A Week in the Desert

We took a one week vacation the first week of March. We flew into Las Vegas for the weekend and spent the balance of the week at Death Valley National Park. Winter seemed like a good time for a visit to this area because the temperatures are mild.

The Cliffs at Peace Canyon Condominium in Las Vegas

While in Vegas we visited Valley of Fire State Park which is northeast of the city. We drove throughout the park as well as taking a couple of short hikes.

Valley of Fire derives its name from red sandstone formations. Great shifting sand dunes, uplifting and faulting, and extensive erosion have created this beautiful landscape.

We took the Fire Wave Hike, Rainbow Vista Hike and visited Arch Rock, the Petrified Logs, the Beehives and what remains of hikers cabins built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930's.

Of course, no Las Vegas trip is complete without a stop on "The Strip"

 

 

After watching the History Channel's Pawn Stars for so many years, we had to make a stop here. We were pleasantly surprised that at the time we arrived they were not busy. We parked in their lot and walked right in.

None of the TV stars were there, only a cardboard standup of Rick, to greet us. The shop appears larger on television. Gold and Silver Pawn Shop is open 24/7 and pictures are allowed inside and out.

Another History Channel show, Counting Cars, is filmed a few blocks from the Pawn Shop. Danny Koker co-owns Counts Kustoms and is the star of the show. He didn't get the memo we were in town either and wasn't there to greet us.

Danny's personal car collection is located in the shop which is open daily for free viewing. We saw many cool cars but think this GTO is one of his favorites. It certainly was Kurt's. But the Shelby was a close 2nd.

Monday morning we drove straight to Death Valley National Park

 

We arrived before lunch time and were fortunate to check-in early to our one room cabin at Furnace Creek Ranch. It was very comfortable with queen bed, bath, a small table and refrigerator.

Our first stop was at Golden Canyon Trail. A popular two and a half mile round trip trail through a colorful canyon.

This easy hike ended in a box canyon at a deep red rock cathedral.

Overlooking Artist Palette along the Artist Drive Scenic Loop

Badwater Basin is the lowest point in North America
at 282 feet below sea level

The next morning we drove to Beatty, NV, to refuel and pick up supplies. On the way back into the park we stopped at Rhyolite, a 1905 ghost town. We then turned onto the Titus Canyon Road, a 27 mile high-clearance only road. This one way road begins 2 miles east of the Park boundary and proceeds through the Grapevine Mountains. This rough, steep road passes the ghost town of Leadfield and Petroglyphs at Klare Spring. The last five miles drops down into one of Death Valley's most spectacular slot canyons. Don't tell our car rental company but our light weight Jeep Cherokee 4X4 did fine.

We took a living history tour of Scotty's Castle, one of the most popular locations in the Park. This beautiful castle was built in 1922 by Al & Bessie Johnson.

Walter Scott "Scotty", the Johnson's best friend, for whom this grand vacation home was named, is know for his tall and exaggerated stories about how he made his fortune in gold.

An 8-mile drive from Scotty's Castle leads to the rim of
Ubehebe Crater, a 600-foot deep crater caused by a
volcanic steam explosion.

Early evening and sunset are the best times to visit
the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes.

Father Crowley Vista in the Panamint Springs Area
is a landscape of dark lava flows and a viewpoint of
Rainbow Canyon below.

Wildrose Charcoal Kilns
These ten beehive-shaped structures were built in 1876 to provide
fuel to process silver/lead ore.
At 8,000+ feet elevation, they had a fresh dusting of snow.

Aguereberry Point, which overlooks Death Valley, is at the
end of a steep high clearance vehicle road.

The remains of Pete Aguereberry's Eureka Mine are located along
the road to the overlook.

The Mosaic Canyon Hike is a popular walk up a narrow, polished marble-walled canyon. We had to scale some dry waterfalls to reach the top.

"Mosaics" of fragments of rocks cemented together by nature can be seen in canyon walls.

 

 

Harmony Borax Works is an important site in Death Valley's history. There are over 10,000 various mines throughout the area looking for precious metals. This is the real "gold" in Death Valley.

 

 

The Harmony Borax operation became famous through the use of 20 mule teams that moved borax from Death Valley across the Mohave Desert.

Our last stop and view of Death Valley is from Dante's View which
overlooks from more than 5,000 feet above.