Tacopa Springs

Yep, Tacopa Hot Springs is very small, remote, and yet very cool. Mark, Gordon and I rallied up at the 4 way stop in Tacopa, and then rode over to Delights Hot Springs Resort. Don’t get your hopes up…this is not a 4 star resort with flat screen TV’s, day spa, and 5 star dining. It was a spa of 75 year old concrete cabins and very old trailers, with 4 private, jumbo hot mineral springs’ tubs. Frankly, we kind of balked when we saw it, but it turned out to be a perfect stop for all of us.

Dodging the scorpions, we each picked out a private tub, and submersed in butt-reddening hot mineral water. It was fabuloso! It warmed me to the core and took the edge and tension out of our muscles after so many days and miles on the bike. The mineral content was so high that the water felt "silky". Remarkable water, with great healing powers. Took a shower in the room (no showers in our rooms or cabins) and then made it back to the rooms to dress for dinner.

After the baths and slipping on some walking shoes, we strolled the ¾ mile to a wonderful little bistro. We listened to Sade, drank lots of water, and ate a fabulous dinner….and consumed vast amounts of cooking vapors when the vent fan above the stove stopped working. Oh, well, can’t all be perfect. All of this was in the middle of…well…absolutely nowhere.

Our walk back allowed us to befriend a Scorpion passing across the road, while a few steps further up the road we saw our first snake road kill. Lightening fast reflexes prepared me to run like a coyote in heat, but I saw it was truly dead…and truly flat!

 But the best part was when we returned to the resort. You see, it is a resort for alternative medicine too. There are two resident folks who can administer acupuncture, traditional massage, Rie Ki, and more. Gordon and I got a seated shoulder, neck and hand massage from Kay, and he and I trailed off to our respective rooms (watching carefully for Tarantulas and Scorpions) for a great night’s sleep. It was an extraordinary, remote, aging resort. 

The next morning, Mark, Gordon and I were up and out at 0700. We were ready to hit the road and head for Death Valley. Before leaving, we had a few photos to remind us why we are together again, as friends, as "buds", sharing the good times together. Very special. Members of our little group have ridden together now, in the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, Nederlands, Germany, and Italy. Many wonderful memories.

Shoshone

       
Things really began to change once out of Henderson. We zipped through the desert and bingo…Pahrump! www.parhump.org Nope, we didn’t hit a coyote, nor, perish the thought, an armadillo. Pahrump is burgeoning metropolis about 50 miles NW of Vegas, and has not particular mission in life except to provide entertainment for the gamblers and, hmmm, for those seeking companionship from legalized brothels. Oh, yes, it is also the closest town to the famous Chicken Ranch Brothel. Ah, well, we can’t all be puritans.

Then another 25 miles and we were in beautiful downtown Shoshone, Nevada. Listed as an old Ghost Town, it is a blooming town of 100 hardy folks, at the south end of Death Valley. We rolled into town and tied our steeds up at the Crowbar café. We were preceded by a group of some 50 Germans on a special cross country tour, on rented Harleys, and led by a van with a mechanic and luggage. They were all on a month long ride across America, clothed in even Harley regalia to keep the motor company open for another year. Amazing that they were all in leathers and were about to descend into the depths of Death Valley and a bout with 104 F weather! Man, they had to be sweatin’!

We ate well, used the internet, browsed through the Shoshone Museum and Tourist information center, stared at the gas signs showing $5+ per gallon, and then bid our farewells. Nathalie and Thomas headed north through Death Valley, while I headed south about 15 miles to meet up with Mark and Gordon, in Tacopa Hot Springs, population 50. I will miss Shoshone, and hope to get back there soon so I can revisit the museum and the Crowbar Cafe. Good stuff!

Nathalie and Thomas were great riding partners across the country, and though sad to see them off, we would be together again in a few days when we connected up in San Francisco. These rides are about the world around us, but when the evening comes up, and we are all at dinner, it is always about the Friendship.The ride down to Tacopa Hot Springs was smooth, and awesome, seeing the beginnings of salt basins, wetting my appetite for the upcoming ride through Death Valley.