Death Valley

3/7/2018

 

The sunset campground is basically a no hookup parking lot with fresh water and a dump station.  However, the surroundings are still beautiful.  We enjoyed the stay.  It was quiet, except for people running their generators in the morning and early each evening.  Otherwise very peaceful sleeping with wonderfully dark night skies - The stars popped. 

View from Zabrisky's Point.

 

The "Devil's Golf Course" is an area of very large salt crystals.

The view of the salt flat extending northward from Bad Water Basin - 284ft below sea level.

The valley as seen from Natural Bridge trail.

Colorful mineralized soil along Artist drive.

Sand Dunes near Stove Pipe Wells.

How many of your remember the show "Death Valley Days" hosted by Ronald Reagan.  Twenty Mule Team Borax was the sponsor.  Borax mining was prevalent at the turn of the century.

The last means of transport for the Borax ore before the mining petered out.

The steam tractor replaced the 20 mule teams.

The standard mule team train - two ore wagons and a water wagon.

One has to feel sorry for the mules.  It reportedly took them 10 days to haul 24 tons of borax ore the 164 miles out of the valley. 

One might not expect such a nice hotel to be in Death Valley.  We had lunch there.  There is also a 9 hole golf course on the valley floor within a palm tree forest.  We enjoyed a very pleasant four day stay before moving on toward Moab, Utah.