The New Yorker
How the Desert Was Fed: Tecopa’s Farming Roots in the Mining Frontier
In the late 19th century, when settlers first began to cultivate the Amargosa Basin and the valleys surrounding Tecopa, they were not starting from scratch. The land had already been studied, shaped, and survived by the Southern Paiute and Mojave peoples for centuries. As historian Sherryl Lynn Weber documented in her 1995 University of Nevada, Las Vegas…
Tecopa Town Hall Unites Residents to Tackle Food Insecurity After Federal Cuts
“You guys are tough people out there,” said Jessica from the Inyo-Mono Advocates for Community Action (IMACA), nodding from her Zoom screen toward the handful of desert residents gathered inside the Tecopa Community Center on a cool October evening. “And we’re hungry,” a local resident replied. The exchange captured the tone of a town hall…
Flippin-Hamrick Crew Officially Takes Keys to Tecopa Hot Springs & Campground
A new era has officially begun at the Tecopa Hot Springs Campground. On Wednesday, the Flippin-Hamrick crew announced they have “received the keys” to the county-owned facility, marking the formal start of their tenure as concessionaire under a new ten-year agreement with Inyo County. The announcement was shared with the community through a public statement…
Sagebrush Sally: Between Memory and Imagination Lies Community
Dear Sagebrush Sally, As the season picks up, I can feel the energy shifting in town. New faces are arriving, old friends are returning, and everyone seems to have a different idea of what Tecopa should be. Some want growth and investment, others want peace and preservation. It feels like we’re caught between change and…
Heard Around Town: Desert Mornings and Mountain Snow
Autumn has arrived in the Amargosa Basin, bringing crisp mornings, clear skies, and — for the first time this season — snow on Telescope Peak. On October 14, residents spotted a fresh white cap dusting the summit of the Panamint Range, a sure sign that winter is edging closer to Death Valley. Down in Tecopa,…
County Orders Airbnb Operator to Cease Unpermitted Rentals at Lake Tecopa
The Inyo County Planning Department has issued a formal notice ordering the operator of the Lake Tecopa Airbnb to stop all short-term rental activity, citing violations of county code that prohibit unpermitted vacation rentals in unincorporated communities such as Tecopa. In a letter dated June 23, 2025, Planning Director Cathreen Richards informed Adrian Wilton, owner…
Inyo County Rewrites the Rules at Tecopa Hot Springs
The Inyo County Board of Supervisors is set to approve a new ten-year agreement at their October 21 meeting, granting Flippin Happy Campers & Lance Hamrick LLC the right to operate and maintain the Tecopa Hot Springs Campground and Pools, one of the Amargosa Basin’s most enduring public amenities. The contract marks the third public–private…
House Mice Bring Hidden Parasite Threat to Endangered Amargosa Voles in Tecopa
Welcome to our new science section — a weekly dive into the research shaping our understanding of the Amargosa Basin and the desert communities that call it home. Every Friday we will post a relevant article distilling peer-reviewed studies, field reports, and academic findings into clear, locally relevant stories about Tecopa’s ecology, geology, climate, and history. From…
Sagebrush Sally: Service Without Spotlight
Dear Sagebrush Sally, After the recent fire, I’ve been thinking a lot about how best to support the people in our community who lost their homes and belongings. I keep hearing the names of those affected, but I don’t personally know them, and I want to make sure I’m helping in ways that are actually…
Optimism Grows as Tecopa Hot Springs Concession Contract Nears Finalization
After months of uncertainty, momentum is building toward a finalized agreement for the Tecopa Hot Springs Campground & Pools concession. Both county officials and the incoming operators say they’re close to sealing the deal, with hopes of reopening by early November. At the September 23 Inyo County Board of Supervisors meeting, Supervisor Will Wadelton noted…
Rep. Kevin Kiley Urges House to Return to Session, Breaks with Speaker Over Shutdown Strategy
As the federal government shutdown entered its twelfth day, Tecopa’s elected congressman, Rep. Kevin Kiley (R), said Sunday on CNN that the House should return to work instead of remaining closed under Speaker Mike Johnson’s direction. “There are a lot of reasons for the House to be in session,” Kiley said. “We were supposed to be in session the…
Heard Around Town: Rain, Renewal, and Resilience
It’s been a dramatic start to October in Tecopa, where the desert sky has delivered both a rare soaking and an early taste of winter. On October 9, residents watched dark clouds gather over the Amargosa Basin, bringing a flash flood warning and more than half an inch of rain — the third-largest rainfall in…
Heard Around Town: Desert Winds and Civic Sparks
Autumn is settling into the desert, and with it comes a sense of motion — the wind picking up, the air sharpening, and the land itself waking after months of heat and stillness. Across Inyo County, that shift is visible everywhere: in the renewed rhythm of community meetings, conservation projects, and events, and in the…
Sagebrush Sally: Sharing the Desert—Engines, Echoes, and a Little Etiquette
Dear Sagebrush Sally, With the new off-road season gearing up at Dumont Dunes, a lot of us in Tecopa are feeling the ripple effects—some good, some not so good. The influx of off-highway vehicle (OHV) riders brings a big boost to local businesses, especially food and lodging. But it also means more traffic, more dust,…
Dumont Dunes Ramps Up for the 2025 OHV Season
As the summer heat fades and the desert winds begin to cool, the familiar sound of engines returns to Dumont Dunes. Riders from across the Southwest are tuning up for another off-highway vehicle (OHV) season at this vast 7,620-acre sand dune system, managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Located about 40 miles north of Baker…
Sagebrush Sally: Brace Yourselves—High Season Is Coming
Dear Sagebrush Sally, High season is almost here, and you can feel the shift already. Trailers and vans will soon roll into town, bathhouses will fill up again, and businesses that sat shuttered all summer are now sweeping off the dust and unlocking their doors. For many of us, this is the season that pays…
Heard Around Town: Waiting on the Record
Inyo County has confirmed that it is still in the process of negotiating the concessionaire contract with the selected respondent for the Tecopa Hot Springs Campground and Pools. As a result, officials say, TecopaCabana’s public records request related to the submitted applications remains on hold. “This PRA will be resumed once negotiations are complete,” the…
Sagebrush Sally: Finding Balance in a Small-Town Drama
Dear Sagebrush Sally, Sometimes living in Tecopa feels like being trapped in the audience of a play you didn’t buy tickets for. There are personalities in town who cause no shortage of drama, yet instead of addressing the behavior directly, most people either reward the few good deeds, ignore the rest, or sit on the…
Sagebrush Sally: When the Crowd Gets Loud, Stay Grounded
Dear Sagebrush Sally, Sometimes living in Tecopa feels less like a community and more like a courtroom, where the loudest voices in town act as judge, jury, and executioner. I’ve seen neighbors gang up on individuals—online and in person—without all the facts, and once the mob gets rolling, it’s hard for anyone to step in…
Heard Around Town: Season 11 Takes Shape
Desert Festival ‘Tecopa Takeover’ Shifts to November 7–9, Confirms Lineup The desert’s most colorful fall tradition is officially back. Organizers have confirmed that Tecopa Takeover 11 will be held November 7–9, 2025 at the Tecopa Hot Springs Resort, just 90 minutes from Las Vegas. “Yes! Of course it is happening!!! We can’t help ourselves…” organizers wrote in their announcement.…