Discovery Park Trail

  Discovery Park is an excellent example of repurposing  an abandoned piece of property to benefit both a local community and seasonal visitors. The land was developed as a golf course in 1976. The course closed in 2008 and the land was bought by Great Basin Water District in 2010. Many organizations and individuals pitched in to cut down dead trees, plant new trees, run irrigation lines and exterminate invasive species. The golf cart paths make a nice paved walking trail that loops through the park.

The access point to the trail is a dirt path with a zigzag entrance which may be a little tight for large wheelchairs. The paved path is in fairly good shape but some sections are a little rough.

   The main parking area is large enough for RVs but class As will need to be parked parallel to the road. Park 36.20217, -115.98962

Flowers in the Desert

  The heat is moving in so we’ll be heading north to higher elevations in a few days but this has been a nice place to hang out. We managed to walk/roll for a few miles almost everyday even though the rough roads made for a bumpy ride.

        

                                               
Boondocking   36.21514, -115.95841

Sheltering in Place

  The first inkling that this virus was different than anything we had ever seen was the news from China on January 24 – “China rushes to build 1,000 bed hospital to treat coronavirus patients”. At that point there had been one confirmed case of coronavirus in the US. The first death in the US occurred on Feb 29th. We were worried and kept a close watch on the news stories but little changed in our daily lives. We camped with friends, shared meals, and worked on projects. We discussed what we would do in the event of a shutdown and decided to avoid large cities. On March 15 we went shopping and stocked up a little more than normal. The only things missing from the store were toilet paper and hand sanitizer.

   Since then we’ve been isolating as much as possible. We boondocked for several weeks with a friend in Quartzsite. All of us knew where the others had been and weren’t worried about exposing each other but now that the virus has become so wide spread we are taking many more precautions. We’ve moved to Pahrump and are boondocking with two more friends but sharing food, visiting inside, and getting closer than 6 feet are all taboo. Trips to town are kept to a minimum and I made Tony a mask.

   We went through Las Vegas on our way from Quartzsite to Pahrump just to drive down the deserted Strip. We were surprised at how many people in the rest of the city seemed to be going about business as usual. The stores that weren’t closed were doing a good business and people were taking few precautions.

   We’ll probably stay in Pahrump until it’s too hot and then we’re planning on moving to other dispersed camping areas on BLM land and staying in Nevada if possible because it’s so rural that the chances of catching the virus are at a minimum. In the meantime our life on the road is probably easier than it would be if we lived in a house - we’re camping with people we like, we have a nice view of the snow-covered mountains, the weather has been pretty good, we have strong internet, and we’re close to supplies.

   Plus wild horses in our camp!

   Better than the snake who visited us in Quartzsite!

                                Stay safe wherever you are!

Camp Ibis Boondocking

   Camp Ibis was established in 1942 as a temporary desert training site for soldiers on their way to North Africa during WWII. Close to one million troops trained in this area between 1942 and 1944. The camp was disbanded in 1944. Over the next ten years cleanup projects recovered debris from high explosive projectiles, land mines, grenades and small arms. Some may remain so stay away from any suspicious objects. We didn’t see anything and I suspect that very little would have been in the camp area.

    Since this was a temporary camp the roads were all dirt and most are now overgrown or washed out but there are at least three that can be driven on. They lead to large open areas that make good campsites. Our spot was a little noisy due to its proximity to the road. Camp Ibis  34.97187, -114.83086