Last day Death Valley, Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes and Highway 395

 Thursday, November 5, 2015

We are sad to pack up and say goodbye to Furnace Creek Ranch. We really enjoyed our 3 day stay here. The room was great, right on the golf course. We appreciated their environmental efforts, like a recycling bin next to the regular garbage right in the room; the soap, conditioner, shampoo and lotion dispensers in the shower and at the sink to avoid using all those small plastic containers of stuff found in motels that end up in the landfill, their solar panels, and spring heated pool. If interested in staying here, look for their senior discounts and discounts for certain dates. Although it is more expensive than a lot of places we stay, it was so worth it to be right in the park. We would definitely consider coming back. There is also the Furnace Creek Inn which was built by the Borax company and is a luxury resort. It is located right up the road from Furnace Creek Ranch. Their are many campgrounds in the park as well but the lack of trees make them not very attractive nor private. The ones up in the mountains are probably nice but a little cold this time of year at night. The days are so short now, that camping just didn't seem like a good option.  

The golf course at Furnace Creek Ranch is the only golf course in a US National Park and is 214 feet below see level. It is considered one of the 50 hardest golf courses in America, mostly due to the heat but some say also because of the low elevation, the ball doesn't fly as well.

View of golf course outside our room

We returned to the Mesquite Flats Sand Dunes to explore and decided we might as well hike to the highest dune just to see what was over on the other side. We found these adorable tiny tracks in the sand and were surprised to see they were made by a beetle. It was fascinating to see evidence of life out on the dunes and how the dunes change each day with the wind and the shifting of sand. Jack picked up a book at the Borax museum yesterday and we discovered that part of the 1977 Star Wars movie was filmed on these dunes. Most of Star Wars was filmed in North Africa but to finish if off on a nearly-depleted budget, director George Lucas stayed closer to Hollywood. When R2-D2 and C-3PO escape their attacked spaceship and land on a sandy planet to search for Obi-wan Kenobi, they are on the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes, at least for the final shot when R2-D2 and C-3PO go their separate ways. For those interested I have updated my last couple blog posts with other spots from Star Wars.

We headed west toward Panamint City (not much there except an opportunity to buy $5.48 per gallon gas.) Gas at other places in the park had been $3.40 at Stovepipe Wells and $3.79 at Furnace Creek. Luckily we did not need gas in the park but it was almost as bad in Big Pine. When we had gone to the Sourdough Saloon in Beatty, Jenna (the bartender, hiker and retired bordello madam) had told us to go to Darwin Falls to hike on our way out of the park. She said it was really cool. Well, we will say that it was interesting how there is this riparian zone and oasis in the middle of the desert. We will also say it was interesting to see the pipe along the road and trail that brings Panamint City their only source of water. However, being from Washington and visiting Niagara Falls this summer and having an idea of what a waterfall should look like, we would not recommend the very bumpy 2 ½ mile dirt road to hike to this very tiny (maybe 5 foot) double waterfall. There is a second waterfall that may have been better but we needed to hit the road for the drive toward home.

A bit of Panamint Mountains and Death Valley creepy trivia. In the 1960's, Charles Manson and his “family” occupied the Barker Ranch a few miles outside of the park boundaries. Manson believed there was an underground paradise underneath Death Valley and was searching for the secret entrance. After committing the murders of Sharon Tate and others in Los Angeles he fled to the Barker Ranch where he was arrested by police assisted by NPS Rangers. Super creepy.

When initially planning our trip, we had hoped to drive the 395 on the east side of the Sierra Nevadas and take Tioga Pass into Yosemite. That road was open when we left home but they had a big snow storm in the Sierras and the road closed for the winter. That is okay, though. We had such a great time in Death Valley, we can hardly be disappointed. We felt fortunate that we were able to drive the spectacular highway 395 back to Reno without having to put our chains on. The roads required chains a few days ago and also the forecast was calling for another big storm in 2 days.

In Lone Pine, California

Beautiful Sierra Nevadas

We spent the night again in Reno, finding a super low rate at the Nugget (where we stayed on the way down) through booking.com at the last minute. The next night we had a little more trouble. We were too tired to make it all the way home and wanted to stop and see daughter Leslie and the grandsons the next morning. It was Friday night and U of Oregon and Oregon State both had home games Saturday. We finally found a room in Salem that was adequate. After laughing until we nearly cried watching the grand kids at soccer drills and scrimmage, we made our way back to home sweet home. At least for the next few days, haha.

Death Valley, Day 3

  Wednesday, November 4

We woke up early again and hit the road up toward the Stovepipe Wells area where Mosaic Canyon is located. There was one other car in the parking lot from Colorado, but they were sleeping in their car so we had the canyon to ourselves. We are really lucky as this is a very popular hike. The canyon is beautiful. There are smooth marble walls through the beginning that look like caramel swirl ice cream that curve around bends in the canyon.

 There are also many areas that make it obvious how Mosaic Canyon got its name. There are some areas we have to climb up up.  Again, this canyon ends for us at a high dry falls.

 

 We had planned on going out on the Mesquite Sand Dunes after Mosaic Canyon but the wind had kicked up so the sand was swirling all about. Tomorrow looks like a better idea. The road to Salt Creek Interpretive Boardwalk opened this morning. This seems so strange in the valley. There is a stream and lots of areas of green and birds. In the spring and summer, pupfish are swimming but at this time of year they are dormant. They get their name from their frisky play like behavior The pupfish here are endemic to Death Valley and there are 5 different species all in different locations. The salinity at Salt Creek is similar to seawater but in some of the other areas the salinity is up to 5 times that of seawater and those pupfish have evolved to survive that high level of salt. Pickleweed is the primary plant in the Salt Creek region and can tolerate a soil with 3 to 6 percent salt content.

 Our next stop was the 20 Mule Team Harmony Borax Works site. It began operation in 1882, mining and processing borax on the floor of Death Valley for shipment by 20-mule teams (actually 2 horses and 18 mules). Most of the laborers were Chinese immigrants who were paid $1.30 a day (actually good wages for the times). These mule teams hauled the borax 165 miles to the town of Mojave where a railroad shipped the Borax from there. When a wagon was fully loaded with borax it weighed 31,800 pounds. They hauled 2 wagons and a water tank so the total weight was 73,000 pounds which was over twice the weight of the mules. The mule teams only hauled borax out of Death Valley for 5 years, when borax was discovered closer to the railroads. Borax is used for glass production, soap, ceramics and tiles including those used on the space shuttle, plant fertilizers, medicines, flame retardants circuit boards and is an ingredient in Play-Doh and Silly Putty. A funny story we read is that the mules are smart enough to understand human voice commands but one day the mules wouldn't move. It turns out the mule-team driver had heard a preacher give a sermon on the evils of swearing. He therefore tried omitting the swear words he used in his commands, but the mules couldn't understand the new swear-less commands! 

 We went back to our room for a bit and visited the Borax museum and toured our resort that we really hadn't taken the time to see.

 We were then off to do another hike, this time to Desolation Canyon. That is definitely appropriately named. This time there was no one in the parking lot and we never saw another person in the lonely canyon. This was another trailless hike. The way in for us was definitely not the way out. We can never figure out where we go wrong, but were very happy to find our car. It was getting late in the afternoon and being out in the dark didn't sound like too much fun! We were never in danger as we could see the main road and the crowded parking lot of Golden Canyon a couple miles away. In the 1977 movie Star Wars, when Luke Skywalker is attacked by the sandpeople riding Banta "elephants,  it is filmed in Desolation Canyon. 

 We had a bit of daylight left so went to The Devil's Golfcourse. This road also opened today, so we were very lucky to get to see these very strange salt pinnacles. Apparently there is water below the surface which evaporates and leaves deposits of salt. As the salt builds up, the water continues rising through it as if the sun is drinking the water through a salt straw.

Devil's Golf Course

After returning to the room, I had to check out the pool. This is a spring fed pool which maintains a constant temperature of 84 degrees and apparently empties twice a day. I have to say this has to be one of the most pleasant swimming experiences I have ever had. So nice. Perfect temperature, but a little cold when I got out. 

 We finally went out for dinner at the ranch and had some comfort food, quite good. These past 3 days in Death Valley have been fabulous. There are still areas we didn't get to see. The Artist's Drive road is still closed, under 3 feet of mud. We wanted to get to other areas of the park but 3.4 million acres is a lot of territory to cover!  Death Valley is the largest National Park in the lower 48 and has lots to offer. We have to come back! Many of the areas are only accessible by 4 wheel drive. The wildflower display here should be good in the spring due to the rains received in mid October.  A few days in March doesn't sound like a bad idea, does it?

Death Valley, Day 2

Tuesday, November 3

We are fortunate to take advantage of the extra hour we got over the weekend and naturally wake up at 5 which is perfect here. It allows us to get up, make coffee and oatmeal, shower and prepare to hike and get out the door before the sun comes up. Our first stop today was Dante's View (5000 ft elevation) which offers spectacular views of the valley, the water from the flood in the basin and the Panamint Mountains in the background. There is a short hike up the ridge to give just a little different perspective.

In the 1977 movie, Star Wars, when Luke Skywalker and Obi-wan Kenobi look down on the spaceport where they will find Has Solo, they are standing at Dante's View

 We met Pablo, a professional photographer from San Antonio. There are many photographers here in the park, I suspect some trying to capture the water in the basin. He told us to go to Badwater Basin in the afternoon for good photo opportunities. He and his partner had slept out in a tent last night in the wind. He said it was wild and he had wished he was in a hotel room. After waiting for the sun to get into the basin, we took off and headed to the Golden Canyon trail head and hiked up the canyon, joined up with the Gower Gulch trail and then hiked up to Zabriske Point.

 We walked through badland terrain that looks very much like the Badlands in South Dakota. We had no idea how diverse the terrain and scenery was here. The rocks are beautiful colors; golden, red, purple, brown, and white.

 When we got to Zabriske Point, there was a cyclist there. I started talking to him and discovered he was from New Zealand and had started around the world trip on his bicycle, alone, in 2013. He started at the Cape of Good Hope in Capetown, South Africa and is headed for Cape Horn, at the end of Chili. He had to go home in the middle of his trip in order to work to earn more money for his trip so he is just starting again. I asked him if he had a blog and he does but it is from the beginning of his trip www.globalcheyne.blogspot.com. It is interesting that I came very close to asking him if he had a charitable cause but didn't want to put him on the spot. After viewing his blog, I think I had the right hunch.  I am not sure of his whole story, as I have not had time to look at all his blog, but I did learn from viewing part of his blog that he sponsors 3 kids in Kenya and has for 10 years! I saw pictures of him and his bike with one of the kids he sponsors. He spent time with Bedouins, went to Petra, was in Mongolia (I believe in the winter). He has a device on his bike that converts his pedal power to charge his phone, his camera and all electronic devices, so is self sufficient. He was a delightful and fascinating young man. He is going to send us a link to his new blog so we can follow him. I also asked him if he is planning to write a book. He is thinking of going to Cuba when he is finished to write. I think someone should publish him and make a movie! We won't forget Andrew from New Zealand and pray God will keep this young man safe! We were amazed at the adventurous spirit of some people!

Andrew with all his possessions bicycling the world!

Natural Bridge

After hiking back to our car, we headed back to our room for a coffee and a quick rest of our aching legs. There was a coyote on the golf course outside our room!  Later in the afternoon we went to Natural Bridge (the road just opened today) and walked a little more before heading to the Badwater Basin for sunset. Badwater Basin is the lowest point on land in the Western Hemisphere at 282 feet below sea level. There are salt crystals everywhere, all quite beautiful in an other worldly sense. Because of the recent flooding, Lake Manly has formed again in part of the basin, which is the name for the ancient lake that used to be here. The mountains drain into the basin and there is no escape to the ocean. The basin is 5 miles across (we did not walk it). Pablo was down in the basin busily shooting away. I am quite certain his photos are significantly better than mine! Darkness comes early, before 5. The stars are beautiful we hear, but we are too tired to go out at night!

Pablo

282 feet below sea level, lowest place on land in Western Hemisphere

Salt formations

Salt crystals