The Oasis

“This is what I love about life” I told SnowDave as we were was driving in the desert lighting the road to a man in kilt on his bike “Its randomness. You never know what life brings you”.

That same morning we were having breakfast in Death Valley National Park, deciding on what to do for the day. A guidebook described Saline Hotspring as “one of the most isolated, unpopulated, and foreboding regions in California, a trip to the Saline Valley is an expedition”. What a bite for SnowDave. The ranger at the information desk warned us different times not to attempt the drive (but then he was also lowering his voice saying “but it would be the experience of a lifetime” as to say “it is my job to tell you not to go there, but you should”). The day before, SnowDave bought a “fix-a-tire” spray and extra chocolate in the case of a flat, or two… after all, we have been in worth, just a month ago we were hiking in extremely cold temperature, lost in a storm, in the dark, with wolves howling, this could not possibly be worth than that. Rattlesnakes, black widows and scorpions did not worry me that much; after all we would be in a car all the way. So we left the paved road…

The drive was not that bad (I think, I actually slept most of the way). The hotsprings, an oasis in the desert, were quite developed and we felt our “expedition” did not turned as adventurous as we wanted. SnowDave left for his 12 miles run, while I wondered where should I strip and with which guys should I bath.

That is where I learned of the real spell of the hotsprings. Same way as a house is just a house until you find something special that makes it a home, the hotsprings were just hotsprings, until we meet the characters that frequent this place. People like MayorTom, ScorpionCary (I gave him this camp name because he was so eager to find a scorpion to show me), the Cowboys, the other Tom and others, make this place unique and special. And these characters truly made me feel home and spoiled me. I was shown a movie about KillerCane, an usual of these hotsprings: showing lots of nudity and funny sketches, the movie introduced me to the uniqueness of this place. I felt in love for the place, the people. We discovered “the beach”, like in that movie with Leonardo Di Caprio, the ultimate place.

We originally planned to leave the next morning to hike a canyon in Death Valley, but it turned impossible to turn down an hike offer form MayorTom into his secret canyon. Turned out to be a great idea. The Canyon, away from mass tourism, was a natural chatredal, with smooth high marble walls an carpets of green musk. We, MayorTom, ScorpionCary, John the cowboys’s kid, SnowDave and I entered the canyon, climbed waterfall, gained elevation, got a good taste of a good adventure!

(well, we did started with 2 wheels off the road... we just had to built a bridge... old times!)

("easy as a piece of cake" MayorTom looks just like Shon Connery here! Not to mention the kilt!)
(That waterfall was not climbable without harnesses... what a day! My guys from left to right: MayorTom, ScorpionCary, John of the Cowboys, SnowDave)

A sand storm kept us from leaving that night too… maybe it was a sign we had to stay there longer… ScorpionCary's wife prepared a great dinner for us, and soon we headed to the springs. I will miss Marik and his sand proof goggles!