Death Valley

The desert of Death Valley had a real buzz about it, probably due to a truck shedding its cargo of bee’s the day before. They were traveller bee’s, probably on their way to help pollinate avocado’s or nut trees somewhere in California. Makes a change from the odd jar of honey eh? On a serious note, Death Valley was just about starting to get it’s reaper mojo back after some horrendous flooding late August. The visitor centre had pictures of roads washed away and torrents of water flowing through the valley. Over 2 inches of rain in one day vs a normal of 1 inch per annum, plus the water off the mountains and the wash took everything in its path. We compared photos from being there in 2019, totally different. Nature doesn’t stop amazing sunsets though and dark, starlit skies!

Many of the roads in the park weren’t open yet and some of the main attractions inaccessible, like Scotty’s Castle. However, the flood also created some once in a lifetime phenomena. Bad Water Basin is normally dry as a bone except for a small ‘pond’ but there’s a lake at the moment. One guy we spoke to had never seen a lake in 50+ years of visiting. He too was angered by the ‘ignorant entitled’ ignoring signs and walking in the waters. Their footprints will be dried in for the next 50 years… we see that kind of thing a lot, the Insta Society, photos are priority. Bad Water Basin is 282 feet below sea level and aside form idiots, is an unusual place and stunning, the salts drying and creating beautiful crystallised effects in a stunningly different landscape.

Another strange place is The Devils Golf Course. There’s not a chance in hell you’d play golf there although there are some weird cups that form in the salt which may resemble the hole (hence the name!) Course rocks, with salt deposits crystallised creating sharp edges have formed, weaving through them, we needed a lot of care not to shred our skin. The crystals shimmer and some, being newly formed after the floods, looked feather like, they weren’t!

Zabrinskie Point is higher in the hills, a look out spot within the eroded sandstone. There’s gorgeous rock colours, soft golden hues and stripes of minerals. A unique spectacle.

We opted to get the bikes out to ride to The Artists Palette, not sure one of our smartest moves but we had enough water so survived the effort and the heat. Lots of uphill is great for the views though, down across the valley floor and to see the shimmering oasis’s in the heat and the white salty earth! The palette itself is one of pastel shades. Volcanic eruptions over 5m years ago plumed ash, laden with different minerals which in time deposited and the colours emerged.

Close by to Death Valley is Rhyolite Ghost Town, the most odd place to ever grace the area. Near the eastern edge of DV park it’s actually in Nevada. Like many, an early C19th mining camp sprung up for the gold rush. One of the best of it’s day, it had electricity, running water, phone lines, a bank, a hospital and of course numerous saloons and ‘cribs’ as they were called, for ladies of the night (not to sleep in I guess!) It declined as rapidly as it grew however and was fully abandoned within 15 years to become a tourist attraction and movie location. What is more interesting these days though is the open air art, such great fun!

We left Death Valley, a long drive across the desert but seeing the post rain ‘super bloom’ yellow flowers and quite a few dust devils. A short stop at Barstow to see a restored Harvey House, Casa del Desierto, and a number of aging loco’s, Nick got really excited when a 6 loco freight train went past! Continuing on we spotted a ‘Swap Meet’ site called Jack o Landia. Basically a flea market and it was full of some weird and wonderful finds and some colourful people to chat with.

Continuing back West we couldn’t not re-visit Pioneertown. Originally built in 1946 as a cowboy western movie set in the high desert, it’s an 1880’s themed themed place. Now on The National Register of Historic Places it’s a great spot. Spaced out buildings on a wide undulating sandy ‘road’ many of the properties built for filming are now repurposed to art studios and gift shops. There were many though, built for the entertainment of the crews and actors. The Post Office, necessary to be a real town, is still operating though. Hundreds of Westerns were filmed there, The Cisco Kid being one. Roy Rogers opened the bowling alley. A great place to camp and hang out at the bars! It’s no surprise that the mayor is genuinely a cactus!

Heading towards Joshua Tree we found another unique place, Desert Christ Park, a ‘sculpture garden of hope, prayer and beauty’. Opened in 1951 in The Yucca Valley, the sculptor Antone Martin worked with the local reverend to create a park for peace. Numerous Statues adorn the park, all very expressive and serene. All reflecting key biblical stories. Unusual as a place and seemingly not well trodden, a shame.

So next stop Joshua Tree, you get one guess as to what’s on the Juke Box!