Death Valley - Day 2

We got an early start this morning; so much to see, so much to do. On our way to Scotty's Castle in Grapevine Canyon, we stopped by the Borax Mine. What a history. In the early 1880's, WT Coleman established the Harmony Borax Works in Death Valley. With a growing demand for borax, an unlimited supply of crude ore, Coleman needed to find the quickest, safest way to move his product out of the valley to the nearest railroad junction at Mojave. Thus, the idea to hitch two ten-mule teams together to form a 100' long, twenty-mule team was born. The borax load had to be hauled 165 miles (a 20-day round trip), starting at 190' below sea level & climbing to an elevation of over 2000' before it was over.
Borax, the White Gold of the Desert, ranks as the valley's most profitable mineral.

We moved onward; past the sand dunes, before reaching Scotty's Castle.

We toured the castle which has a great story behind it. Scotty's Castle is actually a two-story Spanish villa built as a getaway for Chicago engineer (and millionaire) Albert Johnson & his wife, Bessie. at a cost of 1.4 million dollars. It's not really a castle & it does not belong to the "Scotty" from whom it got its name. Walter Scott, aka Death Valley Scotty was a gold prospector, a stunt rider for Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show, and a con man. To make a long story short, Scotty conned wealthy businessmen into investing in his fictitious gold mining operation. He was befriended by one of those men, Albert Johnson, who loved his adventurous stories and forgave him for his fraudulent scheming. Albert generously added a room at the ranch just for Scotty, where he continued to entertain his captive audience of wearied travelers with his tall tales.

We continued on to Rhyolite Ghost Town. There's not very much left here at the once vibrant town site. Before the financial panic of 1907, this town was booming with over 2000 mining claims, but by 1916 the Shoshone mine & mill were closed down.
In 1906 an enterprising miner, Tom T. Kelly, built the bottle house in this picture out of 50,000 beer and liquor bottles. It was restored by Paramount pictures in 1925.

After dinner, Evan and I went to the Visitor's Center for a slide show about the Heroes and Villains of Death Valley. To be continued...

Death Valley

We just spent 3 fabulous days in Death Valley w/Evan.









I had no idea Death Valley was so beautiful, w/such a diversified topography-from its lowest point (-282 feet below sea level) to its highest point over 11,000 feet). The blowing winds, the star-lite skies, the colorful mountains & dunes -Death Valley's scenery is spectacular. I must have taken at least 200 pictures.






After settling in at the Sunset Campground, we ventured out to the Bad Water Basin, the lowest point in the desert. It was so windy there, I had to work really hard at not getting blown over. Evan and I walked the half mile out to the basin to taste the water - You guessed it, it was very salty!


Next, we went to the Natural Bridge. Followed by a ride along the Artist's Drive. That's Joe and Tazzy at the Artist's Palette, a stop along our route.
















Turns out Evan is a wonderful guide. He knows everything about the faults, salt flats and rock formations. He is a geologist after-all.

We drove back to the campground and settled in for the night -Way too windy to be outside; our RV rocked & rolled all night long.
Until next time...

So Happy Together...

For you nonbelievers... it's true... Liam & Tazzy have made peace. Here they are, as cozy as can be. Sometimes we have to pinch ourselves to make sure we're not dreaming.

Valley of Fire

After we got out of Lake Mead we drove up to the Valley of Fire. You can't see it from the highway, but after the 30 minute ride to the entrance it was well worth the trip. This is Nevada's oldest state park. The name is derived from the jagged walls and jutting rocks that appear to be on fire when reflecting the sun's rays. Extensive erosion, winds and shifting of red sandstone and sand dunes over 150 million years ago created the present landscape. Some of the rocks formations have names based on their shapes.

What a spectacular place, as you can see from these pictures, and this is just a few of shots I took.

The dogs enjoyed exploring the park. Liam especially liked climbing around and through the rocks.

Hoover Dam & Temple Bar

Evan had to work today, so Joe & I were on our own. We started off our day with a visit to Hoover Dam; it was magnificent. We got there early, but traffic was already backed up & moving at a snails pace. More then 17,000 vehicles cross the dam each day. The new Hoover Dam Bypass is under construction. Supposedly, this will help alleviate the traffic jams & eliminate the problems of the existing road - hairpin turns, narrow roadways, inadequate shoulders & poor sight distance. This should greatly improve the safety issues for drivers & pedestrians alike.

There were 112 deaths associated with the construction of the dam which was completed in 1936 & was, at the time, the worlds largest producer of hydroelectric generating station - It is now the 38th largest.The dam crosses the border between two time zones - Pacific & Mountain.

After entering the Arizona side of the dam, we made a wrong turn and ended up at the Temple Bar on Lake Mead, one of the two lakes created by the dam. We were surprised by the history of this new found place. Mormon pioneers settled here, but in 1870 they voted to abandon the town, that is, except for the Bonelli family. They stayed behind, raised cattle & agricultural crops, mined salt, operated a ferry, post office, store & a pony express station. Daniel Bonelli thought this structure reminded him of the Mormon Temple. To be continued....

House Hunters & Vegas Strip

Evan is back from his training in Phoenix. We spent the morning with him house hunting. He is now ready to take that first big step toward home ownership. His realtor scheduled 9 home showings; it was an exhausting morning. Nothing rang bells & whistles for any of us, but it gave Evan an idea of what he can afford and features he likes & dislikes. We stopped for a bite to eat before taking Evan back to his place.

The next day (Sunday) Evan took us to Red Rock, one of his favorite climbing spots. The dogs got to run off-lead - They loved it. Afterward, we drove down the Vegas strip. Things have really changed since Joe & I got married here 13 years ago. We had a great time w/Evan; he is a great travel guide and funny to boot.

Paradise

Wow! What a week. Of course the day we pulled out of Casa Grande we hit yet another dust storm just south of Phoenix, but we kept moving onward until we got to Lake Havasu. The drive through the mountains was breathtaking. Occasionally, we could catch glimpses of the sky blue water between the peaks. Unfortunately, the winding 2-lane road through this area was packed with cars & people so I couldn't get any pictures. Once we got to Lake Havasu City we pulled into a space & spent the night. We took the dogs for a walk across the "London Bridge" and along the sandy beach. As you can see by the sign, we were in paradise.

We left early the next morning for Las Vegas; we had reservations waiting for us at the Desert Eagle RV Park. We drove through California & the Mojave Desert before arriving at Nellis AFB. Your probably sick of hearing me say this, but this is yet another beautiful campground. One of the things I enjoy the most about the southwest is relaxing outside in shorts & a T-shirt while taking in the snow capped mountain views. Until next time....