First we stopped in Tecopa Proper. Here is the remnant of the old train station. I am a lover of ruins and here were wooden sidewalks, wooden post pillars and train ghosts galore.
This wonderful bottle wall is a work in progress. I believe the final work of art will be in the form of a tiara.
Obviously China Date Ranch is a PC version of what it was originally called. But the ethnic settler was run off and a succession of horse rustlers took over the valley. It was lucrative. When the horse thieves made money they were Republicans. When they “redistributed” the land they were Democrats. 
The Ranch has so many types of date trees it is amazing. The dates are protected from the birds by wrapping the bunches of fruit in old clothing—it’s a very colorful orchard! In back of the ranch is a wonderful hike back to an old mining site, 2 “rivers” that converge and a beautifully preserved old berm from the Tidewater Tonopah railroad. The waters are the Amargosa River and Willow Creek. The water is pure.
Hiking the 3 miles was a bit much for me and Mr T was great about carrying both fanny packs and yelling at the dogs so I could conserve breath. A cold beer on the desert is like nectar.
Today the sun was gone—cold and overcast and not good for photography. We embarked on a long circle recon trip in the Jeep—90 miles total of which about 60 were on dirt roads. The plan was to circle Kingston Peak. 
The Kingston Wash Road started out just fine. Nice wide dirt road and twice as many signs as needed warning us of who and what was allowed and that we could not drive over 30’ off the road. OK—fine—we can comply. The road quickly turned to a Class 2 road. The Jeep took it in stride. Besides, there were still numerous signs and markers pointing out the trail.
THERE IS TOO A ROAD AROUND HERE!
But all of a sudden, we were in rocks and boulders and washes and unmarked desert. It was now Class 3 and there was not a sign to be seen. Back when it had been proto-dirt road, it was government overkill. Now that information was vital, nothing was in sight. Now—try to imagine health care run by the government—that is what it would be like. No TARP signs here.
Worse, we were quickly losing daylight as well as the road. The NavSys showed no roads of any kind so that was no help. We bottomed out, had to turn around, backtrack, guess, get out and scout—but eventually we found a stretch of desert that got us out of that wash just as the sun sank behind the hills. The last 12 miles we drove on a soft sand dirt road in complete darkness.
The Jeep has more desert pinstriping than it did and we bottomed out several times—but all the tires survived. All in all, it was a great day. Maybe tomorrow we’ll head into the Valley. And maybe not!
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