This video finds us on a visit to the China Ranch date farm in Tecopa, California the way it was on 4-4-2018. We hiked from the visitor center along Willow Creek to the confluence of it and the Amargosa River, and found a slot canyon to explore. The hike was easy and the slot canyon decent but the real attraction is the history.
The area is rich in history being that it is a very old oasis and part of the Old Spanish Trail, a trade route that took early travelers in this area from Santa Fe, New Mexico to southern California. It is definitely worth doing a bit of research into the history of this area as it has trade of goods, gold, borax and gypsum mining, railroad and ranching in it's past.
The date palms were planted from seed in the 1920's. The current owners are active in preserving the history here. Willow Creek and the Amargosa River are very important to all life in this area as well.
Aside from the large palm farm there is also a small museum, and many interesting old artifacts located here.

Here are a couple links that may be of interest.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Spa...)
https://www.chinaranch.com/category_s...