EXPLORING� DEATH VALLEY� by Judy and Frank Wylie�
�No early visitors died here of privation, but a group of '49ers from Utah heading for the gold fields in 1849 took a wrong turn south and were stuck for two months in the valley with little food and water until scouts went for help. When they were rescued, one traveler looked back and said �Good bye, Death Valley.� The name stuck. Every year their escape� is celebrated with a '49er Encampment which draws families in covered wagons� and open buckboards as well as thousands of RVs. Death Valley National Park, which�was bumped up to national park status only five years ago, gets roughly 1.3 million visitors a year. At 3.3 million acres, it�s the largest national park outside Alaska.� Death� Valley is 140 miles long and 10-15 miles wide, and� has only three gas stations, so it�s a good idea to fill up when you can. We noticed signs in German, Spanish and Italian at most pumps, a tip to how Europeans love Death Valley, especially in the summer when it�s too hot for most American travelers.��� Land of ExtremesIf you stand in Death Valley�s Badwater, named for its high salt content ponds,� 282 feet below sea level, you�re in the lowest point of the Western Hemisphere. Towering over the landscape only two miles away is Telescope Peak, at 11, 049 feet above sea level, often mantled in snow even though it may be well over 100 degrees on the valley floor.� Annual rainfall in Death Valley is less than two inches, and some years there is no rain at all. But water comes from the melting snow of high peaks, and since there are no rivers to lead it out, all of it is contained in the valley. Desert holly and pickle weed grow easily here. There are 350 bodies of water in the Valley, some of them hot mineral springs. While the temperatures can get to 120 on a summer day, in the winter it is� cold, and goes down to 40 degrees at night. What to See Sites in the Valley are spread out, so you�ll need a car to see them.� Borax was discovered in Death Valley in 1881 and started a boom of sorts that has left many historic sites, including the Harmony Borax Works. Exploring, you�ll also find� ghost towns, silky sand dunes,� and� the Devil's Golf course, an expanse of knobby salt formations.� .
Another popular site is an area of� sand dunes� just off 190, on the road to Stovepipe Wells, where you can climb up on the ultra-fine dunes and watch the sun set. Beyond Stovepipe Wells Village you can take a 2 � mile hike through� Mosaic Canyon, a beautiful canyon with narrow eroded marble walls. One of the most scenic areas in the valley is along� Artists Drive, where rock formations shimmer with pink, lavender, emerald and purple, made more brilliant by the valley�s clear air.� Before any serious hike, stop at the Park office and ask advice on how to prepare, as the heat and lack of drinkable water has spelled death for more than 100 careless hikers. Dancing mules at the �49er Encampment
The fall Encampment� draws more than 5,000� visitors in a normal� year, mostly seniors. Some of them� are history buffs, some love the West, others� just like the big party. For five days, guests enjoy barbecues,� historic tours and talks, story telling, a talent show, western music, nature talks, a chili cook-off,� an art show,� and a parade which this year included the mule team plus an old-time wagon train, its owners driving covered wagons and dressed in period dresses and bonnets or work clothes with suspenders. And about the mules dancing, we weren�t disappointed.� As the team� rounded the corner during the Encampment�� parade, three pairs of� mules, called the pointers,� jumped over their chains and sidestepped away from the curb to make the turn, then jumped back, which is known as �dancing.� Where to Stay
Many families like the� Furnace Creek Ranch, a 175- room informal resort with another warm mineral pool, the world�s lowest golf course, a general store, a riding stable and fun activities such as horse-drawn wagon rides. Further west in the valley is� Stovepipe Wells Village, a great value with motel-like rooms, and also family-friendly. There�s a lively bar and restaurant with western music on the weekends. Winter is the best time to visit, as daytime temperatures are in the 70s and the cold nights� are good for sleeping. Everyone visiting Death Valley National Park, regardless of where they stay, must pay a $10 entry fee good for seven days. For rooms as the Ranch or Inn contact the resort. Rates at the Furnace Creek Ranch start at $90 per night. The Furnace Creek Inn�s winter rates,� between the first week in October and Mother�s Day, start at $230 per room, but in the summer, they go down to $155 per room. At Stovepipe Wells Village rates begin at $63 per night. �The Death Valley National Park has camping and RV sites, which you can reserve up to five months in advance. Camping fees range from $10 to $16 depending on location. . Furnace Creek Inn or Furnace Creek Ranch Stovepipe Wells Death Valley National Park |
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Swimming in a pool filled by warm mineral springs under stars glistening in the desert sky, hiking to waterfalls or riding horseback�along old wagon trails, exploring ghost towns or simply sitting on the porch of the Furnace Creek Inn, gazing at the vivid blues, indigos and violets of the surrounding mountains. These �are just a few of the things you can do in� Death Valley National Park,� California,� which lies along� the California -Nevada border, roughly a two- hour drive from Las Vegas.
First- time visitors are usually totally surprised,� says Toni Jepson, manager of the Furnace Creek Inn. �They expect it to be all flat and very dry.� Instead there is a lot of� water in the area, and some of the mountains soar for almost two miles. �Most visitors love to� take hikes,� through Golden Canyon, or to Dante�s View, which has� the valley�s best vista.�� Everyone also likes� Scotty�s Castle, a baroque Mission castle affair built in the 20s� by a wealthy easterner with the help of a local prospector. The Park Service guides are costumed actors who pretend to be guests at a party at the castle, and who lead you through its ornate, nutty rooms. 
Hikes are fine, but we came to see the mules dance. Ask any middle-aged� American what they think of when they hear �Death Valley� and it�s mules. The famous Twenty Mule team Borax� animals thundered through our living rooms in a Death Valley Days TV show� each week in the early 1960s, and as early as the 1930s Death Valley Days was on the radio. We�d heard mules can dance and were dying to see it. A 20 mule team did show up�actually 18 mules and a pair of horses- ears flapping and tails switching, pulling two open wagons like those� that once hauled� the white gold called borax, and a water tank. The occasion� for the team�s appearance� was the 50th anniversary of the 49�er Encampment.
The� elegant Furnace� Creek Inn was� built and opened in 1927� by the Pacific Borax Company as a corporate retreat, then opened as a hotel the next year. The inn, built of adobe bricks made by the Shoshone Indians,� sits high on a rocky promontory, and� has wide views of the valley floor. It has recently completed a renovation, and the rooms now have more western touches, with solid wood furniture in the� mission style.� If you can�t afford to stay there, at least have dinner in the Inn�s restaurant, which combines� gourmet dining with a spectacular view. The inn is built on the site of a natural oasis, with deep� lush� pools graced by� water lilies. Its swimming pool is fed by a natural warm�� mineral spring, wonderful for a midnight dip. In the afternoons, you can eat by the pool, order tea service in the lobby, or wander over and watch craftsmen creating new adobe bricks the old Indian way by mixing adobe clay with tamarack needles instead of straw.�