Took a trip recently to China Ranch, a date farm about 5 miles from our hot springs home. This is an oasis located along a tributary wash of the Amargosa River.
It was first settled by a Chinese immigrant near the turn of the last century. That immigrant "disappeared" mysteriously and a series of Anglo ranchers have been the owners ever since. Gypsum and talc were mined nearby for many years. But access to bountiful springwater nearby apparently sparked an interest in developing the oasis into a working date ranch. I've developed an apetite for this extremely sweet fruit. This is also a great place for hikes into the badlands (as seen behind the date palms in this picture) or along the Amargosa River and the old trainbed of the Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad. Tom especially looks forward to the "date shakes" after a good walk...sort of the prize for looking at all the scenery and actually getting exercise in the process. (BTW, the cloths seen in the picture at left are protecting the date fruit from the birds...they like the sweets, too!)
All else is well with us. We'll look to be here another 6 weeks so hopefully will have more to share. Nancy continues to enjoy the daily baths. Tom does too:)
Happy trails
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