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Windfall Equipment Gift, Radio Near-Disaster, and New Fire Station Dominate SIFPD Board Meeting
Fire Station Planning Advances as Site Survey Completed, RFP Process Nears Launch After years of planning, the Southern Inyo Fire Protection District’s long-awaited new fire station plan has cleared a significant hurdle. A completed site survey has locked in the building footprint, septic system, and leach field placement for the Tecopa station — moving the…
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A Century of Commerce in Death Valley: Brian Brown Traces the Reinvention of the Northern Mojave
SHOSHONE, Calif., March 14 — When Brian Brown held up a small Colt revolver, the whole room gasped. The .32-20 Winchester, shown in a photograph of his great-uncle Howard Corkill at a local mining camp and long remembered in family lore as a woman’s handbag pistol, embodied the kind of desert history Brown had come…
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Connecting Tecopa: First Sidewalks on the Horizon as Corridor Plan Moves Forward
Tecopa has never really been on the way to anywhere. Tucked at the end of long desert drives, it is a place people reach deliberately, not by accident. But a long-planned bicycle and pedestrian corridor now moving into its design stage could soon make the town itself part of a route — a safer path…
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Still Here, Still Home: Timbisha Shoshone Mark 25 Years of the Homeland Act in Death Valley
On a clear late-January morning at Furnace Creek in Death Valley National Park, the visitor center felt less like a museum lobby than a civic hall. The packed auditorium seating, usually for visitors watching an interpretive film, faced a ring of seats, filled with the leaders and elders of the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe. Upon arrival…
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Heard Around Town: Best in Show
After a week of relentless desert wind that sent dust across the valley floor and rattled every loose screen door in Tecopa, the Amargosa Basin is sliding into the familiar rhythm of late winter in the Mojave: warm days, restless gusts, and the steady arrival of visitors chasing the first signs of spring. Temperatures are…
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Heard Around Town: Chasing Dreams
Wind and rain have tormented the region since Monday, shaking up travel plans just as Death Valley edges toward peak season. Southern California Edison has, in recent months, scheduled—and then canceled—equipment-upgrade outages more than once, and so far these storms haven’t knocked anything down. It did, however, offer a rare reward: the “snowpahs”—a fleeting, snow-bright…
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Heard Around Town: Rain and Flowers on the Horizon
Death Valley is sliding back into the spotlight, and you can feel it in the small signals locals trade like currency—photos of fresh blooms tucked into washes, roadside petals cataloged like evidence, and “proof” shots posted the moment something new breaks open. With a superbloom widely anticipated over the next two months due to heavy rains…
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Sagebrush Sally: What to Do When the Wonder Wears Off
Dear Sagebrush Sally, I’ve been living in Tecopa long enough to know that this place does something to people. And I don’t mean that in a bad way — I mean it changes them. I’ve watched hard-edged city folks slow down and soften. I’ve seen burned-out wanderers finally stop running. I’ve met people who came…
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Sagebrush Sally: Respect Is the Price of Desert Freedom
Dear Sagebrush Sally, Lately it feels like Tecopa is split into two worlds that barely speak the same language. One half of town is trying to run legitimate businesses—keep things clean, safe, and sustainable, follow rules, pay bills, and make a living in a place where nothing is easy. The other half seems to treat…
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Sagebrush Sally: Stay Kind Without Getting Caught in the Drama
Dear Sagebrush Sally, I have a question that feels a little delicate. I have a neighbor here in Tecopa whose behavior has me genuinely concerned and a bit worn out. They seem to need constant attention, turn every situation into a dramatic scene, and often retell events in ways that make them look like the…
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Fire Devastates Borehole Spring, Endangered Amargosa Vole Habitat
A devastating wildfire broke out at Borehole Spring near Tecopa, California, overnight on February 11, inflicting catastrophic damage to the hot spring which is also a delicate wetland habitat of the endangered and endemic Amargosa vole (Microtus californicus scirpensis). The fire consumed a significant area of critical bulrush habitat surrounding the spring, posing a severe…
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Exploring Dumont Dunes: An Off-Road Enthusiast’s Paradise
Nestled just over 20 miles south of Tecopa, the Dumont Dunes Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) Recreation Area is a sanctuary for thrill-seekers and nature lovers alike. Spanning an impressive 7,620 acres of public land, this Special Recreation Management Area (SRMA) offers an unparalleled blend of heart-pounding OHV experiences, breathtaking desert landscapes, and opportunities for primitive camping…
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Airbnb and ChatGPT Walk into a Town
The signs along Tecopa Hot Springs Road communicate many things – hot rejuvenating waters! Or our new favorite, $399/night with two night minimum, yikes! So we decided to ask ChatGPT to summarize what our local Airbnbers are peddling on their digital signs – aka their actual listings and visitor reviews. Here is what the AI…
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Surviving and Thriving: Best Practices for Camping in the Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert, with its vast expanses of arid landscapes and unique ecosystems, presents both challenges and opportunities for those seeking to camp and connect with nature. As a region known for its extreme temperatures and diverse terrain, proper preparation and adherence to best practices are essential to ensure a safe and enjoyable camping experience.…
