We started our second day in Death Valley by going to the Borax Museum at the Furnace Creek Ranch. There we met a group of guys who said there were 84 “air head” BMW’s in the park for the 19th annual get-to-gether. The term "airhead" applies to BMW motorcycles with the horizontally opposed engines, which were primarily air cooled and used up to 1995. After 1995 the “R”, horizontally opposed engines were air/oil cooled and these are referred to as "oil head” engines.
I think this is a 1984 R100. It is similar to the one I have at home waiting to be restored when I have time for a major project.
The Borax Museum is free and one that should be visited.
Information at the museum told of the intricate maneuvering called "Dance of the Mules" it took to drive the long team of mules over the winding narrow mountain roads without falling over the cliffs.
Swinging the team around a curve in a mountain pass tested both driver and team: one mistake could spell death for all. As the team started around a sharp curve, the 80 foot long chain tended to be pulled into a straight line between the lead mules and the wagon. To keep the chain going around the curve and not pull the team straight over the edge, some of the mules were ordered to leap the chain and pull at an angle away from the curve. The mules - the pointers, sixes and eights - would step along sideways until the corner had been turned. Swinging a curve successfully was an awesome demonstration of training and team work." No kidding...can you imagine how they figured that out and then trained the mules to actually do it?
After driving some of the dirt roads here I can't imagine how difficult driving one of these teams would have been. But I do get a little feel as I have had to watch where my rear wheel would track when we had the 42 foot motorhome.
Can you see the mules going in different directions?
The area behind the museum building has an assortment of equipment used in the valley over the years.
This stagecoach was used on the Panamint to San Bernardino route from 1874 to 1888. It looked like it had fasteners to put sides on it.
This stagecoach was used on the Beatty to Skidoo route from 1890 to 1910. This one looked like it was an open sided coach.
A wooden truck used for hauling logs to a saw mill for manufacture of mine timbers in the Charleston Mountains.
What’s amazing is that other than the steel rim and hub, the rest of the wheel is wood.
The ingenuity of people never ceases to amaze me. This is an ox shoeing device that with the use of wide belts for support, the ox could be lifted off the ground so shoes could be put on. This one looked like it used water to turn a water wheel on the end of the shaft.
What you see here are the remains of the Harmony Borax Works refinery that operated from 1883 to 1888. Borax was the biggest money producer of all the minerals mined in the area, far out producing gold and silver.
A Borax train consisted of 2 wagons containing Borax and one wagon carrying water pulled by teams of 20 and sometimes only 18 mules. Thus, the name “Twenty Mule Team Borax”. Boy, I sure remember the days when Death Valley Days was on TV and sponsored by the Borax Company. These mules pulled loads weighing up to 36 tons, of which 1,200 gallons (5 tons) was drinking water. This was all done over 165 miles of forbidding terrain.
Oh by the way, I’ve heard rumors of $5 gas. Well look no further than Death Valley.
You can get a breathtaking view of Death Valley from an over 5,000 foot mountain over look called Dante’s View. From here looking to the west you see the Panamint Mountain Range and the immense area of Death Valley.
Dante’s View overlooks Badwater Basin which is a 5 mile long by 5 mile wide salt flat and is the lowest elevation in the USA at minus 282 feet.
Here is some more of the scenic beauty in Death Valley.
This coyote was walking by the entrance to the Ashford Mill ruins. We spoke with a lady motorcyclist who was also visiting the ruins who had seen the coyote when she drove in earlier. The coyote was still there when we left so we came to the conclusion that he is working the tourists for hand outs. That’s so sad because animals come to rely on people for food and once the people no longer visit in the heat of the summer, the animals fate can’t be good.
Again, here is some more of the scenic beauty in Death Valley.
Another must see spot is the Artist Drive. From what we heard sunset is the best time to go there. We arrived at mid-afternoon but went in anyway with plans of coming back at sunset the next day. But that did not work out as it was cloudy, so here are the “not so good pictures”.
Make sure to get to the Artist Palette at sunset.
While in Death Valley our high temperatures for the day varied from 67 to 74 degrees. With the summer temp’s pushing 120 degrees I think winter or spring are the best times to come.
Until next time,
Dave and Sandy
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