A wild Burro greets us as the sun comes up. As the Gold Rush dwindled, miners set their burros loose to fend for themselves. Now decades later, some of them as a close to heaven as they can get - food, water and not too many predators in the midst of Saline Valley.
It's important to note there's no drumming after 10 p.m.
Somebody brought their purchase home but it won't fit through the doorway.
In the morning ,Dave continues his guided tour of the warm springs, and it turns out we have common backgrounds. We're both engineers, we both are interested in biomedical devices, and while I was researching and building early cochlear implants for artificial hearing in the 1970's, Dave is now developing and marketing them as full blown commercial devices ! It's a small world. And here we are at an oasis in the middle of the desert.
Then we meet Deborah, who's a conservationist and a painter from Colorado. We have a nice talk, before she heads out into the desert for more adventures.
Before we pack up and head out once again, we make a visit to the next hot springs just a short way further along the trail. Once again, it's gorgeous.
After a great soak, we're off, and back up the road towards Big Pine. On the way, there are some desert "souvenirs" people have left behind...a shredded tire, a worn out brake shoe...
Here's a typical mountain with all its mineral wealth, taken from a few miles away
A typical wash that the road crosses. When it's raining don't try speeding through one. And don't try going slowly either.
Many miles along the Saline Valley road up towards Big Pine, we pass through an old mining camp, complete with open shafts, remains of gravel sifters, and even an BBQ...
Bullet holes in an old steel plate
