California 04/2008 - Day 7

Arrived late at the Furnace Creek Ranch (not to be confused with the multi-star Furnace Creek Inn) in the heart of Death Valley.



Washed the trail dust off with a dip in the hot springs feed swimming pool and dined on wine, cheese and enjoyed a good smoke.

After a refreshing sleep, we chartered a course for the day. Our first stop was Marble Canyon, which is near Stovepipe Wells. Wade took the H3 through the rough road with little trouble.



At the end of the road, we began our hike and exploration of Marble Canyon. The canyon had several narrows.



Here is what is referred to as a dry falls. When it rains/floods, this is a water fall. When it is dry, it is a wall of rock, which effectively ends one's canyon hike, unless you are prepared for a serious rock climb with ropes, etc. This was a sad place for Wade, as we think he lost his knife scrambling around on the rocks in this area.



There was a choke stone blocking the canyon, which required a scramble up a scree field to get around the obstruction.



Had the canyon to ourselves.



Upon our return to the H3, we dined on sandwiches, potato chips, and a good, cold beer.

The next place on our list to visit was Chloride City and Chloride Cliffs. We took the somewhat challenging jeep trail up the mountain toward these spots.



Wade and the H3 did just fine, although there was one pretty step and scary spot, where I had to get out and make sure the way was clear and safe for us to press on. We found the remains of Chloride City and explored around some old mining sites a little.





Here is the grave of miner McKay.


Here is miner McKay's homestead. He didn't have much of a commute to work.


Just step out the back door and head into the mine shaft.

Next, we continued up the mountain to the Chloride Cliffs, which had a great view of Death Valley.



We read where this location was at one time considered to be the main tourist view point for the valley.



It lost out to Dante's Point, I suspect because of the difficult roads and terrain one would need to pass in order to get here. It was a majestic overlook.



Our next tourist stop was at Rhyolite City.


This is the Bottle House, an early example of green construction, i.e. a great use for empty beer bottles!

It is a ghost town, with the concrete frames of numerous buildings still standing. It was a boom town in the early 1900s, with a population of about 10,000. When the mining played out, the people left and the town site feel into ruin.


This is all that remains of the town's bank.


Looks like the town Brothel has been re-habed, probably with funds from a government subsidized program to assist working women. Not to worry though, they were not open when Wade and I stopped by.

We did have a treat in this area, as it is close to Beatty, NV and cell phone coverage. Wade was able to call his Verizon buddy and let him know that he couldn't hear him in Death Valley.



Decided for forgo the long road down Titus Canyon and headed back to the Motel. After a refreshing dip in the swimming pool, we had a steak at the restaurant at the Furnace Creek Ranch. Very average.


Here's the 20 Mule Team wagons and water tank used to carry borax out of Death Valley to be processed into soap. It was really 18 mules and 2 horses, as the drivers controlled the mule team while riding one of the horses. Although the TV and Movies would have one believe they were in use for a long time, they were actually only used about 5 years.