Saline Valley Thanksgiving 2011

Saline Valley Thanksgiving 2011 was a good one. Every year for over a decade, I have been making the trek out to Saline Valley Warm Springs. It is a hell of a ride, but well worth it. I was introduced to this awesome place by my mother. The journey to the springs is long. Loretta has come with me the last four Thanksgivings. Ellis had his first Saline Valley soak when he was less than 5 months old. This year he was soaking like a pro.

I have gotten a flat tire on the Saline Valley Road the last 3 years (might be time to get some better tires). Loretta and I bought a little truck for the journey this year. While I was thankful to not have to remove the back seats of my Honda CRV, I did miss the comfort of the more modern vehicle. I manage to load whatever vehicle we bring out to about twice the recommended capacity.

We bring in an absurd amount of food, infrastructure, and random stuff for the 10 days of eating, soaking, and hanging out. We are always greeted with the friendly faces of Saline Valley regulars (old-timers) with names like Garbage Mike, Buffalo Bob, Minnesota Bob, LED Don, etc. This year we were joined by my good friend Ranger Tim, and long time Saline camping buddy, Alex “Crash” Black. Here are some pictures from our trip.