Day 2 Sunset Campground Death Valley national Park Death Valley, California

We started out early, excited to see what the trail had in store for us. The ranger at the visitor center recommended an adventurous 4WD trail in the northern corner of the park. Today was a Sunday and we were told the regular exhibits would be really crowded.

We stopped to stretch our legs and admire the view.

We visited the Rhyolite Historic Gold Mining Town. This was a gold mining community for several years in the early 1900’s. It is now a ghost town.

Our driving instructions were to drive 30 miles to Beatty. Turn left and at mile marker 71 turn left at the second gravel road. Look for the barbed wire fence and the closed gate. Go through the gate and close it behind you.

The adventure begins.

We drove across the Sarcobatus Flat. As we drove we began to see feral burros. These burros are a nonnative, invasive species. We saw around 50 today. They looked up at us as we passed, a little startled by our presence but for the most part they didn’t run from us. Goldminers who died passing through this desert stranded their burros. The burros have thrived here in this harsh environment.

We gradually climbed up into the mountains. The surrounding landscape was spectacular. As we stood on the ridge, we could hear the burros braying to one another far below.

It always amazes me…the loveliness that can grow from gravel.

We had to pass through another gate to get into the National Park. There was fence that is supposed to keep burros out. The park tries to manage the population inside its boundaries. The burros cause damage to plants that are food for other animals and they also have a tendency to mess up water sources as well.

Tim walked down to investigate an old mining site. He couldn’t see the bottom of the shaft.

Lunch with a view!

We are certain that there is a story that goes with this old car…

We drove across the desert and found our own way back to the highway about 9 miles from where we entered.

A dust devil over the salt flats.

Through Mud Canyon.

Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes.

The Harmony Borax Works mined borates. Chinese laborers scraped the salts from the flats and then other miners boiled it and harvested the borax crystals. 20 mule teams hauled the borax to trains 165 miles away.

We had a great day!