February 15 to February 21, 2003

Saturday February 15:

It was mild enough no furnace was needed to enjoy this Internet morning that started at 4AM.  I installed the tax program I had bought at Sams, then spent hours on the cellphone downloading updates for it.  Then we figured out how to download the "free" state program; you pay first, then mail in a rebate form.  Grrrrrr.  Claire went downtown by bus to the southern most casinos to shop, then walked back.  I spent the day at home on the computer...best of all possible worlds!  :-)  In the evening after a left over pasta dinner that was really EXCELLENT, we went in search of the elusive $1.99 margarita the Frontier advertised on their marquee. A usual in these places, the bright lights were dazzling and confusing to us "bumpkins".  

The desk soon steered us in the right direction, and we managed to avoid "Time Share Billie" too.  :-)  After the large but not REALLY strong frozen drink from a "slurpee" machine, we went looking for the penny slots; turns out they DO NOT accept pennies, only bills.  You can BET a penny at a time, but you're gonna lose the $.  :-(   We compromised and found a machine that would take Claire's ONE nickel, and take it quickly it did!  We were still trying to figure out what was going to happen, when we realized it was gone....Oh well, easy come easy go; but no more unless PENNIES!  :-)))   On the way home the Sanyo Blimp was flying low overhead, apparently self lighted, or was it just the overwhelmingly bright lights of Las Vegas lighting it from the ground?  

This picture does not have a larger size link....sorry.  :-)

We could not tell for sure....

Sunday February 16:

The morning is mild again, no furnace is needed.  Baltimore and NYC looks to be set for MAJOR snow, but Eastern MA lots less. This is the same storm that gave us the rain here this week.  I need to work the webpage today or it won't get posted.  Claire decides to walk to the shops in the Venetian and Mirage. It is delightfully warm in the RV as I work in shorts and T-shirt.  Claire returns in the late afternoon with a small bag of goodies, reporting she had seen a white tiger at the Mirage. Too bad she again forgot to take the camera...  :-(    I soon finish the page and she reads it while I relax.  Then it is time for upload.  All goes well, but it still takes 2 hours on the slow cell phone.  I check the web evening weather forecast for home; it now says 14-20 inches of the unmentionable s*** stuff on Monday, ending Tuesday afternoon.  This really is the winter from hell.....oh well, other folks can plow and shovel this one; we'll just PAY!  :-)  

Monday February 17:

It was cooler this morning, and I slept until Purry started coughing in my ear at 6:30AM; this is an emergency as we KNOW what often follows Purry's coughs…. :-(((  Purry got an acceptable mat to cough on, but I am awake.  It is near 50 outside, and definitely NOT shorts weather inside!  The battery is near 70% charged even after Claire's TV last night.  It's time to catch up on the log and plan the day's trip.  It looks like Las Vegas is the place to do laundry; all the other towns we pass through on the way to Death Valley are tiny.  We will return to the last Walmart we stopped at; it is as close as any others to our route, and at least we KNOW it is there.  Las Vegas has the typical confusion of a fast growing area; maps and addresses do not all agree from source to source.  We can buy the few  things we need, and get a reliable laundromat recommendation.  Claire is up at 8AM, it's time to pill Purry.  This time it takes three tries before it goes down.  It's gotta go down the back of his throat dead center, or he works it back up and pethuie, out on the floor.  :-((  Oh well, he still is not clawing and biting to fight it, and he is heavier and has a glossier coat; it is working!!  :-))  We buy more than a few things at Walmart, and try several times to find a clerk who is local enough to the area AND speaks English well enough to recommend a laundromat.  It is several miles away in Henderson, but we find it easily.  It is a bit crowded, and the working dryers are scarce, but we get the job done.  Like all places in Vegas, there are slot machines in here too....  

They are trying to meet a number of customer needs here, but it is better than trying in a small town that may or may not have a laundromat at all.  We should be ready by 2PM to depart for Death Valley.  We ALMOST meet that schedule, but as I pour coffee for the start of the trip I realize there is none; 15 minute delay to make coffee.  Street Atlas says the route WE picked using all numbered state roads is 141 miles, 3.5 hours.  It's "quickest way" was 151 miles, 4.5 hours; Huh?  The way recommended in the National Geographic National Parks book was 139 miles, 5.8 hours; I bet THAT is the scenic route!  :-)  We found the steepest part of the drive was just out of Vegas on the way to Pahrump...we climbed for miles in second gear at 35 mph getting over the 5000 ft pass.  The road was good, and the reverse side was a coast down at the speed limit. We passed up Red Canyon National Recreation Area with it's "managed" herd of wild burros and horses; we want to get to Death Valley before dark.  Pahrump, NV which had been highly promoted as an "ideal" retirement community in a glossy brochure we picked up in the Nevada info center did not really seem that way to us.  It did not even seem CLOSE to the Las Vegas bedroom community it promises to become in the future.  There is a LOT of empty land to fill up before they get here.  :-))  There are RV parks, lots of small houses on small lots, and LOADS of signs for real estate promoters though....  :-))))))))))))))  There are even junk yards on both sides of the road to the National Park; one has an unpainted plywood fence along the road.  The promoters really are TRYING......  :-)  They are even widening the two lane road to Death Valley to four lanes in town, but we see little traffic.  

The roads outside Pahrump are two lane but excellent, and there is almost no traffic. We pass through the town of Death Valley.  This town is a thriving metropolis, and has all the essentials of a western town within easy walking distance; market, liquor store, souvenir shop, post office and phone.  

This town is official too; the DV initials on the mountainside prove it!  :-)   We approach Death Valley Junction, and it appears to be almost abandoned, an old industrial/mining town, despite the sign proclaiming the Amargosa Playhouse and Hotel to be open all year.  

The scenery out this way is superb, and again different than what we have seen in other parks.  The 3000 foot descent onto Death Valley floor was gradual enough that only a few times did Claire need to downshift to control speed.  We pass Furnace Creek Inn, and continue to descend beyond a sign indicating we have reached sea level.  

The valley floor in the distance shimmers white like snow, yet it is quite warm.  Another sign says "No Vehicles over 25 feet on Badwater Road".   I shudder at that sign, as Badwater Road was the one the Geographic book had picked; if we had gone that way, we might have had to stop 20 miles short and retrace hundreds of miles!   :-(((   State numbered roads ARE the key out here! We see the park visitor's center in the distance, and finally a sign leads us to Sunset campground, with plenty of open spaces.  As we stopped to pick up the envelope to pay our $5 a day camping fee, a large RV pulled up behind us.  It had the Massachusetts license plate "HAPPIE" and Ron introduced himself as being from Southboro, two towns away from us. Small world!  We do not see many MA license plates out here.  They had just come up from Quartzsite.  We find a site with many open spaces between other rigs, and find it nicely level. :-)  Dinner is kidney beans, and Claire soon has them cooking.  I am in LOVE with the climate here 160 feet BELOW sea level; the palm trees at the edge of the campground say we are back in a tropical climate, although snow is plainly visible on the mountain peak towering over two MILES above us.

 The elevation difference here is the largest in the continental US.  We are tired after this active travel day.  it's my night to walk the kitties, but Pookie INSISTS on encroaching on every RV's campsite to poke under their rig;  this will NOT fly here.  The sites are too close to have that activity condoned at night with no lights; a protest from some disturbed camper is inevitable.  Even with a flashlight, I soon tire of dragging him away from each RV, and pick him up to bring him home.  It is time for snoring as soon as dishes are done.

Tuesday February 18:

Awoke at 5:40AM.  It felt warm for this time of day Temperature under the RV was 55.6.  No need for the furnace here in Death Valley!!! The battery is 70% too.  :-)) I filled out yesterday's log. Today we will go to the visitors center to plan our stay here.  Sun's up!  Picture time!! :-)  The mountains are picturesque in the morning sun, especially when framed by RV's and tropical palm trees.  :-)  

We decide to drive to the visitor's center, although it may be an easy walk.  As we pulled in  I noticed the RV parked ahead of us was dripping water from the water heater.  We walked into the center, but when I went back for my camera the folks in the RV ahead were anxiously inspecting the drip.  I could see water escaping from the safety over-pressure valve.  I suggested they open the drain plug and drain the tank, to replenish the air cushion in the tank.  The air cushion allows the heated water to expand without tripping the over-pressure valve.  They had only pliers as tools, so shortly I got my tool box and drained the tank, replaced the plug only to see it drip slowly, found some pipe thread sealer on our RV, and removed it once more to seal them up tightly.  Hopefully the air cushion did not again leak out of a destroyed over pressure valve, but I have no spare, so we did not stay to see.  :-)  The visitor's center wanted to see my Golden Age pass, so Claire walked Purry while I finished with the tank, then we went in together.  We learned that vehicles over 25ft are forbidden on the Badwater Road due to construction, and may be cited for using it.  We can bike 12 miles round trip to some interesting points down the road, but further exploration here must await another year when construction is complete.  The visitors center contains an interesting museum.  We decide use the rest of the day to hike to Manley Beacon from Zabriskie Point, itself a beautiful overlook on the valley.

Manley Beacon is the prominent high spot on this side of the valley, 2/3 of the way across this picture from the left edge. It is an interesting 5 miles round trip hike, with lots of ups and downs.  Half way out we observe two distant dark spots in the otherwise light colored terrain.

There are obvious paths leading to them, and I expect we have found some old mine tunnels (the lowest is centered in the picture, one inch up from the bottom, just above the trail; the second is about 1.5 inches above it). There were signs warning not to enter old mine tunnels at the start of the trail; now we see why.  These are hard to miss; even we are going TO them, but certainly not in.... :-)  As we  approach I'm struck by the small size of the tunnel.

 It would take a dwarf to work comfortably in there! As I peer into the confined darkness of the tunnel, further curiosity is totally erased.

There is NO WAY am I going in there!  Pushing on, Manley Beacon dwarfs everything at the trail's nearest approach.

 We stop for a snack, and a single peanut drops from the snack bag to the ground at my foot.  I idly wonder how long it will take to decay in this dry environment;  a large raven flies close overhead, then lands nearby.  He sits eyeing us expectantly.  I throw the single peanut down the hill, and he is instantly upon it, although I cannot follow it's bounce with my eye.  NOW I know how long it takes food to decay here.  :-)  

This guy must have seen the peanut drop out of the bag from high overhead!  WHAT eyesight!!!  We hike back along a dry wash for a different point of view.

We sure will  head for the high ground at the FIRST SIGN of dampness here!  By the time we arrive, 2/3 of our liter of water is gone and our feet are not lifting very high off the ground.  The Christmas gift walking sticks are quite helpful now....  We recover in the RV with a cool drink, and finally drive to Furnace Creek Inn for a look at the gift shop.  A bus load of people descend as I walk Purry in the parking lot.  The center of the parking lot is occupied by a large rock, called Kitchen Rock, sacred to the local Timbisha Shoshone Indians.  

Here the tribe would hold ceremonies of thanks for a good mesquite bean harvest in the valley, grinding some beans in the depressions in the rock as an offering to their spirits.  Claire soon returns, not having found anything of interest.  We return to the campground and reclaim our space.  The sun is hot and we lower the awning to keep the sun off the open screen door.  This is an opportunity to install the clever awning anti unfurl "fix" recommended by a guy on Usenet. Our A&E brand awning is noted for occasionally coming open while driving, and we had seen it separate from the coach by 6 inches in strong wind gusts while crossing a bridge on the Texas Coast last winter.  When this simple fix appeared, we vowed to install it.  We had bought the "Hook Awn" grommetted tabs at Camping World in Phoenix, and this is the first time the awning has been down since.  I slid the easy opening pull tab out of the roller groove, slid the "Hook Awn" in the groove, and replaced the pull tab.  Then I rethought, and decided I want the pull tab at the front of the RV, and the hook awn in the rear; 30 seconds later it is that way!  At dusk we furled the awning, in the morning I'll go on the roof, attach the tie rope, and secure the awning from further wind risk.  :-))  

This is what it looks like all tied down and secure.  Dinner is burritos with left over beans;  DELICIOUS!  After dishes and more cat walks, it is quick to bed!  Five miles DOES take it's toll.....

Wednesday February 19:

It was a warm feeling inside and 56.7 degrees under the RV at 6:45AM.  This is GREAT sleeping weather, especially after the 5 mile hike yesterday.  :-)  I take more morning pictures, and fill out the log.  A group on horseback head out from the ranch.

They cross in front of the Furnace Creek Inn, to horse trails in the hills.  We decide to stay here another day and explore the easy stuff; no 12 mile bike ride today.  Lots of folks are leaving today, but I know not why.  Were they here on an extended Presidents Day vacation?  Many of the folks here seem to be too young to be retired, and there are a lot of kids too.  We heard on the news that Logan Airport got 27 inches of snow.... W O W!  I wonder what we got at home?  I guess I really don't wanna know.....  I went on the roof to tie the anti-unfurl rope on the awning; while I was here, I thought of the ever more difficult to operate overhead vent crank openers.  I asked Claire for grease and oil, and in 15 minutes all 5 overhead vents were operating smoothly again.  Returning to the ground, I snugly tied the anti-unfurl rope through an available hole in the awning support mount. It pulled the roller TIGHT against the RV, not a bit of slack.  This will work great, requires no mechanical mods, and is easy to use too.  I'm happy;  I'm also happy that the easy unfurl pull tab is visible at the front end of the roller; opening the awning should become a one person job again!  :-)  We decide to stay another day in this campground, and visit the Harmony Borax Works site a mile away.  I filled out the form and dropped the $5 in the box.  We stopped on the way at the Furnace Creek general store.  Here was displayed "Old  Dinah", a steam powered tractor that replaced mules in the borax industry.

This tractor is huge, a match for the 36 ton loads it pulled down the valley.   We again stopped at the Visitor's Center.  There was a Ranger's presentation on birding starting in 45 minutes, so we decided to have lunch and attend that before going the mile further to the Borax works.  The program was interesting, and we all got to see a pair of verden eating the dried dates in the palm tree in front of us.  So THAT is what dates look like in the wild...... DUHHHHH...  :-)  The ranger indicated the commercial growers cover the fruit clusters with bags, even old clothing, to keep birds from eating their crop, and pick them before they fully dry so they are moist to eat .  THAT explains why I have not been able to see the fruit in the date groves we've passed in the Imperial Valley, only strange looking rags hanging in some trees.  :-))  Here a few dates remain on this tree despite foraging by wildlife.

 They are visible through the palm fronds, hanging on slender stems that originate at the tree's crown where the fronds attach to the trunk.  The Borax works was interesting.  We hiked out on heaps of rock separated by softer earth with traces of white showing through, to the valley floor covered with white powder that looked like snow....

 The Borax workers would gather the white powder in wagons and take it to the refinery where the raw ore was heated in water to dissolve the desired borax.  The water was then placed in tanks where the borax crystallized onto rods that could be removed, and the purified borax cracked off.  

The remains of the steam boiler used to dissolve the borax is on the left above, heated water dissolved the borax from the ore in the vats at center, and missing from this picture due to decay are the crystallization vats which stood in the foreground. The cylinder resting on the iron wheels in the foreground is typical of the crystallization rods used to collect the borax from the crystallization tanks.  Better grade borax was run twice through this refining process.  The labor for this all this work was provided by Chinese immigrants who worked here for $1.30 a day.  Even in 1888 that was not much.  They were saved from having to work in Summer by the fact that the Borax would not crystallize in the 100 degree + Summer heat here.  The legendary 20 mule teams would haul tandem wagons filled with 36 tons of Borax and a large drinking water tank south down the valley for over a hundred miles by various routes to a rail head.

 The Harmony works only operated for five years; other Borax deposits in California proved more cost efficient.  We returned to the visitor's center for another Ranger's presentation about Ghost Roads in the park.  Here we heard of the privately owned "mothballed" Borax mining town in Death Valley overlaying deep thick borax deposits just waiting (since the 1920's) for the economic incentives to get right for continued operation.  There were lots of mining stock scam artists operating out of "mines" dug into nothing of value in Death Valley in the early 1900's.  Scoundrels are attracted to the isolation of the many blind canyons in the Valley.  More recently, Charles Manson's hideout was in the park, in the Panamint Mountain area bordering Death Valley on the west.  We returned to our campsite to find it occupied with our "Campsite Occupied" sign gone.  Since there were plenty of other sites, we occupied one.  We'll never know what happened, as we're not about to confront the occupant.  If he moved our sign, he'll not admit it.  There were 50 or more open spaces surrounding it he could have taken.  Most likely the sign blew away or was taken by the campground host.... DUHHHHHH   :-((  No problem THIS TIME, as there were plenty of empty spaces.  It gets more tense if spaces are scarce........  The kitties were reluctant to stay out.  Both returned quickly when they had the opportunity. Pookie mewed pitifully when I carried him onto the open desert for his walk to avoid the neighboring RVs he wants so much to investigate.   He also ran AWAY from our RV several times when I carried him close, and continued mewing. When I put him right on the step, he sniffed the door and asked to enter.  He evidently got totally disoriented when I carried him away rather than allowing him to walk.  Fat chance the kitties ever find their way back to OUR RV by themselves if they get loose and get scared.  Dinner tonight is American Chop Suey.

This is spaghetti with a nice hamburger tomato sauce, and it's as usual, delicious!.  :-))  Bed is immediate after dishes are finished.  This was supposed to be an easy day, but it does not feel that way now.  :-)

Thursday February 20:

It's warm again this morning at 5:45AM,  57.1 degrees, and it rained much of last night.  I hope this does not end up as big snow on the east coast as our last desert rain did.  :-(  This does seem to be a much milder disturbance.  We decide to bike 20 Mule Team Canyon, and we drive to the trail head, parking along the roadside off the pavement.  This is a one lane gravel road suitable for cars, but RVs are excluded.  We find the biking easier than anticipated, but the road had been recently graded after the one inch of rain last week.  There were a number of old mines complete with warning signs and recent footprints inside...   DUHHHHH???  

Well, different strokes for different folks;  the hair on the back of my neck stands up when I think of crawling into those confined tunnels (and CRAWL I'd have to do; the tunnels here all seem to be sized for dwarfs).  I do not think I'd have made a good miner.....  The scenery is attractive.

There is only one "push up" hill; well, one "push down" hill too, if your brakes are not VERY good (ours, after hanging on the back of the RV in all kinds of weather for over a year and 20,000 miles are definitely NOT good enough....  :-) ).  This view finally broke my "uphill" spirit;  I pushed from this point to the top....  :-))

When we come out, we find a welcome down hill coast on paved road to the RV.

 It is not late in the day; we decide to have lunch here, then move to the Visitors Center for the ranger talk on weather in Death Valley.  It is interesting to see the official weather station recording the highest temperature in the nation and often the world in summer months.

One thing fer sure, I do NOT want to experience the 129 degree heat the ranger giving the talk did a few years ago...that is WHY we have wheels!!  He maintains life goes on pretty much as normal until the temperature exceeds 117, but THEN every task outside air conditioning becomes a real chore, to be done as rapidly as possible with frequent escape back into air conditioning.  He said many Europeans visit in summer DESIRING a hot weather experience; again, different strokes.......  We returned to the campground via the airport; this 3060 foot paved runway at -211 foot elevation seems deserted, but there are a few planes tied down, and signs warn of restricted access beyond the road. There is a fenced area labeled "Death Valley National Park Stock Program", with hay stored, and horse trailers parked outside.  

Perhaps this is where excess wild horses and burros are corralled for removal?  Although there are no fences protecting this remote airport, we turn around at the sign.  We drove back to the campground and signed up for a site;  still plenty of open ones.  A couple of BIG bus conversion motorhomes drove around looking for suitable accommodations for their large vehicles and toads...they finally parked together across three sites.  They ran their generators 15 minutes after quiet hours began too.  :-(   Dinner is burritos, and we finish the skins we have. The kitties are not happy outside at all.  They must sense something here that threatens them.  We found bed early; the biking got to both of us.

Friday February 21:

It is warm again today, the day we move north to Stovepipe Wells Campground. I notice the bus motorhomes are now parked in separate slots as the campground is laid out. I surmise they aroused the ire of a ranger by running their generator late, and then had to come into compliance with ALL rules....BUT they DID start their generators 15 minutes EARLY too.....some people!!   I did enjoy sitting in the quiet and warmth of this morning, but do not feel much like working on the computer, even though the battery is almost 70% charged.  A benefit of retirement;  I DO NOT HAVE TO!  :-))  I think the bike ride got some unaccustomed muscles torqued, as sleep was fitful last night; every time I rolled over, a twinge woke me up.  :-(  We are in an analog only cellphone service area so the website cannot be posted this week anyhow.  Hmmm... can we now take credit for repopulating Death Valley with sloth...  ;-))  We plan to stop at Salt Creek on the way to Stovepipe Wells.  The one thing that will drive us from the Valley soonest is a fuel tank below half full.  Fuel here is posted at $2.40 a gallon for regular gas, and it will take most of half a tank to get to Flying J in Barstow from the north end of the Valley.  We leave when the tank gets to half full, regardless.  Still, we do not expect fuel to limit our activities in the valley, other than to plan for stops as they occur in our travels rather than drive extra distances to them.  We also plan to use the jig saw on the fender at some remote stop today where the accompanying noise will not annoy anyone.  It is time to be rid of the rubbing on the tire before any more expressway driving.  Salt Creek is an attractive area with boardwalk crossing the spring fed stream.  

It is amazing to see the dry snow white salt powdery desert floor right at the bank of a rapidly flowing spring fed stream.  We can look down on the tiny Death Valley pupfish schooling in the shallow water.

These fish are the only ones that survived the ancient fresh water lake here drying up, acclimating to the increased salinity (now about like the ocean) of the remaining water. They live only here .... a truly endangered species.  If you want to see one up close and personal, before the springs dry up, check out this guy.

I'm not sure how he'll grow up to be a dogfish if he doesn't go to school though...  :-)) There are other forms of wildlife near the stream.  This lizard was cooperative, posing attentively for the camera.

It is easy to see why he is called "Zebra Tailed"....   We managed to get the fender cut back 1/2 inch too.  We sacrificed two saw blades to the bending action required for the awkward cut, but the end result is quite acceptable aesthetically.  I marked the tire with chalk so we can tell if rubbing still occurs.  We drive on to Stovepipe Wells and pull into a campsite.  The campground does not seem very pleasing to me, out in the middle of flat desert, with a mountain to the south blocking ALL access to a cell signal even with our amplifier.  :-((  As it is not yet 2PM, Claire rapidly suggests we should drive on another 40 miles to Mesquite campground at the north end of the park; we can see the attractions near here on the way back south toward San Diego.  It is further from the cell, but since here there is NO CHANCE of any signal this weekend, it is worth the effort!  Although we cannot expect to use the Internet, we might be able to make calls from there.  This area has sand dunes we can see on the way back, but on the way out we pass the Devil's Cornfield.

The desert grass here grows on humps of sand, providing the image (to an active imagination homesick for the farm back home) of miniature corn shocks tied in the middle and sitting in a corn field.  The drive was easy on the narrow paved road, mainly because very few other vehicles were on the road.  As we neared Mesquite I checked the cell signal; 3 BARS!  :-)  We pulled into the campground and watched the signal drop to NOTHING.  :-((  We explored the first, most exposed loop and found NO SIGNAL.  :-((  We drove around another loop closer to a blocking mountain and suddenly three bars appeared!!  We pulled into the nice pull through site open on our left, and found the signal was still there.  :-)))  We're home, and it's nicely level too!  There is increasing traffic in the campground as evening draws near;  the host knocks and asks that we be sure and hang our registration slip from the site post, not the windshield.  He volunteers that if we do that tomorrow, and someone occupies the site, he will eject them. This guy is doing his JOB!  :-)  The campground fills up by nightfall;  there are many tents nearby with groups of young folks, campfires, and exuberant games.  This is a really attractive campground compared to stovepipe wells.  

It's sites are separated by vegetation the kitties love, and sunset on the eastern ridge is beautiful.  We dine on Claire's stuffed red peppers, mid east style.  Quite tasty!!  The campground  noise subsides quickly as darkness falls and outside temperatures drop below 50.  Their sleeping bags surely must feel more comfortable than the open air in this weather.....  :-)  We start the night without our heavy quilt, but before midnight I pull it out of the closet....  :-)

We have not had a digital cellphone connection here this weekend, so this will be uploaded next weekend along with the latest week's page that includes our most recent plans info.  Until then, ENJOY!  We are!!!  :-)