49ers Encampment in Death Valley

♪♫” In a cabin by a canyon, excavating for a mine, ♪♪
♪♫ dwelt a miner 49er and his daughter Clementine”♫♫


We headed into Death Valley on October 28th to prepare for the 59th Annual 49ers Encampment. We camped in Furnace Creek Campground which is 200’ below sea level. Thus it’s name. No electricity or water so I had to go into the campground prepared with all my tanks full so that I could run my generator, enjoy some heat and full water tank so that I could have a shower! I also carried gallon bottles of drinking water. I had been told that the Encampment usually drew around 2000 RVers but because of the price of gas (or diesel) there was no way of knowing how many would attend, and no one had any idea how many SOLOs would make the trip. As it turned out there were 30 SOLOs who stayed for the entire event and at least 10 more who came for a week and then left.

The Encampment is generally speaking a musical event, a lot of country and western, some gospel and some bluegrass music. Different groups of musicians gather for a jamming session outside someone’s rig, and then two or three rows over you find another group. It’s fun just to walk around and sit in on a session and then move on to the next group. During the official 49er days there is a stage and professional musicians do their stuff!
Furnace Creek boasts not only the campground but a little village with a golf course, a motel, two restaurants, a post office and a general store. The motel opens its hot spring fed pool to 49er members, so we naturally became 49ers! A great deal of fun for all who attend…..mostly folks of my age and up.

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