December 25

I cleaned up the area this morning (it was pretty clean around here but I did find a few bottle caps and some glass). I like to leave a clean camp. There were a couple of walkers that came up the wash this morning. I happened to look out the door and saw Ely on her way up the wash with them and their dog. I had to yell at her to get her to come back. She likes everybody and was having fun with their dog. I had a chance to visit with them on their way back. they were from Berkley and come over every year. They were probably in their sixties and she had a nose ring. Weird to see someone that old with such a thing but I guess this is California after all.

I went down to Tecopa Hot Springs and went  in and had a nice soak. Chief Tecopa the story goes gave this spring to everybody forever and that he said that there should never be a charge to bath here. The county runs the spring and across the street is a county park. I think the charge is ten dollars a night. The baths are free. There are a couple of private parks that charge up to twenty-five dollars but I think they have monthly rates (these have private baths). The public baths are extremely clean and well cared for. The close them I think on Thursday for cleaning, but since it was Christmas they were open. The deal is that there are separate facilities for men and women. Everyone has to shower before entering the baths and no hair allowed in the water or soap or shampoo. No  clothing is allowed either, so everyone is naked. The men’s side had two baths about sixteen by twenty by four feet deep. There was a hot one and one not so hot. The hot one was about one hundred or so and the other in the eighties. There were only three in the pool I was in and the other about the same. They were all either Japanese, Korean, Chinese or ????  I can’t tell the difference. None of them were speaking English. I went back to Shoshone to the internet café but it was closed, so spent the night. There was a pretty good rain so I got out of the wash and camped down near town on higher ground. I saw the owner in the morning repairing his sign. He says that during the infrequent rain storms, the glass beads on his sign wash off. It doesn’t rain often so he isn’t concerned and just glues them back on. Wouldn’t you think he would use waterproof glue? I asked to use the internet connection, but he said that he had water damage and wouldn’t be open for a few hours, so I decided to head south and of course stop at the hot springs on the  way. Never pass up a chance to take a hot dip eh?

I took a cruise on down past the old town of Tecopa and came to a sign directing to the China Farm. My friend Griff told me about going down to it and how interesting it was. I took the road and it wanders through some very bleak hills and finally dives on down a steep dirt road. At the bottom is a true oasis. They grow date palms here and it was started by a chinaman in the early mining days as a farm. He grew vegetables for the mining camps. The palm groves were beautiful and they had many different kinds of date palms growing. The sign said that they had a bakery down there as well but everything was closed today as I guess it was Christmas. I found a nice place to get off the road and took a nap.  I woke to rain drops hitting the pod so I got up quick and got out of their quick. I parked on the hill over looking the road  and it didn’t take long for the water to start moving down the wash. the road had just been bladed because it looked like they had a major flood not too long ago. 

I made it back to the hot springs and took another good soak. I got to talking with a guy that comes over for a couple of weeks this time of year. I asked him about all the Orientals being there. He said that they run tour busses from la to lv and they would stop there. I guess that the word got out that way and now lots of them come up on their own.   It was still raining lightly and I drove back to Shoshone and   my camp up the gulch. I was hoping to find the little internet café open, but it was closed and I doubt if he will open in the morning, so I may have to go on and find another way to send email another day.