please remember you can click on a photo to see a larger version & highlighted text are links to additional information
Please click here for Part Seven
The Storm
I was first introduced to Hadji Ali during the folk revival by a song recorded by the New Christy Minstrels. Hadji Ali (“Americanized” to Hi Jolly) came from Syria and was lead camel driver for the short lived U.S. Camel Corps.
After repairing the camper anchor, we stopped at the small cemetery in Quartzsite and paid our respects.
It was time for laundry. We drove out to the KOA in Harcuvar, AZ as it would serve 3 purposes - laundry, showers, and a campsite for the night. The place was quiet, well kept, and not busy. We enjoyed talking with the young man who’d just moved out from Michigan to help manage the place. He heartily recommended B’s Kitchen inside the Corner Market for dinner and it was within easy walking distance from the campground. We’re not big pizza eaters but this was excellent, Especially with the Lady’s insistence to add the jalapenos. Can you say, “Fire in the hole?” I knew you could.
I need to back up a bit here and, again, bring up cell service and how it played into our exit plans. Back in Part Four as we drove in the remote Sonoran Desert National Monument, the Lady’s cell phone rang. “What, we have cell service here?” I asked with surprise. “Looks like it,” the Lady replied as she looked at the number. “It’s Benton Hot Springs, we should answer.” Talking with Jody we reserved a tub for the night of the 25th. From then on our only plans were to be at our tub in Benton on the 25th. After pizza, we checked weather and made plans for our remaining days between now and our next dose of hot spring rejuvenation. Weather forecast was for a major storm slamming into the west coast. Even here in southwestern Arizona, it was clear a weather change was coming. Oh boy.
“Do you want tamales?” the Hispanic woman asked in barely discernible English. She was seated in the car we parked next to in the Safeway parking lot in Parker. “We love tamales!” the Lady answered. “Did you make them?” The woman nodded yes as she exited her vehicle. “But we’re traveling,” the Lady continued. “I don’t think it would work. I’m sorry.” This woman was wonderful, the kind of person, when you first meet, you know you like them.
She sold many tamales during the time we were inside the store. She smiled as we approached. “Tamales?” she nodded with her hands out. “We can’t take twelve, too many. Can we freeze them?” the Lady asked. The woman did not understand and all of us enjoyed the Lady’s attempts at being understood. “She doesn’t understand frozen,” the Lady said. “Try frio,” I suggested. “No,” the woman interrupted and went to her trunk. She came back with a bag in her hand. “Six?” she asked and handed me the bag. “These are hot. Did you just make these?” The woman smiled. “Do we have room?” the Lady asked. “Doesn’t matter,” I replied. “We’re going to eat all of these very soon.” The Lady went for her wallet.
“You from California?” the woman asked pointing at our license plate. I explained where we were from. “I like San Pedro,” she replied. “You know San Pedro?”
“Yes, I do. I had a friend that lived there.”
“That woman can cook for us every day of the week,” I said. “These are great!”
The Lady near continuously checked and rechecked the weather as we drove. It was going to storm and we were heading into the heart of it. We reserved a room at the Historic Dow Villa in Lone Pine for Wednesday night the 24th. We had cell service as we drove into the Mojave National Preserve. The Lady continued to check and recheck the weather. “It’s not suppose to rain in this area tonight. We’re finding a campsite north of Goffs, right?”
“Yup.”
“I have an idea and I’ve already checked on it,” she said with a little revealing smile.
“What’s up?”
“I looked and there’s one room available at the Stovepipe Wells Resort tomorrow night. We’ve never stayed there. That might be fun. You want to? It’s going to be raining.”
“The old Stovepipe Wells Resort that George Putnam once owned, ran, and lived at.” I mulled it over. “That would be fun and very different for us. Should we step out of character and try something new?”
“Should we book it?”
“Yes, but not online. Let’s call.”
I pulled to the side of the road and stopped.
The Goffs Schoolhouse Museum was closed when we stopped, but the outside grounds were open.
We had a long chat with Chris, one of the caretakers that lives onsite that came to Goffs in May 2025 from Missouri. He had one interesting story about a man who arrived at 1130 one night and wanted to take photos of the school. Ask him about it when you visit.
We settled in at a campsite north of Goffs, near the Bobcat Hills. We steered clear of the beautiful Pencil Cholla and thought “The Devil’s Dental Floss” would make a good nickname.
The wind blew. It was a dark cold night. We weren’t in Arizona anymore and we bundled up for our night walk. The morning low was right at 32°. We drove north on Lanfair Road and made several stops along our way.
We tried to find our way into a pictograph site on our list. Storm was coming but no heavy rain yet. Our way was blocked by private property. We drove in a series of very rough roads to a trailhead for the New York Mountains. The trailhead no longer was there, perhaps a victim of the recent large wildfire. Our destination for this day was our night at the Stovepipe Wells resort. Was it too windy, cold, and stormy for a date shake at China Ranch?
Never.
Our stay at Stovepipe Wells was fun and memorable. The room was modest and comfortable.The staff was welcoming and friendly. The onsite restaurant was really quite good with reasonable prices. It began to rain on our night walk out the closed road to Cottonwood Canyon. By morning it was a real rainstorm here in one of the driest places on earth. We were glad we had the room for the night.
We ate breakfast as soon as the restaurant was open at 0700. We’ve spent a lot of time in Death Valley and know the roads well. We needed to exit the Park as soon as possible before the highways closed.
We stopped for a photo of the storm enveloping Tucki Mountain.
Muddy water flowed down both sides of highway 190 as we climbed Towne Pass. In places gullies were discharging water across the pavement along with debris. Fording one water crossing threw muddy water over the hood of the truck. Our biggest concern was rocks tumbling down the hillsides. We threaded our way through rocks down the west side of Towne Pass. These were not small rocks, one was over 3’ in diameter. Just west of the summit a debris flow covered the east bound lane 18” deep. Mud colored water flowed most everywhere.
Below the cut banks and steep mountainsides and near the bottom of the grade, we dared to stop for photos.
That is Panamint Valley with standing water on the playa in the distance.
Across the Darwin Plateau was more of the same.
Highway 190 between Panamint Valley and Stovepipe Wells closed soon after we drove it, possibly the last to drive across.
Pouring rain and wind raked Owens Valley. With our early start we were in Lone Pine around 1030. What should we do in Lone Pine in a rain storm with a 1600 check in time at the Dow Villa? The Museum of Western Film History was open. The museum covers in depth the history of filming in the nearby Alabama Hills. The museum has a metal roof. You can figure out how we knew that. Our favorite display was the car Humphrey Bogart drove in the film High Sierra, the film that catapulted Bogart to stardom. And, of course, there were sections devoted to Tremors and Iron Man. But the vast sections on the old westerns - both movies and television - were the best.
We tried for an early check in at the Dow Villa, would they take pity on us? We were told that all heat was out in the historic section of the hotel where our reserved room was. We were offered a room in the new motel section for the same price if we’d like heat. We took them up on the offer and this room was one of the nicest motel rooms we’ve stayed in.
A secret about Lone Pine, one of the best Chinese restaurants anywhere is right on Main Street - The Merry Go Round. If you don’t have reservations, get there right when they open at 1630, you may be able to get a table. We shared an order of Orange Peel Chicken. Oh boy was it good.
The storm broke over Lone Pine at dawn on Thursday. Clouds billowed over the eastern escarpment of the Sierra Nevada but overhead there were patches of blue. “Sucker holes,” is what we can them. The wind remained strong but at least it wasn’t raining. The Lady brewed our mugs of Peets in the room, we bundled up, and we headed out on our morning coffee walk. The light was dramatic.
A faint rainbow appeared up Whitney Portal Road.
The Lady found a trail that switch backed up the front of the Alabama Hills.
“We’re going to the top!” she announced as she led the way. The views were incredible when we reached the top and gazed at the Inyo Mountains above the east side of Lone Pine.
We sat up here with our backs to the wind and finished our mugs of coffee.
We left Lone Pine late morning. We drove a loop through the Alabama Hills and stopped along Moffat Ranch Road.
The break in the storm, of course, did not last. We were buffeted by wind and pelted with rain as we drove north on highway 395.
The Lady returned to checking the weather forecast and road conditions ahead. “Now it says storm all day tomorrow. No possible break until Saturday. 395 is closed north of Bishop and 190 is still closed over in Death Valley. We’ve got Benton tonight but we should not drive home Friday. We should wait until Saturday. Benton tonight but where should we stay Friday night? We shouldn’t drive further north than Benton.”
“We’ll come up with something,” I offered as we continued into the storm. The rain abated a bit as we pulled into the city park in Bishop at noon. “Let’s get our rain gear on and go for a walk while we can,” I suggested. “We can’t check in at Benton until 1500.” An issue arose. Our raincoats were not in their place behind our seats. “Oh no,” the Lady cried. “We left them in the closet in the room at the Dow Villa!”
We were pretty darn tired when we reached our tub at Benton Hot Springs. It was 33° and we were right at snowline. It alternated between heavy rain and large globs of snowy slop. But the magical waters were wonderful. Even with the wind and rain and snow hammering the camper back and forth, we slept well. The next morning our coffee walk was less than 4 yards.
Before we left to spend the day in Bishop, the Tub Whisperer scored once again. Tub 7 was open for Friday night. We would not drive any further north than Benton.
Although it was clear and cold Saturday morning in Benton. The storm continued in the Sierra. 395 was closed and the highways that were open were still under chain controls. Traffic in the Lake Tahoe area was bumper to bumper and crawled along, but this was a good thing as it kept everyone going in our direction at 16 mph. In the last photo below, the oncoming lane is empty because of the spinout and accident ahead.
We made it safely back to the house and this latest adventure ended there.
No comments:
Post a Comment