Death Valley
Death Valley |
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Ok, the very name conjures up horrible images if you've
never been there. With other names in Death
Valley National Park like Devil's Race Track, Furnace Creek Ranch,
Badwater and Ubehebe Crater there is nothing to stop the mind from
wondering about the names. That's fine with me because it keeps the place
less crowded. As you will see on this page the place can be very pretty.
We have been there at many different times of the year but this time in
late November it was particularly nice. The story goes....a group of gold seekers in the gold rush of 1849, wandered
into the valley by accident, because they decided to separate from their larger group. The smaller group wanted to take a "shortcut" and wound up in
Death Valley. This group consisted of 4 families and a group of single men
known as the Jayhawkers. Up and down steep terrain, along with limited food
and water for their stock began taking a toll on their stock and draft animals. Most of the oxen they used to haul the wagons died. Supplies ran
low. The group split up again. One family made it out alone with their wagon intact. The Jayhawkers burned their wagons near Stovepipe Wells to
smoke the meat from their oxen. At some point during their stay in the valley, Captain Culverwell died. Don't know why, but no mention is made of
his death being due to starvation, thirst, harsh environment, etc. Anyway,
on the way out, as they were nearing the top of the ridge with a final look
down on the valley, a female member is said to have exclaimed, "Goodbye, Death Valley." And the name stuck. |
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This is a 20 mule team wagon. The larger wheel is 7 foot in diameter. They actually used 20 mule teams to haul Borax out of Death Valley to Mojave. Furnace creek got it's name not from the intense heat in Death Valley but from the furnaces there used to process ore in the Borax process. In the summer they had to stop the Borax mining because it was so hot they couldn't cool the processing water enough to crystallize the borax. Death Valley is the hottest and driest place in the North American continent. But my wife will tell you it's a dry heat. |
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This is an area called Artist Palette. The rocks are different colors from the different minerals in the rocks. |
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This is a picture of Scotty's Castle. The park service operates a wonderful tour of this facility. They do the tours in period costume and give you a lot of history and stories of the time. I can't recommend it enough. It was a wonderful day when we were here. About 75 degrees. We had a picnic under the palm trees. |
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Ubehebe Crater. This was created more then 3,000 years ago by a volcanic explosion. It is 600 feet deep. |
