That storm from yesterday is here to
stay. It also brought in a whole bunch of clouds. It's been a long
time since we have seen the sky so cloudy.
We decide it would be better not to
drive with the trailer today. Instead we pay a visit to the nearby
China Ranch Date Farm. We're skeptical about seeing a date farm in
the desert... As we get close, the road suddenly descents into a
small canyon oasis. A Chinese worker started the farm after the Borax
factory in Death Valley closed. The date palm is the oldest known
cultivated tree crop, going back 8,000 years!
There is a lovely walk behind the farm
going through the Amargosa river valley. It's interesting to see the
abrupt change of scenery around the river where plant life is so
abundant. We also see remnants of old and long forgotten railways,
cars and dwellings. Janine finds some fool's gold. The clouds turn
darker and we get about 10 drops of rain, but that's it.
We have to cross the river (which is
currently only a small stream) to get to a slot canyon. We climb into
the narrow canyon until we get to a dead end. Martijn uses his long
legs to get past and makes is all the way to the real end to submerge
out of the canyon.
About 2 hours later we are back at the
farm and treat ourselves to a date shake. Yummie!
Today: 24km - 1h6m
Total: 25,796km - 504h44m
