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One sunny fall day at the turn of the last century, I took a road trip. With Las Vegas in my rearview mirror, I crested a mountain pass and dropped down onto a remote California road. But when a sharp steep twisting road put me high on a ridge dividing two valleys, I just couldn’t believe my eyes. Forever mountain ranges in brilliant and hazy desert light made me ache in the strangest way. Onward, I was surprised by a cool, green corridor, followed by Tecopa (then a ramshackle, sparse encampment). Then down into a thick oasis; the terminus of thousands of journeys before me. I was home in the profoundest sense. But how to live here, never leave? Oh, I know. I will just close my business, sell my home, cut my city connections, and make it work.
I did make it work, but I had much to learn: the desert beat me up, cradled me, challenged me, nurtured me, scared me, and finally empowered me. I know tarantulas are kindly creatures on a mission every October. I know Great Horned Owls have no fear of any living creature, and vultures care only for the dead. I know pack rats will actually steal my jewelry. Billion-year-old rocks have the magic of teaching deep time. The less technology the better. Growing old is as wonderful as being young. The dark night sky is heartbreaking, but I have to watch. Walking on footpaths made by ancient feet made me understand I am no different – same problems different epoch. And finally, when people walk on my footpaths, it will be the same.
The Amargosa Basin desert is where I belong, because it effortlessly touches my ancient self, and when it happens it’s a relief as familiar as it is strange. If you are open, the desert will teach you all manner of amazing things about you, too. If you think you want to immerse yourself in such a place and see what happens, I will do my best to share all the secrets and special places I have discovered in my time here. It is my great joy.
-Cynthia Kienitz
With my son’s UTV business now growing alongside Basecamp, I am shaping a family-run desert enterprise rooted in lodging, land access, and continuity. What we are building is practical, personal, and precious to me.
Through cynthiassafaris.org, I share the Amargosa Basin through trusted travel partners, mission-aligned programs, and carefully shaped desert experiences rooted in local knowledge, desert care, and meaningful access to the land.
Support for academic field work, film and photo shoots, and hosted gatherings. The basin offers a rare combination of access, scale, quiet, and open space for groups who need to work deeply in place.
