For this weeks Show Us Your California contest by @thesocalhive I head out for a really fun trip to...

Tecopa!!

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This winter I've been going on a lot of camping trips out in the desert and one that I'd been talking about for months now was a trip up to Tecopa. So before the weather warmed up i had to get up there! Tecopa lies in Inyo county just south of Death Valley NP and just east of the CA/NV border. Essentially it's a long way out in the middle of nowhere. But despite that it's a really nice little valley with lots of interesting things to find. Most famously it's many hot springs.

On this trip I got both my cousin and my buddy @csusbgeochem1 to join me. We headed northeast on the 15 freeway to Baker and then north on the 127 to Tecopa. It was a long drive to get out there and it was made even longer due to the annual Law Enforcement "Baker to Las Vegas" run which made for lots of additional foot and vehicle traffic. I didn't mind though and actually found it quite fun to cheer on all the runners as we passed them.

The desert scenery along the 127

Once we arrived in Tecopa our first stop was the famous "Death Valley Brewery". The brewery is small and has a really neat atmosphere, not to mention some of the best beers I've ever tried. The owner/brewer Dan is an interesting character and it's fun to hang out and chat with him. We had a few drinks, played a little pool, and hung out outside in the garden area for awhile. Then eventually we decided it was time to head over to the hot springs. When we arrived there was already a dozen or so people there, but luckily the pool is really large as far as hot springs go and it could easily fit 30+ people without too much crowding. Being the dummies that we are we headed straight to the hottest part of the pool, which we had to abandon after only a minute or two because it was just too dang hot! So we found a more temperate section of the pool and soaked there for awhile chatting it up with the other soakers. As it started getting dark we decided to wrap it up, dry off, and head out into the desert to find a good spot to camp. We made a few wrong turns, but eventually we found our favorite spot and setup our camp. We got a campfire going, made some dinner, and enjoyed ourselves under the starry desert night.

The beer menu

A 7 Gables and a Cucamongale

Inside the brewery

Hiking over to the Hot Springs

Arriving at the Hot Springs

Getting in the springs at the hottest area

Soaking in the more temperate area

The next day we woke up to a beautiful morning. Sunny and warm with a slight cool breeze. @csusbgeochem1 made us some breakfast and then we pulled out our little .22 pistols for a little bit of fun target practice. After that we packed up camp and headed out. On out way out we decided to stop and go explore a really neat natural cave that was formed purely from erosion. After that we headed back to the hot springs for another quick soak, and then back to the brewery so I could get a growler of my favorite, the Cucamongale Ale, to bring home with me. After that we got back on the road for the long drive back across the desert and back home to SoCal. This trip was too much fun, and I can't wait to go back. Unfortunately I think it's quickly going to start getting too hot. So it may be awhile... but I'll be back!

Waking up at our camp