We
spent
the night in the organized camp at Stovepipe Wells. It was
remarkably quiet given the density of the campsite. Next
morning, we broke camp and headed into Furnace Creek in
preparation for meeting Mark who was coming from San Diego.
We met Mark at Dante's View.
The photos below are what we saw.
East
of Stovepipe Wells is a set of sand dunes. We stopped for a
few photos. These dunes are very small relative to the high
dunes of the Altar Desert in Sonora, MX.
From
the dunes we went to the Harmony Borax works. The ruins
above were the central processing facility for extracting borax.
The
borax was gathered from the surface of the dry lake and then
concentrated for shipment to points south.
The
transport wagons were huge and were hauled by a team of 20
mules. The total weight was about 36 tons including the 1500
gallons of water that was required to support the mules and
drivers.
The
water tank was 1500 gallons and absolutely required to support the
life enroute to the cargo dump site.
The
extraction process involved dissolving the borax and then
crystalizing it for shipment. The boiler is in the left of
the photo above.
Ouch!! Note the price of the premium gas. This is the
sign of things to come.
A
bigger view of the Badwater Basin.
To
the west, the 11,000 foot Telescope Peak is visible. The
peak still has snow.
The
lower sections of the basin had pools of saline water.
A
panorama of Death Valley from Dante's View. Click here to see full-size panorama.
Looking
to the east, a panorama shows the access to Dante's View as well
as the snow-covered Mt. Charleston north of Las Vegas. Click here to see full-sized panorama.
We
took a side trip on 20 Mule Team Canyon to see the mud hills.
From
20 Mule Team Canyon, we went to Zabriskie Point to see the
view. The landscape was nice too.
The
mud hills were imposing and very rugged.
To
the west, the Badwater Basin was visible.
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Photos and Text Copyright Bill Caid 2012, all rights
reserved.
For your enjoyment only, not for commercial use.
