Busy Day in Death Valley

Today was nonstop day. Just outside the borders of Death Valley is the ghost town of Rhyolite, Nevada. Its demise is attributed The Panic of 1907, a six week run on New York City banks and banks in other major cities impelled by the San Francisco earthquake that drew gold from the world's major money centers. By 1916 the mines were playing out and the residents left the once prosperous town.

One house still stands; its construction materials include over 10,000 beer bottles.

The bank building is rumored to have cost $90,000 to build.

On it's outskirts is the Goldwell Open Air Museum created by the late Albert Szukalski and Belgian artists who created seven large sculptures displayed throughout the property.

Titus Canyon

Rugged mountains and diverse rock formations juxtaposed with spectacular vistas made for an incredible day drive through the canyon. 

Scotty’s Castle

After our drive through Titus Canyon, we wound our way to Scotty’s Castle, named after Walter Scott, a braggart who hoodwinked Albert Johnson into grubstaking his gold mining expeditions.

No gold never materialized but Death Valley captured the hearts of Johnson and his wife.  Scotty set up his a part-time residence in the two-million dollar home and claimed it as his own -built with the profits from his gold mine.

The National Park Service owns it now and daily tours are available year round. Our tour was conducted by an overly enthusiastic guide perfect for elementary age students.

Ubehebe Crater

Our last stop for the day took us to the Ubehebe Crater, created by a steam eruption at least 2000 years ago when magma and an underground lake met. The early morning light or evening light emphasizes the colors and contours of the crater and we hit it perfectly. 

On the way "home"

Death Valley

January 2014


My brother-in-law mentioned his visit to Death Valley during the Christmas visit-otherwise we would not have thought about stopping en route to Southern California. Desperately needing a break from the Las Vegas City lights, we arrived just before the Park office closed for the night.

Most of the campgrounds in Death Valley provide access to a water source and bathroom facilities but there are no direct hookups for power. Fortunately, there is plenty of sun and our solar panels performed admirably. 

Although temperatures regularly rise past 115 degrees in the summer, we enjoyed 45 degree nights and mid-70s during the day. Although it is comfortable in the more open areas, the narrow canyons increase the temperature substantially, and we discovered it is better to hike a little earlier in the morning.