Raven Jake Dawes

Tecopa Hot Springs

 

Raven Jake in Tecopa

As shameful as it is to admit this, I'm a latecomer to Death Valley. But better late than never! And Death Valley has some of the most amazing land features in the world. I was up in Shoshone to film a geology seminar offered by the Shoshone Museum (more on this later) and decided to make a side trip to Tecopa Hot Springs. Here's an interesting fact, folks: the desert isn't always dry.

Case in point: Tecopa: it's a marsh. It also has some first-rate hot springs. Great place to soak. It's about 50 miles north of Baker (if you're driving from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, you know where that is) and home to some fantastic desert scenery.

I was displeased with our hotel for a number of reasons, so they don't get the Raven Jake endorsement, but I can tell you that the baths are incredible: they don't chlorinate, they replace the water, so you're soaking in nutrients, not poison.

 

Recurvirostra americana

Get outta town a little bit (1000 yards ought to do it), and you can hear the frogs croaking, the dragonflies buzzing, and see critters like this American Avocet out fishin'. It's a peaceful, wonderful spot and a great jumping-off place for more adventure. For more history on the area, be sure to check out the Shoshone Museum about five miles up the road.

 

 

Tecopa Marshlands 

 

Raven Jake by Mud Flats

 

 

 

 

 

Tecopa Spring

 

 

Tecopa Family

The Wildcat of the Paiutes

 

Chief Tecopa in full regalia

The eastern California desert was home to several related tribes of the Shoshonean-language groups, notably the Southern Paiutes, the Chemehuevi and the Cahuilla. Chief Tecopa (c.1815 – 1904 or 1906) was a Native American leader. His name means wildcat, in the Ni-Wi dialect, and at one time he really was one. Tecopa was a leader of the Southern Nevada tribe of the Paiute in the Ash Meadows and Pahrump areas.

 

In the 1840s, Tecopa and his warriors engaged the expedition of Kit Carson and John C. Fremont in a three day battle at Resting Springs, but later in life observed that direct confrontation with white settlers would not be a productive way to resolve the inevitable conflict. According to Touring Nevada, Tecopa usually wore a bright red band suit with gold braid and a silk top hat. Whenever these clothes wore out they were replaced by the local white miners out of gratitude for Tecopa's help in maintaining peaceful relations with the Paiute. Although this strains credulity, there is at least one photo that shows him wearing this rather outlandish outfit.

 

The village of Tecopa, California was named after Chief Tecopa by J. B. Osbourne, who owned the local Gunsight and Noonday Mines.

 

Tecopa is buried with his son and grandson at the Chief Tecopa Cemetery in Pahrump Valley, Nevada. In November 1971 Nevada Governor Mike O'Callaghan called Chief Tecopa “a leader of vision and courage,” and dedicated a state memorial to him at the Chief's gravesite. 15 acres of land were deeded to Nye County and became Tecopa Park.

A Few Death Valley Wildflowers

I found myself out in Death Valley for a special geology seminar sponsored by the Shoshone Museum (more on that later) and I'm pleased to report that the spring wildflower show is still going strong. From top to bottom, we have: Calochortus flexuosus, the winding mariposa; Eschscholzia glyptosperma, the desert poppy; and Opuntia basilaris, the beavertail cactus. This is a fantastic site for thorough wildflower identification, unfortunately it is organized alphabetically by Latin name and it is almost impossible to find your flower without clicking on each one:

Desert Wildflower Identification

 

The Blister Beetle

 

Blister Beetle

This just in from What's that Bug?: Every year in the spring, we get numerous inquiries about Blister Beetles, especially from the desert areas of the Southwest. When Blister Beetles appear, it is often in prodigious numbers, and then suddenly, they vanish. This is a Master Blister Beetle, Lytta magister. It is well represented on BugGuide. This is one of the largest of the Blister Beetles. The adults eat foliage, flowers, pollen and fruit, and according the BugGuide: “Larvae live in bee nests.” Some species of Blister Beetles feed on grasshopper eggs. The beetles in the family Meloidae are known as Blister Beetles because they secrete hemolymph (blood) from their joints when handled, and the hemolymph contains cantharidin which can cause blisters. A European relative is the infamous Spanish Fly.

I found this dude chewing on a plant in Death Valley last weekend. Big shout out to What's That Bug? for answering the obvious question.

What's That Bug? Official site