Bishop, CA (Mono Lake thru Death Valley) – 9/17/17 thru 10/15/17

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Bishop, CA

We stayed at Highlands RV Park which was a great central location in between the Mono Lake area and Death Valley. We were originally booked to stay two weeks, but soon after our arrival we discovered there was too much to see and do, so we stayed for a month and packed in a lot of sites! We picked Bishop because it was along the Scenic Byway U.S. 395 that lives up to its reputation, delivering majestic mountain landscapes of the Sierra Nevada range and natural wonders around every bend. Bishop is known as the small town with a big backyard with massive alpine and desert mountain ranges reaching elevations of 14,000 feet.

We walked downtown and visited the Galen Rowell Mountain Light Gallery.  Galen and his wife Barbara were adventurers who loved wild places.  They traveled the world, but loved their home in the Eastern Sierra.  Mountain Light Gallery is the legacy they left after they were killed in a tragic private plane crash near the Bishop airport in 2002 on their way home from the Bering Sea in Alaska where Rowell taught a photography workshop.

  

Their journeys took them to all seven continents and both poles. Galen, a world-renowned photographer and adventurer, climbed some of the world’s highest peaks and trekked through some of the world’s most inhospitable regions. Galen authored 18 books and was a major contributor to dozen’s more. Among the numerous honors he received was the 1984 Ansel Adams Award for his contribution to the art of wilderness photography.

We purchased three of Galen’s photographs of regional sites that we visited, including a view of Mount Whitney through Mobius Arch, Mono Lake, and Cloudy Autumn Morning in the Owens Valley.

We enjoyed lunch at the deli at Erick Schat’s Bakkerÿ. The breads, pastry’s and cookies were decadent, and we visited many times! LOL

Laws Railroad Museum & Historic Site

We arrived at this historic site in time to see that museum staff had set up temporary railroad tracks from a giant flatbed trailer to the museum railyard.  They were in the process of moving an 1800s era oil car to be used in a permanent display. They were using this opportunity as a test for the following days move of the 1800s era steam locomotive that pulled the oil car.

On May 10, 1880, the Carson and Colorado Railroad Company was formed and incorporated to run the narrow-gauge railroad from Mound House, Nevada and Carson River to the Colorado River, calling it the C&C Railroad. It never reached the Colorado River but stopped at Keeler, California. It has often been referred to as “the railroad that was built 300 miles too long or 300 years too soon.”

The first train arrived in Laws in April of 1883. This 1883 frontier town served as a railroad deposit for this part of the Owens Valley. We spent several hours walking on the 11-acre site with 30 buildings of indoor and outdoor exhibits. Old west structures such as the cowboy saloon, the miner’s cabin, a blacksmith shop, an operating stamp mill site, and the restored and operational 1927 Death Valley Brill Car. By 1959 when the railroad ceased operation, there was no trace of any of the buildings at Laws as they had all been torn down for salvage. Only the depot, agent’s house, oil and water tanks, and the turntable survived. All the other buildings at the museum today were doomed for destruction locally, but saved by being moved to the museum site.

The reception center building was used in the “Nevada Smith” movie with actor, Steve McQueen and Carl Malden.

Canal Walk

Mike had heard about a trail along a canal. We had enough time before sunset to walk. Along the way we met an interesting local man walking his dog. He told us of some sites we would want to see while in Bishop.

Farmer’s Market & Owens Valley Paiute-Shoshone Cultural Center

It was a small market outside of the cultural center. We then toured the museum, the only one of its kind in the region. It had very interesting exhibits of cultural artifacts depicting the art and life of the Nuumu (Paiute) and the Newe (Shoshone) People before the miners and settlers arrived. No photos were allowed inside.

Car Show

We had heard all about the local car show and we admired our neighbor’s vintage 1932 Ford car that would be in the show. It was a large show with a lot of interesting cars and trucks. Mike talked about the 1947 Chevy truck he would like to have when we settle down again!

After the show, we took a walk downtown and ate lunch at the local Mexican restaurant. We shopped at the many outfitting stores to find Sharon a new pair of hiking boots.

Fall Colors at Sabrina Lake & South Lake

We were in the peak of the Fall season and the aspen trees in the mountains were showing their colors! We took a scenic drive up to 6,000 feet in elevation to South Lake with gorgeous views of surrounding 13,000-foot peaks. We stopped at many places along the way to see waterfalls and colorful aspen stands. On the way down the mountain, we took another road to Lake Sabrina.

 

 

 

 

As we continued down the mountain, we noticed a woman on a roadside pull-out with three Lamas and two dogs. We pulled over and asked if we could take photos. She agreed if we didn’t photograph her. Too bad, because she was a very interesting character with strong political views and dressed in layers of colorful scarves and jewelry like someone from Peru. We got the impression she lived a nomadic life and had in fact been to Peru. She planned to take the three Lamas and dogs on a hike. We got to pet the Lamas and Mike got his dog pets too!

McGee Creek Canyon Hike

The Lama lady told us about McGee Creek Canyon. We still had time before the sun set, so we headed north, drove down a dirt road. We hiked partially up the canyon trail into the sun that would set behind the mountain peaks ahead. Colorful cottonwood, willow and aspen trees, babbling streams and dramatic views made this hike worthwhile. We were also surprised to see an ancient bristlecone pine on the side of the mountain. On our way down the mountain we saw a great view of Crowley Lake, a popular spot for camping, stream fishing, hiking and horseback riding.

 

 

We also stopped at Tom’s Place, a local landmark that was originally built in 1917. It was a seasonal café, bar, gas station, pack station and campground until 1923 when it was purchased by a man named Tom. Even after his death the new owners kept the name of Tom’s Place.

Scenic Drive to Historic Benton

One day we took a road-less-traveled to see the historic living ghost town of Benton. In the 1800s, Benton was once a thriving silver mining town with 5,000 inhabitants and a Wells Fargo stagecoach stop. Benton is now a secluded vacation getaway for those who love hot springs and night skies thick with stars. We strolled through town to see some of the historic buildings and ate lunch at the Benton Station Café & Gas Station.

 

 

 

We drove on graded dirt roads along Fish Slough and Owens Valley to Benton. The route took us through the Volcanic Tableland with slough marshes and shade pockets of willows and cottonwoods. We stopped at several red rock petroglyphs with images of hunters, animals, paw, hand and foot prints, as well as suns, dots, masks and geometric forms. This art form reflects the passage of early travelers, most recently the Owens Valley Paiute Indians.

  

 

 

 

 

 

On the trip back to Bishop we drove on graded dirt roads through the Chidago Canyon with Pinyon Pines and the magnificent White Mountains.

 

POW WOW

We attended the Annual Pow Wow & California Native American Day Celebration. It drew Native Americans from various tribes around the country to compete in various dances, some just old enough to walk. The main categories were traditional and “fancy” dancers. It was a fun cultural experience with music, dancing and authentic Native American food!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our favorite were the women jingle dress dancers. Their dresses were festooned with hundreds of bells that jingled as they danced. These were originally made by rolling the tin lids for snuff and tobacco cans into bell shapes. In addition to the dancers, men formed drum teams and competed. Groups of six to eight men sat around a huge drum, beating a cadence and singing for the dancers.

 

Always on the lookout for unusual foods, Mike had to try some traditional acorn porridge. If you ever have a chance to try this, don’t!!

Owens Lake

The construction of dust mitigation features on Owens Lake have created incredibly productive habit for birds and other wildlife. In the spring and fall, tens of thousands of shorebirds, waterfowl, and other migratory bird species stop-over to rest and feed on alkali flies, brine shrimp, and other invertebrates in the shallow flooding dust control areas and natural springs around the lake. During our winter visit there were fewer numbers of birds. But we did see the American Avocet, Killdeer, Long-billed Curlew, and a few other shorebirds. 

 

Bridgeport & Twin Lakes

One day we took a drive north, past Mono Lake to the little town of Bridgeport. The main relic was the Bridgeport Courthouse, completed on April 1, 1881. The imposing courthouse on Bridgeport’s Main Street is California’s second oldest courthouse in the state to be in continual operation. Its Victorian architecture is in keeping with the New England-esque buildings of Bridgeport at that time. 

 
 



We also stopped to eat lunch at the Bridgeport Inn. It was built in 1877. Weary travelers in the Old West used this historic hotel as a stage and buggy stop to and from the Bodie Gold Mining town. Legend has it that Samuel Clemens was a guest here and a bedroom has been so named the “Mark Twain Room.” Legend also has it that the hotel is haunted by the “White Lady” who has been seen by various guests throughout the years!

After lunch we shopped at the Eastern Sierra Trading Company where Mike bought Sharon a pair of Tommy Singer earrings, a renowned Native American jewelry artist. Since his death, the price of his jewelry has skyrocketed.

Twin Lakes Scenic Drive

We drove past expansive ranch lands and saw a hawk and some deer before we started up the mountain.  Backed by the jagged spires of the Sawtooth range and about 13 scenic miles from the town of Bridgeport, Twin Lakes is truly picturesque. Bright aspens and cottonwood line both shores of the shimmering lake.

 Bristlecone Pine Forest

We took a day trip to Big Pine, a short drive south of Bishop.  We drove 12,000 feet up the White Mountains to the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest.  Although the pines are found in six western states, the Schulman Grove and Patriarch Grove are home to the oldest known trees on Earth. Some of these trees are over 4,000 years old and still growing strong.  Since the wood here in the cold, dry environment of the White Mountains decomposes very slowly, tree-ring patterns remain intact for thousands of years.

Schulman Grove

Dendrochronology is defined as the science of studying tree-ring patterns. Andrew Ellicott Douglass (1867-1962) has been referred to as the founder of modern dendrochronology. Dr. Edmund Schulman (1908-1958) was one of the scientists’ instrumental in extending the long continuous tree-ring chronology and the advancement of the science of dendrochronology.

At the visitor center there are three trails to hike and see the Schulman Grove. Take your hiking poles!  The Methuselah Trail was a 4.5-mile loop. The Bristlecone Cabin Trail was a 2-mile loop. We took the Discover Trail which was a 1-mile loop. Even though it was only 1 mile, the elevation is what gets to these flatlanders!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After our hike to Schulman Grove, we stopped at the Visitor Center to eat lunch. Our visitors wanted some too!

 

Patriarch Grove

We drove another 12 miles up the mountain on a gravel road with sharp obsidian rocks known to slash your tires. Notice the warning signs at the beginning of our drive! Sharon drove to avoid motion sickness along the many hairpin turns.  We had to go so slow, it seemed like an eternity to drive 12 miles! We hiked through the Patriarch Grove. The bristlecone pines at this elevation had much larger trunks. Although not the oldest tree, the Patriarch pine is the largest in girth at about 36 feet across!

  

 

 

 

 

 

Lone Pine, CA

The town of Lone Pine was founded during the 1860s to provide supplies to the local gold and silver mining communities. Lone Pine was a focal point for Native American life for over 10,000 years. The area is known for its bizarre rock formations, home to miners, and a backdrop for the Hollywood filming industry for movies, commercials and TV shows in the Alabama Hills beginning in the 1920s and continuing today.

Museum of Western Film History

We spent hours in the museum with 10,500 square feet of exhibits, an eighty-five-seat movie theater and gift shop. The museum documents and interprets the cultural heritage of Western cinematic film history. For over 100 years the Hollywood studios have found the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the rugged Alabama Hills the perfect “back lot” for making films. The region has provided a palette for film-makers as landscapes for TV Westerns, major Sci-fi and action films; and a fill-in for India, China and other Eastern locations.

 

 

 

Tom Mix, Roy and Dale, Gene Autry, Hoppy, Randolph Scott and the “Duke” are but a few great western film and TV series heroes that are honored in the exhibits through photos, costumes, props, scrips and priceless movie posters. Contemporary actors including William Shatner, Kevin Bacon and Robert Downey, Jr. have all filmed in the shadow of Mount Whitney in such films as Star Trek, Tremors and Iron Man.

Hike to Mobius Arch

We drove along Movie Road in the Alabama Hills with sites where many movies were filmed. It all began in 1920 when Fatty Arbuckle came here to film The Round Up for Paramount. Since then, more than 300 feature films have been shot in the Alabama Hills, along with dozens of TV shows, movie serials and car commercials.

The Alabama Hills were formed by a process called uplifting and chemical erosion with rounded stone monuments which are a sharp contrast to the massive granite peaks chiseled by glaciers of the Sierra Nevada. After Yosemite, the Alabama Hills was one of Ansel Adams’ favorite shooting locations. And a popular spot for rock climbers.

There are over 100 stone arches scattered through the area, the largest of which is the Mobius Arch.  In the distance, Mount Whitney, at 14,505 feet tall, is the highest point in the contiguous United State. We hiked on a 1.5-mile loop trail that took us to the iconic photo-op of Mount Whitney through Mobius Arch. Somehow, we missed the return loop and continued on another trail. When we reached the end of the trail we could see our Jeep, but would have to turn back and find the loop trail to return to the Jeep!

 

Independence, CA

Mt. Whitney Fish Hatchery

We arrived at the Mt. Whitney Fish Hatchery and the building was closed, so we walked the property.  Mike fed the ducks and trout in the pond, but it was out of season, so we did not see the fish hatchery.

The architecture was not one you would expect for a fish hatchery! Construction of the hatchery began in March of 1916 and is constructed of native granite collected within a quarter of a mile of the site. The walls are two to three feet thick. None of the stones used in construction were cut, but were “sorted to fit.” The roof is red Spanish tile made in Lincoln, California from red clay found at that location. The interior is finished with Oregon ash. The grounds of the hatchery were landscaped by a gardener brought in from Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. Approximately 3,500 tons of boulders used in the walls were guaranteed not to “crumble until the mountains shall fall.”

The first trout hatched in 1917 were from eggs collected at Rae Lakes. The eggs were transported from the collecting station at Rae Lakes via Baxter Pass by mule train to the hatchery. The spawning season of 1918 saw the first collection of golden trout eggs from the Cottonwood Lakes. This program continues to this day and has provided golden trout for planting throughout the Sierra Nevada. The golden trout is the California state fish.

Eastern California Museum

The Eastern California Museum was founded in 1928. The museum’s collections and exhibits reflect the diverse natural and cultural heritage and history of Inyo County, the Owens Valley, and the Eastern Sierra backcountry, from Mono Lake to Death Valley.

The museum has one of the largest collections of Owens Valley Paiute and Shoshone basketry in the world.

There is a large collection of photographs (more than 25,000 prints) that provide a glimpse into the history, the people, the culture, and the activities and events that formed the fabric of life in the Eastern Sierra and the Owens Valley.  Famed mountaineer Norman Clyde’s photo collection is a testament to the tenacity he showed when completing more than 100 first ascents in the Eastern Sierra, and highlights his ability to capture the beauty of the mountains he first roamed.

 

The museum tells the history of building the Los Angeles Aquaduct from 1913-2013. 

 

Outside of the museum were some old buildings.

 

 

The museum also features “The Story of Manzanar”, the Japanese American WW II Internment Camp located between Independence and Lone Pine. The exhibit contains artifacts, artwork, and a walk-in replica of a typical Manzanar barrack apartment. Other permanent exhibits feature Camp Independence, frontier ranch and farm life, gems and minerals, and the county’s pioneer families.

 

Manzanar Japanese Internment Camp

We visited the actual site of the Manzanar Japanese Internment Camp and interpretive center. The interpretive center features extensive exhibits and audio-visual programs.  A 3.2-mile self-guided driving tour circles the site.   For decades before World War II, politicians, newspapers, and labor leaders fueled Anti-Asian sentiment in the western United States. Laws prevented immigrants from becoming citizens or owning land. Immigrants’ children were born US citizens, yet they too faced prejudice. Japan’s December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor intensified hostilities toward people of Japanese ancestry.

 

President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942, authorizing the military to remove “any or all Japanese persons” from the West Coast. The government ordered more than 110,000 men, women, and children to leave their homes and detained them in remote, military-style camps.  Manzanar War Relocation Center was one of ten camps where 10,000 Japanese American citizens and resident Japanese aliens were confined during World War II. Every person wore a numbered tag to camp. The camp was enclosed with barbed wire and a guard tower.

 

 

Manzanar is a national historic site that was arranged into 36 blocks. In most blocks, up to 300 people crowded into 14 barracks. Everyone ate in a mess hall, washed clothes in a public laundry room, and shared latrines and showers with little privacy. The ironing room and recreation hall offered spaces for classes, shops, and churches. Over time, people personalized their barracks and the blocks evolved into distinct communities.

 

 

Among the hardships of Manzanar, the wind and dust storms were some of the most unforgiving and unforgettable.

 

People built gardens to beautify the dusty ground outside their barracks.

After the war, the government removed most of the structures, and buried gardens and basements. As time passed, Manzanar was further buried, both in sand and in memory. Although nothing remains, when you look at the barren landscape, the place comes to life. A pipe sticking out of the ground becomes a water faucet where children splashed their faces in the summer heat. A foundation reveals the shoe prints of a child who crossed the west cement. Ten iron rings embedded in a concrete slab evoke the humiliation of ten women forced to sit exposed next to strangers, enduring private moments on public toilets.

A cemetery monument was built in 1943. Today, the monument is a focal point of the annual pilgrimage, serving as a symbol of solace and hope.

The story of Manzanar is riveting and disturbing. It depicts the struggles reflected in the injustices that over 10,000 Japanese Americans faced here. The camp closed on November 21, 1945, three months after the war ended. In the 1980s, a congressionally authorized commission concluded “race prejudice, war hysteria and a failure of political leadership” led to the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II.  It recommended a presidential apology and individual payments of $20,000. The US government issued over 82,000 apology letters and redress payments to Japanese Americans in order of age, oldest to youngest, between 1990 and 1999.

Burro Schmidt Tunnel

The historic Burro Schmidt Tunnel is in the El Paso Mountains of the northern Mojave Desert. It was hard to believe that prospector William “Burro” Schmidt spent over 30 years hand-digging this  1/2-mile-long tunnel in the middle of nowhere. It took us a while to find the right dirt road to get us to the location.   

After exploring the outside of his vandalized cabin and abandoned caretaker’s house we turned a corner where there must have been a bee’s nest! Too many bees prevented us from going inside of the cabin, but we had read that a giant collage of newspaper headlines, advertising pictures, and tea bag labels covered the walls. They had all been secured to the wall with small nails and handmade cardboard washers.

 

 

 

As we hurried past the bees, we continued to hike up and down hills to find the tunnel. After many failed attempts, Sharon finally found it! It was too dark, even with a flashlight, to venture through the tunnel to the other side!

 

Schmidt was a loner prospector living a hard life in Last Chance Canyon. He spent thirty-two years single-handedly drilling a tunnel nearly a half-mile long through solid granite with a pick, a four-pound hammer and a hand drill. He needed to create a short cut to bring his gold ore to market. He continued this tedious, grueling effort day in and day out. The broken rock he would carry out, first on his back in canvas bags, then later by wheelbarrow and finally with a mine car on iron tracks he installed.  There is no record that there ever was a true gold strike, although the legend continues. Soon after he broke through to daylight on Copper Mountain, he walked away, deeding his mine/tunnel to a fellow miner.

Fossil Falls

We saw a sign and drove to Fossil Falls. It was a nice hike through rock formations. There were no fossils or falls! It was a spectacular lava flow sculpted by rushing water and wind late in the Ice Ages. The Owens River no longer flows here so the falls are dry, dropping forty feet into the ancient river channel. Near the top of the falls you can find where the swirling water tumbled rocks around to form smooth round holes. As we explored, we imagined hearing the waterfall flowing over the rocks to the gorge below. 

On the way back home we stopped to see some neat old stone buildings.

Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve

“A country of wonderful contrasts, hot deserts bordered by snow-laden mountains, cinders and ashes scattered on glacier-polished pavement, frost and fire working together in the making of beauty.” John Muir

One of the oldest lakes -- at least 760,000 years old -- in the western hemisphere, Mono Lake is hauntingly beautiful. It has no outlet. The salinity content is over twice that of the ocean, therefore, no fish can live in the lake. The lake’s most distinctive feature is its eerie tufa towers – mineral structures created when fresh-water springs bubble up through the lake’s alkaline waters. This ancient sea plays host to millions of migrating birds that come to feed on its teeming populations of alkali flies and tiny brine shrimp. We hiked to the shore of the lake. The views were spectacular.

 

We took a short drive to the South Tufa Area and hiked the nature trail to the lakeshore. These tufas were very interesting in their formations.

Panum Crater

We ate a picnic lunch before continuing to the Panum Crater trailhead that would take us on a hike to the dome and rim of the youngest of the Mono Craters.  Panum Crater erupted only 650 years ago. This volcano exhibits all the characteristics of the textbook rhyolitic, plug-dome volcano.  A product of this volcanic eruption is obsidian, the volcanic glass that Native Americans used to make arrow points and scrapers.

 

Mono County Park

We drove to the other side of Mono Lake to Mono County Park and hiked along a boardwalk to the water.

Mike made a new friend on our way to the parking lot!

Sunset and Moonrise at Mono Lake

We scouted out a place to photograph the sunset and moonrise. We were dressed warm for the cold that would take over when it got dark. We hiked over a boardwalk which ended, and we continued in the muddy grass until we reached the lakeshore. Sharon set up her tripod on some rocks. Her camera was already set with the recommended ISO, F-stop, and aperture to capture the moonrise.  We shared our space with another couple who came over from Los Angeles to photograph the full moon.

After shooting several photos and shivering from the cold, Mike lighted our way over rocks and through the mud to the boardwalk which was a challenge to find in the dark!

Mammoth Lakes

We stopped at the Mammoth Lakes Visitor Center before driving through the Ansel Adams Wilderness and John Muir Wilderness to the trailhead for Devils Postpile and Rainbow Falls. Along the way we stopped at the Minaret Vista at an elevation of 9,175 feet. The Minarets are all that remain of an ancient lava flow.

Devils Postpile National Monument

Formed 100,000 years ago, this is one of the world’s finest examples of columnar basalt, stretching 60 feet high, and it’s a short, easy half-mile hike from the trailhead.    

As basalt lava erupts from volcanic vents and cools, it shrinks and then cracks. Sometimes vertical columns will form. The well-developed columns formed as homogenous lava cooled at a uniform rate. The Devils Postpile columns have from three to seven sides. The 60-foot-high sheer wall was exposed during the last glaciation.

Mike took the steep hike up to the top of the postpile revealing the top of the columns which looked like the pavers people use for their patios. Column tops were polished by past glaciers.

Rainbow Falls

We continued our hike for another few miles from the Devils Postpile to Rainbow Falls.  The falls is located where the San Joaquin River tumbles over an abrupt 101-foot lava ledge, almost always graced with a rainbow. And when we arrived, we did in fact see the rainbow!  One site we had never seen before is a hiker carrying his dog in his backpack! 

 

Our return 2.5-mile hike back to the ranger station and Jeep.

 After our hikes, we drove back down the mountain road, one-way at times, and ate lunch in the town of Mammoth Lakes. Californians’ home-town mountain for over 60 years, Mammoth is one of the largest mountain resorts in the nation, boasting an 11,053-foot summit, 28 chairlifts and 3,500 acres of skiable terrain.

On the way home we stopped at Convict Lake to see if it would be a good lake to kayak on. Convict Lake got its name from an incident in 1871, when inmates from a Nevada prison escaped here and battled their way out with a shootout.

June Lake Loop & Hike on Rush Creek Trail

We ate lunch in the picturesque village of June Lake. It’s a mountain hide-a-way with a scenic 16-mile scenic loop drive through the spectacular scenery of Glacier-carved Horseshoe Canyon. The loop’s four glistening lakes are renowned for fishing, and are stocked with trophy-size trout. Gulf Lake is followed by Silver Lake and Grant Lake.

We stopped at Silver Lake and took a hike on the Rush Creek Trail.

Red Rock Canyon State Park

This park was in a remote area off Highway 14 and south of Bishop. It was established as a state park in 1968. We hiked along the unique and colorful canyons and cliffs. These fluted folds are the result of wind and rain eroding the softer materials beneath and dark caprocks, which were formed by a harder lava flow layer.

 

 

 

Death Valley

Death Valley National Park was about a three-hour drive from Bishop. We decided to spend three days there, so we drove down 2 days and spent one night in the park’s Oasis at Death Valley so we could get up early to go on a hike before it got too hot. On our last day the temperature in Death Valley reached 105 degrees!  It’s the hottest, driest and lowest – this is the land of extremes. We were amazed at the strikingly beautiful environment. Our first stop was the Furnace Creek Visitor Center.

The lowest point in the country at 282 feet below sea level, Death Valley frequently boasts the hottest temperatures as well. With over three million acres of designated wilderness, we explored almost all the amazing sites in three full days. Wild burros roamed the park and are descendants of animals turned loose by prospectors.

The Shoshone word for Death Valley and the red rocks and surrounding mountains is “Timbisha” meaning rock paint, coming from the red ochre paint they made from clay. Few people realize that an American Indian tribe currently lives and thrives in Death Valley. For thousands of years, the Timbisha Shoshone have resided in Southeast California and Southwest Nevada. In 1936, the tribe established a tribal center on a 40-acre tract at Furnace Creek. The tribe achieved federal recognition in 1983 as the Death Valley Timbisha Shoshone Band of California. In 2000 the Timbisha Shoshone Homeland Act transferred over 7,000 acres of trust lands to the tribe both in the park and adjacent to its acreage.

Artist’s Palette

We rushed to see the sunset in Golden Canyon at Artist’s Palate. Artist’s drive is a dipping, diving, curving, one-way road that weaves through striking ravines and colorful rock formations. It is a visual feast and a geologic tour of one of Death Valley’s most explosive volcanic periods. We stopped and hiked up a hill to what we thought was Artist’s Palate. We stayed to watch part of the sunset until we realized this was not Artist’s Palate!

The highlight of the nine-mile loop occurs at the Artist’s Palate, so we drove until we saw the sign for Artist’s Palate. Splashed against the barren background like brilliant dabs of paint from a giant’s brush were mineral deposits of sea green, lemon yellow, periwinkle blue and salmon pink. The colors changed rapidly during the setting sun. It was beautiful!

   

Badwater Basin

Badwater Basin is at 282 feet below sea level. It is the lowest point in North America. With the Black Mountains in the background, we strolled through a shimmering expanse of nearly pure white table salt.

  

Two to four thousand years ago the basin was the site of a 30-foot-deep lake that evaporated and left a one to five-foot layer of salt in its wake. A briny pond, four times saltier than the ocean, still remains in the basin during the winter, but during the hot summer months, it shrinks to little more than a puddle.

Wildrose Charcoal Kilns

You would never imagine that these kilns have stood in Death Valley since 1877. On our way down the dirt road, we were surprised to see a picnic spot so we stopped.

We marveled at the beehive-shaped kilns at the Wildrose Charcoal Kilns that were erected by the Modock Consolidated Mining Company in 1877. The well-preserved kilns – each standing about 25 feet high with a diameter of approximately 30 feet across – were used to convert pinyon and juniper logs to charcoal for two silver mines located 25 miles away. Each kiln held 42 cords of pinyon pine logs and, after burning for a week, would produce 2,000 bushels of charcoal. The Wildrose Charcoal Kilns are considered to be the best surviving examples of charcoal kilns found in the western states. The kilns were golden in color.

 

Mike wandered behind the kilns to an old foundation of an out building. To his surprise, be came upon a rattlesnake. Mike yelled out to Sharon “come quick!” She got there just in time to see the rattlesnake slither underneath a bush. You could tell by the size of its rattle that it was a big snake! Curious Mike had to find the snake which climbed into a hole in the rocks. By now it was coiled with its tail rattling and his head and eyes fixed on us. Mike encouraged Sharon to take a close-up photo of the snake. Her adrenaline pumping, Sharon nervously got close enough to get a photo, hoping the rattlesnake would not strike! The things we do for love!!

Dante’s View

Dante’s View is more than 5,000 feet above the valley floor. The view is spectacular. At this high altitude in the dry desert air you can see across most of 110-mile-long Death Valley. You could see people walking in the white salt flats far below at Badwater Basin.

The steep, elongated mountain ranges alternate with flat, dry, desert valleys – the result of an intense stretching of the crust that has resulted in a series of north-south faults. These faults separate the basins from the ranges.

Moonlight at The Oasis at Death Valley

We spent a night at The Oasis at Death Valley, known as Furnace Creek Camp in the mining days.  It was nice to stay in the park instead of driving back to Bishop. 

Death Valley is an International Dark Sky Park, so after the sun set we took a short drive to an area away from the camp. It was totally dark with an occasional car driving by. Sharon had her camera set up to shoot the full moon and its reflection on a small pond.

The Furnace Creek Inn was under renovations. It was first opened for business in 1927 for wealthy visitors accustomed to a luxury hotel.

Hike to Darwin Falls

The park warns that you should not hike in low elevations after 10:00 a.m. to avoid the extreme heat.  We got up early, packed a lunch, filled up our coffee mugs and found the unmarked gravel access road to the trailhead to Darwin Falls. It was a challenging hike that started in a gravel-bottomed arroyo that curves toward the mouth of the canyon. Darwin Creek supplies water to nearby Panamint Springs Resort via the pipeline we saw along the canyon.

There is no maintained trail so we continued along the canyon until we came to clusters of willows that draped the stream. We crossed the stream several times, climbed over boulders until we reached the lush oasis at Darwin Falls. The cascade tumbles through a narrow, frothy chute, splitting at the bottom as it slides down either side of a mossy boulder in a twenty-five-foot drop. A deep pool spreads out in front of the falls. There was a cave to the left of the waterfall where we saw bats come and go.  Among the cattails, watercress and ferns we a red spotted toad!

 

After the hike we drove out to the main highway to a place where coyotes were known to frequent. We were fortunate to see a mother watching over her two pups!

Devil’s Golf Course

The floor of Death Valley is a vast evaporating dish covering more than 200 square miles. It is crusted over with a variety of salts, and nowhere is this more apparent than at Devil’s Golf Course. Gnarled crystalline salt spires dot the landscape and look like a coral reef run amuck. The lump salt pinnacles are the residue of Death Valley’s last significant lake, which evaporated 2,000 years ago.

Father Crowley Vista Point

A landscape of dark lava flows and volcanic cinders abruptly gives way to the gash of Rainbow Canyon below this viewpoint. Father John J. Crowley (1891-1940) was the Padre of the Desert. From the snowy heights of the Sierras beyond the deep shadows of Death Valley, he was beloved and trusted by people of all faiths.

Natural Bridge

This was a 2-mile round-trip hike through a dramatic canyon to a natural bridge formation. We felt very small below the natural bridge. Along the way Mike discovered a dead Raven which have been known to drop dead from the extreme heat!

Harmony Borax Works Trail

We wanted to see where the famed 20-mule team wagons hauled borax, so we walked the interpretive trail at Harmony Borax Works, a mining operation that dates back more than 120 years. After prospectors found borax in 1881, William Tell Coleman built the Harmony plant and began to process ore in late 1883 or early 1884. The plant employed 40 men who produced three tons of borax daily. The 20-mule teams hauled borax 165 miles to the railroad town of Mojave. The teams averaged two miles an hour and required about 30 days to complete a round-trip. It was interesting to see the rusting remains of buildings, machinery, tanks and piping and the old wagon!

Rhyolite Ghost Town

Of the many ghost towns in Death Valley, we visited Rhyolite, the largest ghost town. Rhyolite boasted a population of nearly 10,000 people during its peak between 1905-1911. At its height, the town contained two churches, 50 saloons, 18 stores, two undertakers, 19 lodging houses, eight doctors, two dentists, a stock exchange and an opera.

Sharon’s favorites were the remains of the three-story bank building, the jail and the Bottle House made from beer and liquor bottles. Over thirty thousand bottles were used. The Bottle House was restored by Paramount Pictures to use as a movie setting in 1925.

On our way out of this ghost town, we stopped at the surreal Goldwell Open Air Museum. The Museum began in 1984 as a project of Belgian sculptor Albert Szukalski, best known for his haunting life-size shrouded figures. The piece that launched the museum is The Last Supper. To create the ghostly figures, Szukalski wrapped live models in fabric soaked in wet plaster and posed them.

Ballarat Ghost Town

We drove out to Ballarat Ghost Town, an old camp from the turn of the 20^th century that served nearby mining camps from 1897- 1917.  It once had seven saloons and three hotels. Today, there is just a caretaker to watch over the few remaining structures. While Mike talked with the crusty caretaker and got us a cold drink, Sharon enjoyed taking photos, one of the old truck owned by Charles Manson, who was known to hang out here in the desert. There were stars painted on the headliner of his truck.

Mesquite Flat Dunes

We always liked the colors and contours of sand dunes. The Mesquite Flat Dunes were beautiful. Sharon likes to photograph the ripples and footprints in the sand and the shadows during sunrise or sunset. These 150-foot dunes are nearly surrounded by mountains on all sides. The tiny grains of quartz and feldspar that make up the dune field began as much larger pieces of solid rock, but through erosion, became sand-sized.

Ubehebe Crater (U-Bee-Hee-Bee)

We didn’t have any intention of hiking down into the 770-foot-deep steam-explosion crater as the climb out would have been grueling! So, we stood in awe at the rim of Ubehebe Crater and imagined the instant when water suddenly flashed to steam – shattering the rock above and ejecting a cloud of debris at speeds of up to 100 miles per hour!

Zabriskie Point overlooking Twenty Mule Team Canyon

One of Death Valley’s most popular lookouts is at Zabriskie Point. Once you reach the top of the mountain, a short uphill hike takes you to a panoramic view of Death Valley’s wildly eroded and vibrantly colored badlands.

Scotty’s Castle

There were two sites we were unable to see in Death Valley. Scotty’s Castle was closed due to the road being washed out by flash floods in 2015. The castle is more like a European villa, built in the Spanish Provincial mode. The castle was the idea of the legendary prospector Walter Scott known as Death Valley Scotty, who in his youth, worked in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. The 2.5 million dollars it took to build the castle is rumored to have come from a secret gold mine, but it appears that a business man from Chicago, Albert M. Johnson, really owned and financed the project.

Racetrack Playa

The other site we were unable to see was the famed Racetrack Playa where the giant rocks mysteriously slide across the dried flat lakebed. The dirt road was too rough for the jeep! We were always curious about the rocks and disappointed we were unable to see them. All size of rocks slide across the desert floor, leaving a long visible trail in the muddy clay. The most reasonable scientific explanation is that the clay surface is filled with ice crystals, and the frequent 70 to 90 mph winds move the rocks over the playa. The rocks only move under perfect conditions, which can be a rare event! Maybe next time!

As we drove around Death Valley we kept seeing these cars covered with black and white camo wraps. We found out they were prototypes and the wraps were designed to make it hard for a camera lens to focus on them. We found this photo on-line.

Our next stops this winter will be San Diego, Pala and Palm Desert in California. We’ll spend February through May in Gold Canyon, AZ where we’ll fly home to Sarasota for our annual visit. Have a healthy, prosperous and adventurous New Year!

Mike & Sharon

“Adventure is worthwhile”

Amelia Earhart