Death Valley jaunt

[shovelon]

Took the girls off to Death Valley, Ca., for the break between Xmas and New Year's. Great weather and cheap gas inspired us to visit, as we had never been there before. Pretty good biking as well as hiking. Lots to visit and see. We also made a motor trip to Scotty's Castle, which was a jaw dropper, but no pics.

The Gateway at Furnace creek



I biked to Golden Canyon, then hiked in. You can see the valley floor in the background.


A trip the the old Harmony Borax works. This borax works only operated 5 years until it was abondoned. The Chinese harvesters were sent out onto the salt flats to shovel the borax percolating on the top. I surmised the longer they operated, the farther the workers had to head away to gather.



Terry

[orange]

hard to know if it's hot or cold there right now - looks great though!

[shovelon]

hard to know if it's hot or cold there right now - looks great though!

Very pleasant weather. 75degrees high, 40 degrees low. Was rainy and windy the week before.

[jeffhop]

Terry you are one lucky guy, that looks gorgeous, all the best for `09

[Happy Valley]

Great pics, thanks for sharing.
Does my heart good to see some of the old stomping ground and a break from the bleakness that is a New England winter. Some good years of my life were spent in CA and I love the memories.....coasts to sierra, valleys to desert, nowhere like it.
The area around Lone Pine and then the area up around Mt. Lassen in the north were a couple of my favorite getaways for trekking, both a bit off the beaten path and somewhat under-utilized compared to the bigger name destinations.