Death Valley

Monday, May 25th. The morning was cooler (in the 80's) and we headed out to see what we could in the desert. Our first stop was just a couple miles north at the Harmony Borax Works Interpretive Trail. Do you remember the Mule Team Borax soap box commercials on TV growing up? Borax is a white mineral in some alkaline salt deposits, naturally occurring by the repeated evaporation of seasonal lakes. It is used in making glass and ceramics and as an antiseptic. (used in laundry cleaning) The Borax was refined right here in Death Valley! The Harmony Borax operation became famous through the use of 20 mule teams that moved borax from Death Valley to nearby communities.

Next we stopped in at Salt Creek's Interpretive Trail and were surprised to find pupfish! I imagined Death Valley to be an arid wasteland devoid of life. I did not expect to find a stream flowing in the valley floor more than 200 feet below sea level. Like all desert oases, plants and animals congregate around its life-giving water. This creek gets its start in brackish waters more than a mile upstream. Here, the water becomes increasingly salty due to evaporation as it flows downstream until it is more saline than seawater. The flow varies with the seasons. In winter rains add to the amounts from the spring and the creek stretches out for a couple of miles warming in the sun. As the water warms and food becomes more abundant the pupfish begin mating. We were able to observe this from the boardwalk. Many were swimming in water just barely a few inches deep. They are very rare and only 8 species exist today. Most all live for only a year or two. They manage to have enough survivors to keep the population functioning. We were able to walk the boardwalk trail which follows the stream. I saw a zebra-tailed lizard in the shrubs along the edges and I was also surprised to hear first, then spot a hummingbird flit among the spring blooms.

From there we drove up to Historic Scotty's Castle. It was claimed by a prospector to be his own elaborate Spanish-style mansion. Built by gold from his fictitious mine. In reality, it was his wealthy friends. Today, living history tours of the castle's richly furnished interior are given by costumed park rangers. There was an oasis here as well with palm trees and it proved a great place to lay in the cool grass and take a short refreshing nap awaiting our tour to begin.

Then we headed to Mesquite Springs campground to stake out any site we liked. There was only one tent pitched in the area. This campground is a bit cooler due to being at a higher elevation of 1800 feet. It is open all year when several of the others close due to the extreme heat. On July 10th, 1913 Death Valley recorded the world's hottest at 134 degrees.

We chilled out relaxing in the evening air and watched for wildlife to come out. A black tailed Jack Rabbit was fun to watch. Another quiet night in the desert.

"Going places with smiling faces!"