Desert Art and a Hot Spring on the way to Death Valley

We woke up to cold weather and while grabbing breakfast the snow started to come down. As we drove it turned from snow to hail to rain. Our first quick detour was to Stokes Castle. It is an abandoned three-story stone tower located just outside Austin, Nevada. The family only occupied the Stokes Castle for a short time. Eventually, the castle fell into disrepair.

After Stokes, we headed to the Clown Motel in Tonopah Nevada. This well worn and humble hotel’s lobby is loaded with hundreds of clowns of all shapes and sizes. Soft plush clowns, glass hand blown clowns, ceramic clowns, Ronald McDonald the Clown and more.

Leaving the Motel we headed out for a soak at Alkali Flat Hot Springs. The wind was still strong but the water was warm. These pools needed a little cleaning but they made for a good soak. Some other explorers swung by to check it out, they had been to the springs years before. We soaked and watched the wandering cattle graze and find some cool water to drink nearby.

We still needed to cover a lot of miles to make it to Death Valley but we had to stop at the International Car Forest of the Last Church. This desert art is more like a druidic stone henge of junk cars than a church. It’s made up of a few dozen or more cars, trucks, busses and vans that have been balanced or stacked on top of each other and uniquely painted.

We hit the pedal and finally made it into Death Valley NP. The Campgrounds were full expect the massive parking lot campground. Much like you pay for parking at the airport you pay for your campsite in the same way.