We descended 1,000 feet from desert vistas, through hundreds of feet of alluvial flow to be greeted by a hidden oasis of date palms.  The China Ranch Date Farm is a family owned business within a lush oasis of palms, cottonwoods and willows.  Fed by natural springs, the harvest season has just began.  Over a dozen different variety of dates are available for sampling.  After a short hike along the Amargosa River and through the groves of date palms, we returned to the gift shop and purchased several pounds.  Sampling fresh dates was like eating candy.  Want some? China Ranch has a website.

We are here for the Annual Old West Days in Shoshone, a sleepy mining town, along highway 127, just outside Death Valley National Park. The weather is awesome. It’s not too late to plan a weekend in the Amargosa Valley.