2008 Trip Report - DE Rendezvous - Springs & Cabins

Rock Alignments, Springs and Cabin  

By Marian Johns

              We started our Sunday Rondy trip with about 10 vehicles and drove  only a short distance from Shoshone. Then we walked a half mile to the  mysterious rock alignments that Neal stumbled upon several years ago. Who made  them, when they were made, or why they were made is uncertain. Nevertheless, we  enjoyed contemplating and photographing these strange lines of rocks.

            The next destination was Ibex Springs south on  Highway 127 and then west on a dirt 4x4 two-track. We were pleased to find the  palms and other vegetation around the springs looking healthy and lush. After  exploring the area for a while, Don Putnam and Myrtie showed us some nearby  sleeping circles that we didn't know about.

            When we headed father south down to Saratoga  Springs via another 4x4 trail, several participants abandoned us and took off  for home. The rest of us continued on and enjoyed the unnatural sight of  considerable water and reeds in such a dry and desolate area. We ate our lunches  there in the minuscule shade of our vehicles; it was getting quite warm.

            Some of our group then voted to take the time  to see Salt Basin and the cute cabin there even though this was not on the  original schedule. There is no spring here, but this is still one of my favorite  desert places. The cabin is nestled in a small basin and surrounded by colorful  formations and stratified hills. Unfortunately, our "road" back to the main  graded road was a bit of a challenge since Neal used his GPS to follow a route  shown on that (usually accurate) mechanism. This time, however, the "road" was  essentially washed away. Any and all previous tracks had been obliterated by  those rare desert floods. Yet on we went, helter skelter, down the washes until  we finally reached the graded road. What a relief is was to be back on an actual  road.

            Our last stop for the day was Sheep Creek  Springs. The two-track up to this pleasant place also showed signs of washouts  and had deteriorated since our last visit. Still, it was quite passable and we  enjoyed another desert oasis, this one with a tiny stream and another cabin.

            It was after 3:00 p.m. by then – time to head  for home. So we said good-bye to our friend and reluctantly joined the rat race  from Vegas on I-15.