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Pangea

The best known of the supercontinents, Pangea is one relatively young stage of movement that demonstrates the shifting of the Earth’s crust, dating around 250 million years ago. It is from Pangea that the current continents are believed to have separated into what we see today. Pangea likely broke apart because the land mass did not allow planetary core temperature heat to escape sufficiently, thereby leading to cracks in the crust and ultimately movement of colossal land masses. It is also believed that several supercontinents existed prior to Pangea, part of an ongoing cycle of crust movement where land masses would split apart and eventually flow back together millions of years later.

Vaalbara is the earliest recognized supercontinent, dating to around 3.1 billion years ago, however it may have been superceded by more, taking us back to 4.6 billion years ago when the Earth had its beginnings as a planet. There are a number of named cycles, and one more that deserves mentioning here is the Columbia supercontinent, which spanned a time when the oldest rocks in Death Valley are thought to have been formed, 1.8 to 1.5 billion years ago. If all this theorizing is correct, the ground that is now within the boundaries of Death Valley National Park has quite an incomprehensible history, at least in the minds of finite carbon creatures like ourselves.

DVNP has been jaunting about the planet for a very few billion years, different parts of it forming at different times, all the while enduring a slow torture of ripping, tearing, and upheaval that has no end in sight. We may think of this land as tormented, yet perhaps now it is only resting, knowing full well what is in store during the next four and a half billion years.

Jumping out of Planes

Here is what DVNP has to say about parachuting in the Superintendent’s Compendium: “Delivering or retrieving a person or object by parachute, helicopter, or other airborne means is prohibited except in emergency, or pursuant to the terms and conditions of a permit.” Yes, if a person is spotted in a big billowy parachute, descending upon national park lands, he better be prepared to answer some questions!

Park Personnel

Quite a few dedicated folks work in DVNP so that we can all enjoy the relatively unspoiled expanses of this unique region. At the top is the superintendent, the one who runs the show, and likely earns the largest paycheck for the myriad of concerns involved in the operation of a national park. Equally important however, are many others, without whom the superintendent could not successfully carry out the federal guidelines.

They include biologists, historians, law enforcement officers, maintenance workers, interpreters, motel, restaurant, and gift shop personnel, and likely many others. These folks work around the clock, and often behind the scenes, so that when we visit, we will experience the ambiance of a wild and remote place with other-worldly vistas and history that skirts the borders of believability. Thanks for all the great work!

Your Park Ranger

These are the uniformed folks we will find in the visitor centers, entry booths, and in the backcountry … the ones who have sworn to preserve the integrity of Death Valley National Park for all visitors to enjoy for all time, and to protect the visitors from any negative consequences that might arise during their visits. We will see both Interpretive Rangers and Law Enforcement Rangers, although it may be tough to determine which is which unless we observe them in their common environments.

Usually, we will find Interpretive Rangers in the visitor centers answering questions and taking care of administrative duties there, while our interactions with Law Enforcement Rangers will likely be on the road or at an attraction, where we will notice them in their green colored vehicles with red and blue lights on top. These are the ones who will kindly let us know if we are driving too fast for safe navigation of the roadway, whether it be paved or dirt. Both types of rangers overlap somewhat in their duties on occasion because the general public often makes no distinction between the two.

Rangers do such things as lead interpretive tours, search for lost hikers, respond to injured visitors, fight fires, close off roads affected by floods, and even maintain trails. In a 1926 statement, Horace Albright, Superintendent of Yellowstone National Park, told potential ranger applicants to not bother applying “If you cannot work hard ten to twelve hours a day, and always with patience and a smile on your face …” That statement certainly gives a good idea of expectations!

Vast Network of Roads

Here is what the National Park Service has to say about its roads, according to the General Management Plan:

“The Park has a vast network of roads, ranging from high speed highways to unmaintained four wheel drive roads. The Park staff maintains 696 miles of road. Of that, 243 miles are classified as standard vehicle roads, or paved or unpaved that require no more ground clearance than a standard sedan. High clearance or four wheel drive roads constituted 442 miles, and about 10 miles are service spur roads. California State Highway 190, the main route through the Park, is maintained by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). In addition, there are many miles of roads maintained by the county or by mining companies. The Park encompasses hundreds of miles of unmaintained four wheel drive routes. When the monument became a Park in 1994, it did not require responsibility for any additional paved roads. Most of the new NPS roads are unpaved four wheel drive roads that provide access to remote locations such as the Saline Valley and Hunter Mountain.”

Mining Claims

A patented mining claim differs from an unpatented claim, the latter being one where the claimant only has rights to explore and mine the land, but does not own it. A patented mining claim, on the other hand, is one where the federal government has passed ownership title to the claimant, thereby making it private land. As of 2002, the following was current information regarding patented mining claims in Death Valley National Park, according to the General Management Plan:

“About 60% of private lands in Death Valley are patented mining claims. There are 19 patented mining claim groups totaling 6,444 acres. The Park also has approximately 125 unpatented mining claims covering about 2,262 acres. The National Park Service typically conducts a determination of validity on unpatented mining claims when a proposed plan of operation is received from an operator. This process may result in fewer unpatented mining claims in the Park as those that cannot support discovery of a valuable deposit are contested.”

The old west still lives here.

Mister Patrick’s Miracle

Legends and lore are born from the kind of stories that Mr. Patrick put out for others to hear. He enthusiastically claimed he had found a mineral near the ill-fated copper mining town of Greenwater in 1907 that was nothing short of a miracle. It was a mineral that produced water just by chewing on it or heating it. Patrick spoke of an entire ledge of the dry white substance in the Greenwater Valley region, and had discovered it when he found his burro chomping on such a rock.

He further asserted that enough of this mineral existed to irrigate Death Valley! Judging by how things played out around here, it now appears that Mr. C.W. Patrick came up short on producing the actual rock that could have made him a multi-millionaire. He may have come up short in that department, but he is yet another colorful character who helped to paint a memorable picture of local lore, providing yet one more excuse for contemporary explorers to get out here to see where all this wild legend was born.

Hippie Haven

An enormous 1960s style peace symbol exists on the side of a mountain. The mountainside has not been restored to its natural state by DVNP officials. It is clearly a conversation piece, and provokes debate among folks with varied views. The amount of time and effort to construct it is unknown, but it was surely a dedicated effort by someone or group. It is plainly visible off in the distance to the north while driving the rough road that connects the Saline Valley to Steel Pass.

A quick internet search reveals another such sign exists about two miles from Highway 190, south of the one on the Saline Range. The one north of the dirt Steel Pass road is far away removed from 190. Some folks believe that this sign degrades the natural environment, while others feel it is a message for civilizations of the future that tells of our present day ideologies, similar to the manner ancient cultures have silently communicated with us through petroglyphs, pictographs, and geoglyphs. This is but another emotionally charged topic on the spectrum of human debate, and contributes yet more to this Land of Legend.

Perdido Canyon

Located one canyon north of the dirt road that takes us up to White Top Mountain, at the northern end of Hidden Valley, Perdido Canyon is a roadless hiking area that offers many ancient fossils in its walls. It will be the first canyon on our left after driving through Lost Burro Gap into Hidden Valley. There is also much territory and history to explore out here, including the Lost Burro gold mine nearby. A good place to park to start a hike would be anywhere along the first mile of the White Top Mountain road, an alluvium on which one may find a peaceful place for primitive camping.

Eons ago, a shallow sea led to the colonization of sea creatures, small animals whose fossils remain exposed in this canyon and Lost Burro Gap. These fossils can be found in the sides of the canyon. Joshua trees also populate this region, however they are still alive and well. Late fall or early spring might be the best times to explore for these artifacts of the past, in order to stay cool while searching in the sun.

NOTE: To be clear about the fossils, Perdido Canyon lies within the boundaries of Death Valley National Park, and thus any disturbance of any fossils or other artifacts is strictly illegal. Reference to such items in this post is for the natural historian who delights in observing relics of the past. Look, study, and take photographs or notes. Do not remove or alter what you see in any way.

Mars & the Mojave Festival

MARS AND THE MOJAVE FESTIVAL – MARCH 9-11 2012

Jack Freer’s photograph link: click HERE.

SETI official link: click HERE.

PS: Yes, I realize I’m a bit late on getting this information out, but here is what happened, and now you know about it for next year (see how far in advance that is! My nose has been buried in my forthcoming book, and thus my lack of DVJ coverage. Thanks to friends like Jack Freer, at least some of this stuff gets posted. My apologies. Have fun looking at the photos Jack took and reading what the SETI Institute has to say.

People Profile

This information is taken from the NPS General Management Plan, Table 6 on the “Tables” page, with the table’s title being “Death Valley National Park Visitor Profile.” One of the surveys is from September 1996, and breaks down the percentages of people thusly:

1) California Resident – 32 percent. 2) Foreign Country – 69 percent. 3) Repeat Visitor – 18 percent. 4) First Time Visitor – 82 percent. 5) Average Age – 43 years. 6) Average Length of Stay – 66 percent stayed less than one day. For folks who love tables, this section of the GMP is inviting, as there are many table with many topics. Other topics include visitor activities, water use, burro and horse management and population data, annual visitation, traffic levels, and more.

Four Hundred Mile Walk

The distance around a two-dimensional object is called the perimeter, a Greek based word. What is the perimeter of Death Valley National Park? Based on the primitive “finger on map” assessment method, it appears to be over 400 miles if one were to walk the precise line that delineates the park, taking into account that little strange indented section in the northern region that allowed for a sulfur mining interest.

First Two Women to Walk DV?

Here’s a question from DVJ reader Dan. See if you know the answer, and if you do, leave a comment to this post:

Here is one for you. What are the names of the first two woman to walk across Death Valley? Give you a hint. They did it in 6 days 110 miles. One woman had the reputation as the Toughest Woman Gold Miner in the west. If you think you know you can e-mail me at oldman21961@yahoo.com.  I will come back in a week to tell you the story. Have a good week and God Bless.
Dan Johnson….

HAM Radio Repeater?

DVJ reader Fred wants to know if there are any HAM radio repeaters in Death Valley. Can anyone reading this answer his question? If so, please leave a comment to this post for him to read. Thanks everyone!

Ancient Art

Ancient people scratched pictures into rocks, and these are called petroglyphs. Speculation is that the pictures could have had social or religious value to the artists, or that perhaps they were just an ancient form of graffiti. Many do seem to have significance due to their subject matter. Other forms of social expression were pictographs (painting on rock) and geoglyphs (arrangement of rocks on the ground).

We can see a huge modern-day example of humans who have written on nature north of Saline Hot Springs in the Saline Valley (some folks refer to this peace sign as graffiti). Ancient petroglyphs can be found in Titus and Marble Canyons, for those who are fascinated by these depictions of ancient life. Some roads in the park, such as Marble Canyon and Greenwater Canyon, have been permanently closed, apparently due to senseless acts of vandalism perpetrated against these irreplaceable markings.

Leashed and Under Control

Pets are allowed in DVNP, however their activity is rigidly restricted. If a pet leaves the automobile, it must be leashed always, and remain within 100 feet of any road, campground, or picnic area. Like bicycles, pets are strictly forbidden on any pedestrian or hiking trails, even if they are on a leash. They must be attended at all times, regardless of where they are – even in a car. Pets are not allowed in wilderness areas unless otherwise indicated. Pet excrement must be properly disposed of by the pet owner in a trash receptacle.

Not all people may share an owner’s love of an animal, so please respect these regulations and the rights of other visitors if a pet is brought while visiting the park. Pets have been known to instantly attack and violently kill park wildlife, such as happens when a large dog sees a kit fox, an incident I once witnessed when a visitor did not have his animal under control.

Death Valley Tour Guide

If you are searching for a comprehensive Death Valley tour guide on a CD, this may be your lucky day. Cliff Bandringa, the mastermind of Backroads West, has assembled a wealth of information for ardent adventurers of this amazing land. Following is an image of the CD’s cover, along with some text from Cliff’s website.

Click the image to learn more or purchase this CD

The Death Valley area has so much to offer – it’s one of our favorites! This Virtual Tour Guide not only covers the vast area of Death Valley National Park itself but also includes some of the surrounding areas that are outside of the Park boundaries like Panamint Valley to the west and the Amargosa River Canyon to the east. There is just so much to see and do:

World-class Geology, Abundance of old Mines, Breathtaking desert landscape, Hiking trails and 4WD roads of all levels, Ghost towns & their Wild West history, Unique desert Plants and Animals

Let our Virtual Tour Guide take you to the awe-inspiring Death Valley!

This comprehensive Virtual Tour Guide has:

Over 1500 color photographs, Over 150 detailed maps, 16 Road Trips, 27 Hikes, 15 Points of Interest, Chapters on Geology, History, Plants and Animals

Cliff’s Website / Amazon Listing

Childrens Guide to Death Valley

If you have a child who shows interest in the Death Valley territory, here is a new book that might interest you (and your child). Written and illustrated by Janet Morgan, three-time Death Valley artist in residence, it may well be a valuable resource to add to your personal Death Valley library. Following is an image of the book’s cover, along with text from Janet’s website:

Click the image to learn more or purchase this book

Mention Death Valley and most people imagine a desolate lifeless place. But the real Death Valley is full of life – it hums and rattles and caws; its dynamic landscape has been shaped by volcanoes, earthquakes, floods, wind and heat.

Starting early in the morning the big black ravens Ravenna and Ramone are eager to take us on a tour of their home. From sunrise at Zabriskie Point we fly us over evidence of the flash floods that have carved the land, down to the lowest, hottest and driest place in North America. Death Valley has it all. Standing on the salt flats at Badwater Basin 282 feet below sea level you can look up to the snowy top of Telescope Peak 11,000 feet above you.

Few people get far from the main roads and know little of the vast and varied beauty of the park, which is 3 million acres, the size of the state of Connecticut. Getting a child hooked on Death Valley will get them excited about geology, biology, and ecology, and our amazing National Parks, opening them to endless things to learn about and enjoy.

Phinney Pass

Phinney Canyon ends atop tiny Phinney Pass. This is a very remote little patch of almost flat ground where a couple of small 4wd vehicles might park for an overnight camp. Being over 5,000 feet elevation, it gets very cold up here at night, even when it is scorching in Death Valley below – better have a real good sleeping bag! There are some splendid red rocks on the south side of the pass, just a few feet from camp, that allow for great climbing to higher elevations for wonderful views or patchy cellular telephone contact.

If we have time on our hands, we can hike on down the old road on the west side of the pass that is now closed due to wilderness designation. It is very overgrown, but will take us a long ways down the western slope of the forested Grapevine Mountains. Few people ever come to this secret sweet spot, making it perfect for anyone really wanting to get away from the crowds. The reason for the minimal visitation is the difficulty of the road in places getting up here. It is very constricted in spots, with one minimal class-4 impediment (on last check). For those who like lots of trees, and vistas east into Nevada and west into California, this is a grand place.

Postcard Perfect

Where are the best wild places to catch that “postcard perfect” vista? They are everywhere we look, and a photographer’s work is never done in this national park. There are obviously too many great locations to mention, but here are some top contenders:

Devil’s Golf Course or Badwater Basin at sunset or sunrise (especially if there is a lake in the valley during our visits because we can get the reflection of the mountains in the distance), The Racetrack during the same times of day so that the boulders’ tracks show well, the Eye of the Needle shortly before sunset or after sunrise, so the sun comes through the slit, any of the sand dunes when long shadows are being cast (especially Eureka or Stovepipe), the grotto type canyons at any time (Mosaic, Grotto, Marble, Fall) or Titus Canyon, Artist’s Palette, Zabriskie Point, Aguereberry Point, and of course, Dante’s View.

Photographers might as well devote the rest of their lives to the Death Valley territory.

Pictographs

Ancient people sometimes painted pictures on rocks with paint made from surrounding natural sources, such as vegetation, dirt, and rocks. Pictographs are not so enduring as petroglyphs, and wear away quicker since they are on the rock’s surface instead of etched into the rock as a petroglyph is. If any pictographs are found, we must not touch them at all, as human oils in the skin are not conducive to prolonging the life of the art.

Pilot Knob

On the old twenty mule team route from the Harmony Borax Works to Mojave, the 165 mile dirt trail passed by Pilot Knob, a natural landmark that helped the teams and other Mojave Desert travelers and explorers orient themselves while in this extremely remote region. Pilot Knob is located about seven miles northeast of Blackwater Well, the first watering stop for the team from Mojave. In today’s vastly different world, Pilot Knob lies just inside the China Lake Naval Weapons Center, and is therefore off limits to all civilian folks.

Due to Pilot Knob’s large size and distinctive flat top shape, it remains visible from the outside region. We will recognize it by the noticeable two white bands that run horizontally across its upper steep slopes. There are a few ways to view this landmark by dirt road, perhaps the most direct of which is to take the Steam Wells road east from the paved Trona road, about three miles north of Red Mountain. This road skirts the southern border of the Golden Valley Wilderness Area.

Tuba Food

Also called tuba, pine nuts have been a fundamental food supply for the inhabitants of this region. During the hotter summer months, people would migrate up into the higher mountain elevations for cooler temperatures, and collect pine nuts from pinyon trees, above the 7,000-foot elevation level. Plentiful pine forests exist in both the Panamint and Amargosa Ranges on either side of Death Valley. Each fall, the nuts fall onto the ground from the cones for a three week period, and the native folks would gather them up for the winter food supply. A single person might gather more than a hundred pounds of these nuts each year. It was essential for each family to gather enough nuts before the snows fell to avoid a food shortfall later in the year.

Outlaw Cave

Strongly supported rumor has it that a large natural configuration of sizable rocks forms a very useful cave around the Butte Valley environs in the southern reaches of Death Valley National Park. Its size allows a number of people to take shelter inside, warmed during cold winter nights by an old rusty wood-burning stove set near a back wall of human-inserted stonework. Some folks may not find the spacious cave, with stones the size of small autos, too hospitable for any long-term occupation, but of course, those who travel this far out from civilization are cut from the hardy cloth of the pioneer, and delight to behold such an incredible sight.

Outlaw Cave presents a significant challenge to locate, and is usually only found when one is guided to it by a fortunate rare soul who has chanced upon it during a prior visit. This is truly a Land of Legend, and in keeping with the mystique of the wild backcountry, no further accounting will be provided here. The fun is in the search, after all. Good luck!

Touring in a Pink Jeep

For folks seeking a convenient and ready-made commercial introduction to Death Valley that is as close as the telephone, Pink Jeep Tours of Las Vegas, Nevada may be an option. Here is what the company has to say about the excursion on their website, pinkjeep.com:

“Death Valley comes to life when Pink Jeep Tours shows you the most spectacular highlights of the largest national park in the contiguous United States. En route, we’ll pass by Mercury, former home of atomic weapons testing, and we’ll venture into the fascinating ghost town of Rhyolite, home to rustic ruins from the past as well as the Goldwell Open Air Museum. In the park, you’ll be amazed by an abundance of astounding natural features, and the awesome history that abounds in this extremely desolate and unique National Treasure. The journey continues with stops at Furnace Creek, Devil’s Golf Course, Badwater, Zabriskie Point, and more. From seasonal snow-capped peaks, to the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere, the incredible memories you take home from this tour will last a lifetime.”

This is a seasonal tour, and does not operate during the summer months. The trip is ten hours in duration, visitors are picked up at their hotel.

Pinyon Pine

This is a type of pine tree that profusely inhabits mountainous portions of the southwestern United States and Mexico. We will find them in abundant forests of the Panamint and Amargosa Ranges, along with the juniper plant. Pinyons (also spelled as pinon with a Spanish tilde symbol ~ over the ‘n’ that denotes the ‘nya’ sound) were a chief source of food for the early people of the Death Valley territory, as these folks collected the pinyon nuts every year to store through the winter as part of their food supply.

One way the pinyon pine regenerates itself with the help of a bird called the pinyon jay, which also stores its nuts as food for later use, only the jay puts the nuts in the ground, and those not eaten germinate into new trees. Pinyon pine wood has a unique aroma when burned, which is pleasant to many people. Collecting and burning pinyon wood in the national park forests is not allowed however, so we will have to smell it elsewhere (unless we legally purchase some firewood at an approved campground that allows campfires).

Colossal Musical Instrument

No words can possibly convey the emotion one feels as the famous pipe organ commences its mesmerizing melody inside Scotty’s Castle. The concert room is impressive in its own right, and then once the stirring notes coat the air, one becomes lost in the passionate tone. The Welte-Mignon theater organ has over 1,000 pipes, and is but one of the many treasures to be found within these amazing walls. The Welte-Mignon company produced high quality musical devices originally in Germany during the 1800s, starting in the fabled Black Forest town of Vöhrenbach, and eventually brought a portion of its operations to the United States in New York. In 1932 it faced bankruptcy, and then in 1944, its German plant at Freiburg was destroyed by military bombing.

These old organs can be found in museums, or by visiting Death Valley. The National Park Service now provides yearly concerts starring the organ and a talented organist in order to raise money to pay for its upkeep and also to maintain the Deagan chimes in the chime tower of the castle. Forty people may attend the summer concerts each evening, which last fifty minutes and cost thirty dollars. Reservations are made through the Death Valley Natural History Association. Regular daily tours of Scotty’s Castle also include a brief interlude in the room housing the pipe organ, and visitors delight to hear songs from it, usually controlled electronically rather than by a live person. This impressive instrument reportedly cost around $50,000 in the early 1930s. There were over 7,000 pipe organs placed in American theaters from 1915 to 1933, yet today fewer than 40 remain in their original theaters. Scotty’s Castle offers a very unique treat for our ears!

Death Valley Regional Plants

According to the Smithsonian Guides to Natural America, Far West Edition, there are over one thousand kinds of flowering plants that make Death Valley National Park their home, including desert holly, mesquite, ferns, lilies, and orchids. When we come visit here in the autumn or spring after significant rains, we may well see millions of flowers in all the valleys. April is a lovely time to witness this national park in full bloom and color, and along with these flowers come millions of butterflies … so thick in places that we must slow our vehicle considerably to avoid injuring them as the flitter back and forth across the paved roadway. Death Valley and environs are full of life, contrary to the alarming nomenclature that has unfortunately stuck with the region (well, unfortunate in that it portrays a skewed image, but fortunate in that it provides plenty of revenue for the government as people flock to see this feared realm firsthand).

Author Needed for DV Pictorial Book

Recently, I was contacted by Stacia Brennerman, the acquisitions editor for Arcadia Publishing. Their publishing house is seeking a qualified person to author a pictorial history book about Death Valley. It would included a couple hundred historical photographs, along with text to explain each photo. Arcadia is a traditional publisher, and the author of this book would earn royalties every year based on sales. If you might be interested in inquiring further, please contact Stacia at Arcadia Publishing. Links appear below.

Here is some text from their website, explaining the company’s direction:

Arcadia Publishing is the leading local history publisher in the United States, with a catalog of more than 7,500 titles in print and hundreds of new titles released every year.

Established in 1993, Arcadia has blended a visionary management approach with the innovative application of state-of-the-art technology to create high-quality historical publications in small local niches.

Arcadia Publishing has expanded its focus on preservation efforts and is now the country’s first major book publisher to achieve the use of 100 percent Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified paper across its entire book publishing program. Learn more.

WHAT WE DO

Arcadia is best known for its popular Images of America series, which chronicles the history of communities from Bangor, Maine, to Manhattan Beach, California. With more than two hundred vintage black-and-white photographs, each title celebrates a town or region, bringing to life the people, places, and events that define the community. Arcadia also publishes other series: Images of Rail, Images of Sports, Images of Baseball, Black America, Postcard History, Campus History, Corporate History, Scenes of America, and Then & Now.

If you are interested in authoring this book, please click HERE.

TOLL FREE: (888) 313-2665
8am – 7pm EST Monday – Thursday
8am – 5:30pm EST Friday
(excluding public holidays)

Plant Zones

In his book, Hiking Death Valley, author Michel Digonnet has developed a table of plant zones, specifying major examples of plants that are found at specific elevations. The statistics that follow are taken from that table:

The Alkaline Sink Zone occurs on valley floors, with plants like the mesquite, salt grass, and pickleweed. The Creosote Bush Zone occurs on alluvial fans, lower washes, and slopes, with plants like the creosote bush, desert holly, and ragweed. The Mixed Shrub Zone occurs in mid to upper canyons and slopes, with plants like blackbrush, cliff rose, and calico cactus. The Sagebrush Zone occurs in upper canyons and slopes, with plants like Mojave rubberbrush, Joshua trees, and rabbitbrush. The Pinyon Pine Zone occurs in upper canyons and slopes, overlapping somewhat with the prior zone, with plants like pinyon pines, mahogany, and Utah juniper. The Limber Bristlecone Pine Zone occurs on the highest of summits, with plants like bristlecone pine, limber pine, and tansybush.

Happy Holidays Desert Rats!

Have a wonderful holiday season all my friends of the outback! Wonder if all the valley residents and employees are whooping it up this nippy winter morn. Merry merry to all … Steve

A Lowly Dry Lakebed

A dry lakebed is also known as a playa, such as The Racetrack Playa, that results usually from a lake that has no outflow point where the water would drain elsewhere. This causes the water to remain on the playa until it evaporates or is absorbed into the Earth. Playas are generally found in arid and semi-arid regions, and it is not uncommon to see water on a playa during years of heavy rain. This often causes the lake bed to become very slick, which, in the case of The Racetrack Playa, leads to heavy boulders being pushed around by high winds. We may see greasewood bushes lining playa regions. Usually, there is no plant growth on the playa itself. Another well known example of a huge playa is in Utah, called the Bonneville Salt Flats. Larger still, there is a playa in Bolivia that is 25 times the size of the Bonneville Playa. Once the water on a playa dries out or is absorbed, the surface generally becomes cracked in polygonal shapes.

Pleasant Canyon

Just behind Ballarat townsite to the east, lies the road that travels up Pleasant Canyon, a wonderfully enjoyable drive of class 2-3 usually. Weather, of course, can up the ante to class-4 if a flood happens by. This trip is “just right” for the average backroad explorer with a four wheel drive rig, as it takes us from the desert floor of Panamint Valley to the high reaches of the Panamint Range crest, through pines and past mines. Clair Camp (site of the Ratcliff Mine) and the World Beater Mines are in here ready to explore. Many ruins still stand. At the summit (Rogers Pass) we are standing on the edge of the world, looking easterly down into Butte Valley to the south and Death Valley to the east and north.

Lower in the Canyon are small stream crossings where the brush grows in tightly around the road. Wild burros live in this canyon, and are frequently seen foraging for food. If we have only one day, and want to experience the mining areas of the western Panamints, this drive is highly recommended, and can be done in just about any 4wd vehicle. It is popular though, so watch for occasional traffic. This road does not go through to the other side, however it does allow a round trip back through South Park Canyon, although a portion of South Park is not for the timid by any stretch of the imagination (it has an extremely dangerous place called Chicken Rock that has fatal consequences should a driver miscalculate). Returning back down through Pleasant Canyon is highly recommended!

A Pleasant Place to be?

In 1896, Bob Montgomery and his brother George began serious gold mining in Pleasant Canyon at their World Beater Mine, which brought increased activity to the area. As more miners and business people poured into the Panamint Mountains seeking wealth, they needed somewhere close to live while there. Three places emerged as camps for miners in Pleasant Canyon: Ballarat, Pleasant City, and Post Office Spring. Only Pleasant City was actually up the canyon near the mines, the other two down near or on the flat in Panamint Valley. Ballarat had the largest population, followed by Pleasant City. For miners staying in Pleasant City, they did not have to travel the six miles or so each day to access the mines, as those in Ballarat did.

PNEUMONACONIOSIS

Were you able to pronounce that? Say it five times in rapid sequence.

If a person consistently inhales minute particles of a particular mineral or metallic substance, such as in conditions faced by some miners underground in tight confines, this disease could contaminate the lung tissue of the person, leading to serious illness or death. Pneumonaconiosis is also commonly known as miner’s lung, and to learn what this scourge is like, read about talc mining. By the way, the spelling for this word was taken from the United States Department of the Interior’s 1920 publication entitled: A Glossary of the Mining and Mineral Industry. There is a differential from today’s more common spelling of Pneumonoconiosis (an “a” instead of an “o” in the “mono” part). Perhaps both are technically correct.

Small Bodies of Ore

Small bodies of ore are referred to as pockets. Pocket hunters were often individual miners with no large financial base who sought out these more easily accessed veins or ledges. Pockets are differentiated from lodes by the amount of valuable mineral contained within them.

The Pocket Miner

A pocket miner was the terminology used to describe prospectors and miners who only worked the land in small increments as money was available, fellows who were often successful because they did not demand immediate high-stakes wealth, extracting the ore little bits at a time to pay their expenses and make a modest amount of net income.

In contrast, many mining developers of the mining boom era in the Death Valley territory were impatient to make loads of money, purchased lots of expensive machinery, made exaggerated claims, sold worthless stock, and generally got in over their heads, which often led to complete failure of the venture. Pocket miners mined small pockets of ore in measured spurts, comfortably sustaining themselves in the process, and causing no one (including themselves) massive financial problems. One perfect example of the quintessential pocket miner is Tom Shaw.

James Knox Polk

This man was the eleventh president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. He was committed to the ideology of Manifest Destiny, or the acquisition of land by the United States as an inherent right, even though many opposed such a philosophy. In keeping with this vision, on December 5, 1848, President Polk announced to Congress that gold had been discovered in California, which had an immediate and powerful effect on the westward expansion movement. The ensuing rush to riches not only helped to populate the newly forming western states, but it also helped create the basis for our colorful Death Valley past, because the wagon train parties that found themselves trapped here during the fateful winter of 1849-50 were originally motivated by these tales of gold for the taking.

Life is a series of cause and effect events, and this president unwittingly played an important part of Death Valley’s enduring history. The ironic thing is that James never even knew of this, as he died at age 53, only 103 days after his term expired, on June 15, 1849 – this was prior to the infamous hardships of the pioneers who became trapped in Death Valley later that same year. James is another unique aspect of this Land of Legend. The Manifest Destiny ideology also led to a loss of lands for the first people of this countryside, who were not considered as an integral part of the plan.

Postal Services

For folks who would like a one-of-a-kind postmark on a communication to the outside world, Death Valley provides a solution. Prove to friends and family that surviving here is indeed possible, despite all the tales of yore! There is a post office at Furnace Creek, which is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 to 5 in the afternoon. They will hand stamp letters with the memorable Death Valley postal mark, available no where else on Earth! Foreign visitors certainly must take advantage of this.

Postal services have been a part of this region for a long time, both formally in the name of the government, and also simply as mail services set up by the movers and shakers of a particular mining camp or town. Such was the case at Panamint City during the 1870s, where a daily mail service transported letters to and from Lone Pine and Los Angeles. Where people go, mail always finds a way to follow.

Post Office Springs

Sometimes written as Postoffice Springs, this was the old name for the area of Ballarat, an old mining town in the Panamint Valley. What brought this place to a location of prominence was the gold strike activity in Pleasant Canyon to the east, in the Panamint Mountains. Some historic distinction can be drawn between Post Office Spring and Ballarat however, as they are separated by a half mile distance, although some sources just lump the two together as one. The name came about because miners got their mail here in the 1890s, although the United States Post Office did not officially recognize it as a post office, according to most current accounts.

Drinking Water

Water suitable for human guzzling is available at all park communities, visitor centers, contact stations and museums. It is available at most campgrounds with two exceptions. Thorndike and Mahogany Flat Campgrounds do not have potable water due to their extreme isolation and high elevation in the Panamint Range. We should always bring our own water regardless of where we stay or where we go out here. It is wise to carry several gallons in our vehicles at all times, keeping our mind at ease. Take it home if not consumed. Either that, or give it to an overheated tortoise.

Enter at your own risk!

What does a potato chip company in cool and wet Salem, Oregon have to do with the desert in hot and dry Death Valley, California? A company in Salem, Oregon (Kettle Foods) introduced a snack potato chip product called “Death Valley Chipotle” a while back, and they subtitled it: “the Ultimate pepper paradise.” The chips are marketed in muted orange and yellow bags – with flames on the label. On the back of the sack, it reads: “ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK”, followed by, “We had to go out into the hottest, driest desert in North America to have a vision of the ultimate chip in the quest for hot pepper perfection. A smoky blend of chili pepper, cayenne, chipotle, habanero and jalapeno, with subtle spice accents, this chip will have you seeing visions and leave you thirsty for more. With heat that’s slow to burn and full of flavor, you’ll feel like you’ve been transported to the sweltering, expansive plains of the desert.”

Based on personal consumption, Death Valley Chipotle has indeed captured the essence of our favorite desert territory. This is clearly a fascinating statement that our culture always has been, and always will be, enthralled by Death Valley and all it conjures up in our wild minds. Death Valley truly is a legendary land of illusion, and its image still successfully holds power over our collective thoughts of a harsh and untamed wilderness deserving of its reputation.