was quickly put together.
Allow me to explain the “abnormal” comment above. At each yearly physical I ask about the results of my blood tests from the week before. Doc takes a look at the papers and responds with, “You are abnormal. I have two pages of things I had looked at in your blood. Everything, everything is within normal parameters. Not one item is flagged. It is abnormal to have everything normal.”
We arrived at Benton in the afternoon. After an easy and well-practiced set up, we soaked in the restorative healing hot waters. A dozen years each quickly dropped away as our odometers rolled back.
We enjoyed wandering in the evening light after dinner. A storm front hung over the Great Basin.
It was hot the next afternoon as we drove through Furnace Creek. The thermometer read 99°. To escape the heat, we went high and returned to our camp spot near the Greenwater Cemetery at 4600 feet. It was a comfortable 80°. The afternoon vistas were also incredible.
With our ever present need to work our muscles, we explored the area around Greenwater Spring. We found a – hard to see – shaft down into the spring……
…. with a catch basin and piping below in the gully.
But the vastness of the landscape with no one else around made for a perfect day and place.
There was a deep shaft and tailings below the spring.
For our evening walk we climbed to the top of the hill above our camp, found a place to take shelter from the wind, and took in the gently coming night.
We were out at dawn the following morning – now Saturday – exploring and looking at the abundant wildflowers.
Yellow Cups (Chylismia brevipes)
Desert Dandelion (Malacothrix californica)
Chia (Salvia columbariae)
Our friend, Deb Fox (and Steve) were down from Washington on a speaking tour in Southern California
March 29 and 30, 2024
Death Valley Visitor Center, Furnace Creek
"On the Trail of Female Prospectors"
March 30, 2024
"On the Trail with William Lewis Manly"
April 13, 2024
Shoshone Museum
"On the Trail of William Lewis Manly"
And then –
Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society
co-sponsored by the Santa Clarita Public Library
April 20, 2024, 2pm
Old Town Newhall Library
Morning radio interview at KHTS
April 24, 2024
Santa Clarita Valley Rotary Club
April 24, 2024, 12pm
KHTS Santa Clarita Home and Garden Show
Central Park, Santa Clarita CA
April 27 - 28, 2024
Our planned surprise was attending her talk on William Manly at the Shoshone Museum Saturday April 13th. They had no idea we were coming.
When they spotted us, their smiles were wonderful.
Deb's talk went very well. With a comfortable pace, command of her subject matter, and a pleasant speaking voice - she does an excellent job. The audience was very appreciative.
The empty chairs filled as her talk began. It was a full house. We were so glad we attended.
We took a quick tour of Shoshone. We talked our friends out of getting into the motel business.
They headed east to Las Vegas to visit family and the Lady and I headed back into the Park. Our only requirement in a destination was cooler elevations, although it was a pleasant mid-eighties in Shoshone.
Since our recent exploration in Johnson Canyon was aborted due to the flat tire, we returned.
Delighted there was no one else in the area, we set up camp at a favorite spot near the mouth of the canyon. We were dismayed we heard braying in the distance. We had not encountered feral asses here before and the area has a nice population of bighorn sheep – that asses can displace.
As we sat on the lee side of our truck eating dinner, a loud pounding noise caught our attention. A group of six feral asses were tearing down the road toward us in a cloud of dust. They were agitated but stopped in front of our truck. I immediately got up and moved them away. When they stopped, I continued advancing and pushed them further away. One jack was irritated and moved back and forth with his nose high in the air. They do not get coo coos or kissy sounds from us. They are unwelcome near our camp and I convince them of that fact. After moving them away about 300 yards, I stopped pushing. The asses relaxed. The jack mounted a jenny. The female allowed the male to remain on her back. Sex was in the air and explained the group’s behavior. Another movement alerted me. Separate from this group, another jackass was about a hundred yards uphill, coming at a full gallop, head down, straight at me. I was in the open. There was no island of safety. Running would be fruitless and show fear. I immediately took in two facts. One, how damn fast a 500-to-600-pound enraged ass can move. And two, both of its ears were half chewed off. This jackass had seen many battles. I stood my ground and faced the charging beast. 25 feet away it suddenly threw on the brakes and back pedaled at the same time. It went down in a slide. Rocks and dust flew. It slid to a stop at my feet, immediately popped back up, and ran off. I pushed it further away.
The Lady had climbed into the camper to do chores. When I returned to the truck and sat back down in my chair, she asked, “Did that ass charge you? I saw a bunch of dust.”
“Yes, it did, thought better of it, went down trying to stop, and got a dose of rock rash it won’t soon forget. I don’t think it got any dust on my food. I’m finishing my supper.” I had carried my dinner bowl in my left hand throughout the incident.
I hate feral asses.
The weather was changing. We walked up Johnson Canyon as darkness came. The canyon was ravaged in the storms. No trace of the old road remained. The campsite behind the old Chrysler Airflow was obliterated. The NPS recently took a dozer upcanyon and put in a new road.
The wind was raging as we returned to camp. On the highpoint just to the east, we could barely stand. The minor swale our truck was parked in gave a bit of shelter. Still, it was a wild ride as we attempted to sleep. I believe the wind was in excess of 60 mph with higher gusts. It began to settle around 0100 and we both fell into deep sleep.
The morning was glorious.
The Brittlebush (Encelia farinose) bloom was spectacular. Look beyond the foreground and see the yellow far up the mountainsides.
We broke camp and drove up the canyon. Although the new road looks smooth, don’t be fooled. It’s still a slow bumpy drive. We set up camp just below road’s end at Charlie Wilson Spring.
We were looking forward to exploring high above Hungry Bill’s during our stay here. With the extensive flood damage in the lower canyon, we headed up to see what we’d find in the canyon above us.
The once vegetation choked canyon was scoured. Water was abundant.
At the usual spots, it was still best to take the trails up and above the canyon.
The wildflowers were a joy.
Prickly Poppy (Argemone corymbosa)
Scarlet Milkvetch (Astragalus coccineus), a new flower for us.
We came upon the first fig trees (a distinct gray color without leaves) at the stacked rock enclosures in the canyon about a mile below Hungry Bill’s.
After another high climb above the canyon, the trail wound its way down to Hungry Bill’s.
Clouds were building as was the wind. We took our time reacquainting ourselves with the area and also looked for any remnant of the old trail up to the crest of the Panamints and Porter Peak. We found nothing definitive.
A debris flow from a side canyon ran through the middle of the farm area.
Grizzlybear Cactus (Opuntia polyacantha var. erinacea)
Engelmann's Hedgehog Cactus (Echinocereus engelmannii)
We found and took the high bypass around the third spring above Hungry Bill's.
We took a break and consulted our USGS topo map in the canyon bottom above. A cold wind blew down canyon with swirling clouds descending around us. We were soon pelted with snow and graupel. We pulled on our rain gear and pack rain flies. It turned to rain as we turned around and reached Hungry Bill’s. The rain continued all the way back to camp.
Sun broke through as we cleaned up and prepared dinner. We found we were surrounded by chukars on the hillsides above us. Their constant chatter entertained us well into the evening.
Next up – The Fresh Vegetable Trail.
Our adventure continues. Please click here for - Part Two.
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