California Death Valley area

Not having kids, I have no comprehension of why he had to bring his skateboard out in an area where he couldn't use it..

On Wildrose road on the west side of Death Valley, you come to a very lush oasis and a turn off for Mahogany Flats. The Mahogany Flats road is very steep and rough in parts, and I've never driven all the way out to the end -- though that's on my agenda. At the end of the road there are trails that take you up to peaks or vista points over Death Valley that are reportedly quite spectacular. At one point on the Mahogany Flats road, you come around a bend to what looks like set of very large bee hives. These are charcoal ovens where wood was turned to charcoal for use in processing ore. These are quite large -- the openings at the bottom are large enough to walk through. (Scan of an older film photo.)

From the top, at Dante's View. The view point is at 5,475' while most of the valley floor is at or below sea level.

East from Big Pine are Eureka Valley/Dunes and Saline Valley. If you want some adventure that isn't too risky, go out into Eureka Valley. Eureka Valley is about 40 miles from Big Pine over a relatively busy (1-2 cars an hour) graded road, and the Dunes are about 10 miles south of that road over another graded road. This area is very remote -- there are no immediately evident signs of any human habitation (now or in the past) over much of the route, and the area is mostly sage-brush desert. On the day I went, I drove and hiked for 4 hours without seeing another person or car. The gravel roads from Big Pine to the dunes are okay for regular passenger cars, but the remoteness means that you should only do it in a car that is very reliable. This is looking south towards the dunes just after turning off from the 'main' road. (Scan of an older film photo.)

(See adjacent photo descibing route to Eureka Dunes). The dunes are 300-400' high, at their highest point -- this is from a mile or so north (I had a Subaru in those days). (Scan of an older film photo.)

For some reason, the museum at Furnace Creek, in the center of Death Valley, doesn't get much attention on webpages. One of the interesting things there is the locomotive from when there were freight trains in Death Valley. Considering the heat generated by a steam engine, it is difficult to imagine how anyone could work on one in 120 degree weather.

North of Furnace Creek on the east side of the valley is the hike to Keane Mine, an abandoned lead mine. The trail to Keane mine is quite steep, climbing about 1000 feet in about 1 mile. To the left of the center of this picture are 4 structures, which were supports for the cables that hauled ore to the base. Each of these supports is about 40' high and about 15' square at the base. To give even more of a sense of height, find the parking lot that is in the center of the picture (there are 2 cars, barely visible, in it.). Scan of an older film photo.

(See adjacent photo describing Keane Mine). This is part of the structure where the cars of ore from the mine were taken out to be dumped in the buckets on the cable, that took them to the base. Scan of an older film photo.

(See adjacent photo describing Keane Mine). This is another view of the structure seen in the adjacent picture, from above. All of this is very dark partly because of the fact that this was a lead mine. Scan of an older film photo.

One part of Death Valley National Park that I hadn't visited in the past was the section of the park that is along CA-190 between Furnace Creek and Death Valley Junction. The main reason for not having visited this area is that the main attraction, Dante's View, is up a narrow, winding road that can be very crowded during the times when the park is busy. I finally took a chance in June of 2004, and luckily the road was not busy at all. Along the lower end of the Dante's View road is a section of land that is completely surround by the park but is still private and there are active mining operations.

(See adjacent photo). These appear to be dormitories or some other sort of housing for miners. The buildings are set in the middle of a very barren section of rock. I couldn't get closer to this due to the area being closed to the public. (The odd, almost "painterly" coloring in this picture appears to be due to how the camera was attempting to adjust for the very bright light.)

At the north end of Death Valley is Scotty's Castle, a surprising sight of buildings and oasis.

At the north end of Death Valley is Scotty's Castle, a surprising sight of buildings and oasis.

Relatively close to Scotty's Castle is Ubehebe Crater, a large volcanic crater. I don't find it particularly interesting, other than the reminder of how the planet was formed and the powers that lie just beneath the surface. Looking east over the edge of the crater. There had been a surprising amount of rain in the area when I took this picture, thus the green areas on far hills.

Relatively close to Scotty's Castle is Ubehebe Crater, a large volcanic crater. I don't find it particularly interesting, other than the reminder of how the planet was formed and the powers that lie just beneath the surface. This is looking down into the crater.

CA 190 entrance to Death Valley

From the road leading into the dune area. To get a sense of how large the dunes are, there are campers that aren't visible yet on the ridge in front of the dunes. (See adjacent Dumont Dunes pictures.)

Christmas at the dunes....