February, running away from the cold and snow, we found this place. This place (city? I mean, it has post office) is a real treat for those who enjoy places that move at the pace of three-toed sloths. And that is us.
There isn't much here. A gas station, a restaurant/bar that is not bad, a store (with a bizarre but limited array of supplies: sodas, canned foods, souvenirs, some frozen stuff), a post office (how the heck did they swing that?), a museum (not to be missed and the day we visited there was a gentleman who lived in the area who was originally from NJ who was a wealth of information and ideas of what to do), and an RV park which has a wonderful pool and nice people.
OK, first, understand where you are. In the middle of frigging nowhere. Set your expectations accordingly.
Next, if you can get over the jitters of not being connected (OMG, that's right, no cell phone coverage for most providers although there is spotty wifi coverage at the RV park, but for crying out loud, get over it!!!! Enjoy being disconnected and reconnect with what is around you!) you just may see the draw of such isolation.
The guy at the museum gave us a few maps with trails. We hiked the three trails (they all connect) across the street from the RV park. We hiked for a good two-plus hours and saw no other people. We did find spectacular vistas and some birds we had never seen before (get the list from the museum). The trail dumped us back at the museum and a short walk back to the RV park.
The next day we hiked the old High School cross-country running trail. It is a three mile trek (on both hikes we are glad we had a pair of small bird-watching binoculars as sometimes the poles for the trails were hard to find) staring at a trailhead right behind the RV park. It goes through a series of streams and ponds where we saw more pup fish ( a rare, warm water desert fish) then we had seen in Death Valley, and then up around the back of town. The area was beautiful, if you are able to enjoy desert landscape. If not you wen to the wrong place. At the end of the three miles, you come through a really interesting area of old homes of miners who built their homes into the hills. Really fascinating. Then there is the cemetery, also really interesting to walk through.
The third day we drove out to China Ranch, a working date farm where you can get date shakes and buy fresh date. Um, we both a lot!. We would urge you to do this day trip. Take water and some food for lunch and make a day of it. The trails are marvelous and, again, well maintained for being out in the middle of nowhere. Don't overlook a walk through the date farm itself.
What is bizarre about Shoshone is that is all (except for the post office) owned by one couple. They maintain the place and have invested heavily to preserve the unique history and the rare natural resources. Why? I have no idea, but we were very pleased that someone has done this. We thoroughly enjoyed our 3 days there and really saw about all there is to see. Again, it is not for everyone. If you can't dial it back, you may not like it. read more