2025-02-16, 01:17 PM
My old high school buddy came out from the midwest to see what all the hype about the desert is about. So for about the 10th or 12th time in a year, I went into Striped Butte Valley. Came in via Warm Springs and showed him all the sights to see there. Then, we popped over to Geologist to find it empty and waiting for us. We dropped off some gear, raised the flag and then explored the other three cabins in the area. I showed him a couple other off the main route spots I know about and we settled in for a rainy night. It got pretty wet, but wasn't cold enough to get any snow. It was raining off and on as we headed over the pass and into Goler. Made the left turn up to Barker Ranch and checked out the dump as well. Not much fun in the drizzle. Showed him the mine relicts on the way down and looked in on Newman's. Happy to see the door is kinda back on. From there we stopped over at Ballarat and scored some extra firewood and some sodas. It was raining a little harder as we went up South Park to Briggs and Stone cabins, finding tracks at each, but both empty. We picked Briggs since it was the 4 year anniversary of the last trip to the dez with my best friend before we lost him to cancer. We all stayed in Stone that trip, but there were too many memories for me to stay this time. Both cabins are in fine shape, FOB and those who visit are taking great care of them. We were there earlier than I planned because of the rain, but we made the best of it. The next morning we headed down canyon in clear skies. Stopped back in Ballarat for flush toilets and then went up Jail Canyon to see the stabilization efforts on the mill and ore bin. Last time I was there was right after timber and job site boxes were brought in with a helo. Then we drove up Surprise Canyon to the trail head because I heard the road was supposed to be horrible. It's the worst I've seen it, but no challenge really for a stock Jeep. From there we found our over into the Argus Range and looked for a decent cabin for the night. Of the ones over there it was the only one I had never spent the night, so that checked off of the list. In the morning we bounced our way over to Panamint Springs for a little 91 octane since Stove Pipe Wells is an 87 only place. We made a side trip to Rhyolite and it's art installation. The big ole couch is gone, replaced with sunken houses. In Beatty we washed mud from the Jeep so the vallet in Vegas wouldn't get dirty parking my rig. Showers, steaks at Circus Circus and a little wandering around Fremont Street wrapped the trip up. My buddy doesn't fly so he headed back to the frozen tundra as soon as we pulled into my driveway since he is hoping to beat a snowstorm somewhere on his route.
I always used to stay there when I came through with my daughter, because 1) I liked the "Manor" setup - maybe they tore it down? - as you didn't have to haul all your gear through a big lobby and the casino and 2) Could always take her to a circus act or three before dinner. Oh, 2.5, it was damned cheap.