An unexpected trip takes me back to Death Valley for more exploration.
Death Valley National Park is known for being the hottest place in the world during the summer. Luckily, it was still in the mid-80s to low-90s on this visit. The Grand Canyon has been experiencing a long cold winter, so I was very happy to escape the cold for some lovely dry heat.
This was my second visit to the park. I made the trek from Northern Arizona over this last Christmas and had a wonderful time. (Check out that update!) However, due to the Government Shutdown, certain areas of the park were closed. I focused this time on some of the places I missed in December.
First stop was to the visitor center where I got to see that famous temperature sign.
Nice, delightful, t-shirt and shorts weather.
The next stop was Salt Creek. The trail here is a really nice boardwalk over a creek that flows seasonally. Best time to visit is in the spring, when the creek is fed by water runoff and snow from the mountains. Also, you get to see some pupfish, a unique species of fish that can withstand the salty water and high temperature of Death Valley. When the water recedes during the summer, the fish go back upstream and wait until the temperature cools down in the basin.
Salt Creek.
It’s a shallow creek and not what you would expect for the driest place in North America.
Pupfish! They are only about 1-2 inches long. During mating season, they chase each other around. It’s fun to watch.
Salt Creek creates a bit of an oasis.
The next stop was the Keane Wonder Mill and Mine. This whole area of California and nearby Nevada is full of abandoned mines and ruined towns. Rhyolite, Nevada, is a boom town that went bust on the other side of the mountains on the east side of the park (Check it out in this Update!) Gold was found here around 1906, with the mine staying active until 1912. It was one of the more successful mines in the valley. The mine area used to be completely closed to visitors until late 2017. Now you can explore the ruins of this impressive mine.
The mine ruins are divided into two areas. The lower ruins are where the tram terminal (to move ore down the mountain) was, along with a few storage tanks and some other miscellaneous pieces of metal. The upper ruins require to hike up a steep trail, going up at least 1000 ft. I didn’t make it all the way to the mine, but I got to see some great views and some ruins along the way.
Note* To get to the Keane Wonder Mill and Mine you currently (April 2019) need a high clearance vehicle. Most SUVs don’t have enough clearance even for this road. The road washed out and is in need of grading and repairs. I took a heavy-duty truck down there.
Ruins of the tram terminal. Ore was taken out of the mine by large buckets and then deposited here where they would be milled in order to separate the gold from the surrounding rock.
A very big boiler.
A rusted-out water tank up the hill.
The tramway still has a lot of the cables still intact.
Kind of hard to make out but the tramway was necessary because of this side canyon that prevented a little railroad to be put in. The mine is up over that ledge at the top.
Great views on the way down though.
Next stop was Darwin Falls, clear on the other side of the park. It was over an hour away from the mine site. It is also down a dirt road, but SUVs should be fine on this one. Taking a car is a bit questionable.
Darwin Falls flows year-round. It’s fed by a spring and is a source of drinking water for the nearby Panamint Springs “resort”. (It’s not really a resort.) A nice, easy trail, with some easy scrambling, takes you to the falls. You will need to cross some water so wear some shoes with decent traction.
The trail follows a wash, which is easy to walk along.
The trail heads into a little canyon.
The canyon is a little oasis in the desert. Lots of trees and grasses and I even spotted a frog.
Darwin Falls. Apparently, there is also an upper falls but the trail is a bit sketchy.
Close to Darwin Falls is Father Crowley Vista. The parking lot only has views of Rainbow canyon but if you continue down the dirt road, you can see a much better view. The canyon is a weird spot. Fighter jets from a nearby Air Force base like to fly through the canyon. A bunch of people were staked out to watch the jets along the dirt road on the vista and a bit further down off the road.
If you have a car, don’t drive down the dirt road. It’s questionable. It’s only a short walk.
View of the Panamint Valley from the dirt road off the Father Crowley Vista parking lot. Much better than from the parking lot.
Here you can see the Telescope, the highest mountain in Death Valley.
Rainbow Canyon from the parking lot.
At the bottom of the Panamint Valley is an awesome playa. Just like the Racetrack, except for the moving stones.
On the other side of the road from the last picture.
On my way back to Furnace Creek where I was staying, I stopped at the Mesquite Sand Dunes. I saw a bit more of them than last time. There were just too many people here during Christmas.
My last stop at Death Valley was a return to Badwater Basin. It wasn’t as stark white as it was in December. They got a bit of rain since then, which changed the coloring of the salt flat.
Even after two visits to Death Valley, there is still more places to go in the park. I can’t wait until my next visit, although I think I will wait until maybe the fall. It’s a bit hotter in the summer.
Check out my next update where I will be visiting Bryce Canyon National Park!
its a bit weird seeing green in a place called death valley. i thought it was just a barren wasteland