November 8, 2013 Titus Canyon Road Part 1

WOW!

Another day of beautiful scenery in Death Valley.  This blog is in two parts because of the pictures.

We packed up two vehicles and were on our way to Titus Canyon Road.  The road is 27 miles, mostly one way.  The last three miles on the west end are two way and that is the only part that is paved.  I am so glad it was one way because the road was very narrow.

So sit back and enjoy the photos.  Pictures do not do it justice - what an incredible ride!

The boys: Bruce, John, Andy, and Ron:

The girls: Geri, Susan, and Pat:

This is the highest point on the road - Red Pass at 5250 feet in  elevation:

Susan, Geri, and Pat - Love the background in this photo:

Coming into Leadfield - one of the mines:

“Copper and lead claims had been filed in the Leadfield area as early as 1905 but it wasn’t until 1926 that the area was heavily mined. In February of that year, Charles C. Julian, a flamboyant California promoter, became president of the town’s leading mining company, the Western Lead Mines. Julian’s promotions were responsible for bringing great numbers of people into the area and in April, 1926 the town was laid out with 1749 lots.

The financial downfall of Charles Julian and the playing out of lead in one of the main mines, led to the end of the town. The area is scattered with mines, dumps, tunnels and prospect holes. There are remains of wood and tin buildings, a dugout and cement foundations of the mill. The town is located on the Titus Canyon road. This is a one way high clearance unpaved road that sometimes requires 4-wheel drive.

Gold was discovered in Leadfield around 1904 and the town's big boom was in 1926-27. An auto road was built to the town and businesses sprang up from nothing in months. Then, a man named Charles Julian entered the picture. Julian sold stock in the mine and was very successful at it. It seemed, though, that he jumped the gun and had not obtained a permit for selling the stock. Despite having sold 300,000 shares, and the town having 93 blocks, by 1927 it was all gone. The gold has run out and Julian fled eventually to Shanghai where he died at the age of 40. Today there are only a few ruins left at Leadfield, and its greatest legacy seems to be the Titus canyon road, built at a cost of $60,000 at the time.”

We took a nice long break, walked around, had lunch and then were on our way to Titus Canyon and the Narrows (Part 2).