Date:         Tue, 21 Feb 95 11:58:12 PST
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Al Knoll <alf@hpptc38.rose.hp.com>
Subject:      Red Rocks News and more


Ruby (the red brick 4WD B&B) and I wandered off to take the air this past 
weekend and happened to pass through Red Rocks SP on the way to Furnace Creek.

Here's a little poop on the faculty and facilities.

Had a nice talk with the Red Rock Ranger Rick and we discussed the letter from
David.  A few interesting points were made.  The space limit is 50 spaces and
these are first come-must occupy-no saving space for your buddies-type spots.
He mentioned that that weekend would be smack dab in the middle of their high
season with flower connersewers from all over coming to wander about and see 
what the wettest winter in recent memory can produce.  When I mentioned 20+ VW
vans his eyes rolled back in his head a bit and he said he could put us on a 
large, flat parking lot (primitive=> no WC, no PT, no TP, no HS, no FR) some 
1.5 miles from water and the visitor center.   Not nrubin's idea of camping as
I understand it. 

Red Rocks itself is reminiscent of SE Utah, Canyonlands NP style.  Colorful,
desert environment.  The camping area is treeless and clustered near some    
pretty cliffs, great for sunning.  I suppose there's lots of hiking about and
the terrain is certainly dramatic.  There is water, pit toilets, and a nice
visitor center.  

My personal feeling is that given the proximity to LALA land, we'd all have to
get there Thursday night to get spaces near each other.  But, hey, it's always
an adventure when you're out and about the great American West.

The rest of the weekend was terrific too.  Sacramento to Red Rocks via the 
superslab cost 7hrs + of exhiliarating I5 travel, yakking on the CB, watching
the left laners disappear in the distance and enjoying the fog.  Trip to DVNP
and Furnace Creek with it's usual load of vacationers and my friends from the 
Norcal BMW Club and the AirHeads BMW affiliation and The Friends of Wiley 
Coyote.  The astronomical events of desert stars, moonrise over Winnebago,
lots of meteors were quite enjoyable while waiting for the sourdough to bake,
the micro-chickens to magically become chickenette au vin and the rosemary
potatoes to permeate the desert air with their enticing aromas.  Dinner and
an 89 Kendall Jackson Chardonnay followed by a handfull of the local dates and
a wee dram of 18yr MacCallan made a sumptuous ending to the day.  

Pink dawn painting Telescope peak and a cappucino before a quiet walk to pick
dates and the morning shower got the day started just right.  A bit of $1.70/gal
Chevron and off to Furnace Creek Inn for the Sunday Brunch after packup brought
memories of years ago.  Same place, different times.  Watched a resplendent
raven in his Sunday finest courting his date at the local dumpster and drove off
to the dunes at Stovepipe Wells and on to Panamint Springs.

A possible option to Red Rocks might be Panamint Springs Resort, located as you
might expect at Panamint Springs on US190 east of Lone Pine.  I stayed there
Sunday night.  They have motel, restaurant, hookup, and tent site accommodationsalong with a pot bellied pig named Charlotte, a very friendly abyssinian cat 
named Taz, reasonable food, HOT SHOWERS, FLUSH TOILETS etc etc.

Eight bucks for tent site, 15 bucks for full hookups in the shade of the 
tamarisk trees.  The location is 2hrs/50mi from Saline Valley and Palm Springs
for those who would like the naturist view of a desert oasis.  They also have
a multi-acre area where we could "circle the wagons" so to speak and they do
take reservations.  The local views are specatacular with the snow capped 
Panamint Range and the sand dunes.  Death Valley proper is 86mi away with its 
date shakes and milling throngs of "snowbirds" and LALA land tourists.  

The mosey up the Owens Valley included a micro tour of Keeler, a stop at Schats
bakery in Bishop, Roi Ballard's Smokehouse in Bishop and a nice snowy climb up
Deadmans Summit in crystal clear air and desert blue skies.  Mono Lake was
the precious azure jewel that I remembered from last fall and Hammerbachers
Store is still for sale in Coleville.  Daggett Pass and and an espresso at 
Harrah's then US50 back to the valley got bag,bus,baggage,buns home at 9PM.

Fine weekend in the mountains.  ~950 miles at a moderate mosey.  

PT=Pit Toilet, WC=Flush Toilet, TP=Toilet Paper, HS=Hot Shower, FR=Fire Rings 


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         ___  / __   __/   ____/         Al Knoll HP Performance Technology /
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       _____/      /     /             916.785.5317    (Telnet 785-5317)  /
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