Using tripods, two men photographed Devil's Cornfield in the morning shadows. I captured it too, but the high speed variety. Maybe they were waiting for kangaroo rats to come out for breakfast.
Keane Gold Mine and the surrounding abandoned areas were posted CLOSED.
"I had planned to spend a couple hours here," said Andy. "I figured we'd explore the whole area." The sign warned "collapsing mine tunnels, unstable surfaces with no underground support, toxic chemicals in soil, dangerous and deadly windblown particles." We chose not to enter. No point in tempting fate.
Farther east, Rhyolite, settled in 1904, when Shorty Harris and Ed Cross found gold, swelled in population to 8,000 in 1908, but died soon after when the mines failed. By 1920, the town had only 14 people.
Here, Tom Kelly constructed his bottle house with more than 30,000 bottles of all kinds, mostly beer, but also root beer, sarsaparilla, kidney elixir, and even champagne. "No he didn't wash them out first," said the Bureau of Land Management guide in answer to my question, "and some even contain crickets and tobacco spit, but the bottles are sealed, since the inside walls are covered with mortar."
The guide explained that Rhyolite functioned as a "modern" town in its heyday in the early 1900's: two churches, Catholic and Presbyterian; an opera house; three railroad lines, bringing fresh produce daily from the coast; four swimming pools, two public and two private; a whole block of brothels; and more than 50 saloons. The walking tour guide identified the three-room bottle house, built in 1906, as the Kelly family tourist attraction, as well as their residence for many years.
Farther east, Rhyolite, settled in 1904, when Shorty Harris and Ed Cross found gold, swelled in population to 8,000 in 1908, but died soon after when the mines failed. By 1920, the town had only 14 people.
Here, Tom Kelly constructed his bottle house with more than 30,000 bottles of all kinds, mostly beer, but also root beer, sarsaparilla, kidney elixir, and even champagne. "No he didn't wash them out first," said the Bureau of Land Management guide in answer to my question, "and some even contain crickets and tobacco spit, but the bottles are sealed, since the inside walls are covered with mortar."
The guide explained that Rhyolite functioned as a "modern" town in its heyday in the early 1900's: two churches, Catholic and Presbyterian; an opera house; three railroad lines, bringing fresh produce daily from the coast; four swimming pools, two public and two private; a whole block of brothels; and more than 50 saloons. The walking tour guide identified the three-room bottle house, built in 1906, as the Kelly family tourist attraction, as well as their residence for many years.
Harmony Borax Works, in existence only five years, 1883-1888, proved more profitable than any other Death Valley mining operation. Chinese laborers recruited from San Francisco earned $1.30 a day, less board and whatever they spent at the company store. Even today, borax is used in glass production, agriculture and cleaning products.
We celebrated Little Red's 16th birthday today by driving her through the yellow mud hills of Mustard Canyon on Harmony Borax Works Road. She creaked and groaned, "What are you doing to me?" but she made it just fine.
The Borax Museum at Furnace Creek houses the twenty-mule team shed, lots of old mining equipment and an extensive collection of rocks and minerals.
After that and some browsing in the Furnace Creek general store--gas is $4.29 a gallon here--we headed to Mosaic Canyon. The trail wound into the mountains at a 5% uphill grade through sheer walls of sandstone, deep Aztec red; limestone, some polished so smooth it had metamorphosed into marble; and conglomerate, that would wash away in heavy rains. At some bends the cliffs rose 600 feet; other bends widened, letting in sunlight and blue sky to complete the mosaic. We followed the canyon wash a generous mile until boulders blocked the path and late afternoon darkness settled in. Then we started back to Little Red.
"This is a lot prettier in the winter," said Andy as we made our way back through the wash and over the rocks. "With 3.3 million acres, Death Valley is now the largest national park in the continental U.S.," according to the park pamphlet.
"This is a lot prettier in the winter," said Andy as we made our way back through the wash and over the rocks. "With 3.3 million acres, Death Valley is now the largest national park in the continental U.S.," according to the park pamphlet.
"It was pretty in the summer, too." I reminded him, "but just a lot more enjoyable now."
When we returned to the parking lot and saw Death Valley spread before us, the sun cast a final glow along the mountain tops in a glorious play of light and shadow. "It's magnificent," said Andy. "You could drop the whole town of Trumbull in this valley and you'd hardly even notice it." Stovepipe Wells was just a white dot in the expanse beneath us.
When we returned to the parking lot and saw Death Valley spread before us, the sun cast a final glow along the mountain tops in a glorious play of light and shadow. "It's magnificent," said Andy. "You could drop the whole town of Trumbull in this valley and you'd hardly even notice it." Stovepipe Wells was just a white dot in the expanse beneath us.
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