We woke to another beautiful day:
and decided to check out the resort.
Here is what greeted us:
“For many people, nothing symbolizes Death Valley more than the famous Twenty Mule Teams. These "big teams" pulled massive wagons hauling borax from the Harmony Borax Works near Furnace Creek to the railhead near Mojave, a grueling 165 mile, ten day trip across primitive roads. Although the teams only ran for six years--1883 to 1889--they have made an enduring impression of the Old West. This is primarily due to a successful advertising campaign promoting 20-Mule-Team Borax Soap and the long-running Death Valley Days radio and television program. Today the twenty mule teams are only a fond memory, but you may see two of the last remaining wagons here in Death Valley; one is in front of the Furnace Creek Ranch and the other is at Harmony Borax Works.”
More info at:
http://www.nps.gov/deva/index.htm
http://www.scvhistory.com/scvhistory/borax-20muleteam.htm
The Borax Museum is located here and that was our next stop:
The museum was small but held quite a few artifacts about Death Valley. There was also a collection of minerals/rocks/stones that are native to this area - BEAUTIFUL!!!
Our group taking a break: Bruce, Sue, Andy, Geri, John:
Behind the museum were more outdoor exhibits - here are a few:
This is a gold Arrastra that was introduced by Mexican miners as a means of crushing gold ore using materials at hand.
This Logging Truck carried logs from the timber site to the sawmill where it was cut into mine timbers. Check out those wheels - it looks like cement but it was wood pieces.
These Logging Wheels were used in the Spring Mountains to drag logs from the site where they were felled to the loading dock, where they could be loaded onto logging trucks and taken to the sawmill.
This benchmark which was installed by the U.S. Geological Survey in 1907 as a reference point for local land surveys is 178’ below sea level.
I find these benchmarks fascinating. I know that finding these are part of geocaching...hmmm, another hobby perhaps.
Late afternoon, Ron and Pat joined us for Happy Hour and the fun continued.
Stay tuned for our continued adventures in Death Valley.
Enjoy today.
(Written on 11/15/13)
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