The Tonopah, Death Valley
and Bridgeport Loop Tour – Stage 3
I’d been to Death Valley decades
ago, when I was a kid, but never did I recall seeing the luxuriant display of
wildflowers that springtime promised.
Having hustled down US 95 in two days, I was looking forward to a couple
of days off the bike to explore the wonder of this national park and check out
the foliage. Friends joined me,
arriving in a rented 2015 Chevrolet Impala – all in all a bit more wind
resistant than the big GSA. I
would be happy about this.
Entering the park, I stopped for the perfunctory look-where-I-am photo. A rider on a bike very similar to mine
was kind enough to snap my picture, if I’d snap one of him and his
eight-year-old son: the youngin’ enjoying a Spring Break adventure far more
exciting than any of his classmates.
At a first view of the valley’s
panorama, I am reminded of a region west of Sonora, California known as the Red
Hills, where scientists had found no evidence of any human habitation prior to
we Anglos arriving. The area in
front of me looked far more foreboding.
Dawn, our first morning, came up
like thunder over Stovepipe Wells.
On the agenda was a trip to Scotty’s Castle. The last time I was there, I was forced
into mini-socks that were worn over my scuffed and raggedy US Keds.
I recall my brother and me being
scolded for sliding around on the castle’s smooth tile floor in those
sock-ettes and looked forward to engaging in this activity again. However, being 60 years mature and all,
and the fact that they didn’t provide us socks this time…
Interior and exterior aspects of the castle are nicely
preserved.
A special underground tour explores the clever and creative
mechanicals of 1920s era desert construction.
A diagram of an electrical component had been drawn on a
concrete tunnel wall by the engineer serving as an installation instruction for
a worker.
Outside, a timeworn Model A truck has found its deserved,
final resting place.
A contact at Stovepipe Wells told us
that his favorite spot in the park was Ubehebe Crater. A short jaunt off the road near the
castle affords a view that reminds us that volcanism is not exclusive to the
high mountains in California.
A
nasty upslope wind peppered us with cinders and loess. We’d be seeing more of this.
Unlike Tuolumne County’s Red Hills, people did inhabit this area of the
Mojave. The first was a succession
of “Native Americans.” I use quotation marks here because even the Indians here
had migrated from Asia several thousand years ago. Our direct ancestors pushed them out when mineral wealth was
discovered in the area. Borax, a
residual salt found in dry lakebeds, looked like a business opportunity.
Successful? Abandoned borax mines and mills are spotted here and there.
Bad Water has boasts an elevation of
minus 282 feet, lowest in all of North America. With my pals I considered booming out a chorus of I’ve got friends in low places, but like
the whole sock thing back at the castle, being 60 years mature and all…
The salt crystals at Bad Water speak to the mineral wealth
those early whites found in the area.
Brunch was scheduled at the Furnace Creek Inn, a lovely,
albeit a bit chichi, oasis in the
midst of this forbidding landscape.
Best eats in the park, however.
A loop through Artists Canyon followed the meal. The fact that the climate does not
support the thick forests of the western slope of the Sierra lays bare the
subtle and dramatic colors that lie beneath those forest floors.
Here we see what to many is unexpected. Just stand in the parking area and
listen everyone who exits his or her vehicle exclaim: “Wow!”
Finally, the reward at the end of the drive to Dante’s Point
is a mile-high panorama of Death Valley’s sublime beauty. Directly below us is Bad Water.
From our vantage point we can see
tinier-than-ant people walking on the salt floor 5,500 feet below. To the north, a sand storm – we’re in
sand storm season, we’ve just been told – through which we’ll shortly be
plowing in that ’15 Impala, kicks up more than prodigious amounts of dust. Glad
I’m not bracing 30 mph sandblasting crosswinds on the GSA.
And those fields of wild flowers? Easter week is supposed to be prime
wildflower season. But only a few
yellow this's and a few red that's are spotted in sheltered areas on the road to
Dante’s Point. As it turns out,
Death Valley averages about 1.5 to 2.5 inches of precipitation annually. This year, the area received lower than
the low amount, and at the wrong time.
The seeds from who knows how long ago must lay in wait for another year
before sprouting and blooming. It
has been a dry spring in these parts.
Still, I wouldn’t mind passing this way again…
o0o
Notes:
Rider Magazine contributor and – although he may not
know it – honorary Church of the Open Road member, Clement Salvadori has visited
Death Valley many times on motorcycles he’s been asked to review. Tough
gig. Here’s a link to one of
his previous posts: http://www.ridermagazine.com/travel-features/motorcycle-riding-in-death-valley.htm/.
Rider is a great magazine for those of us suffering from two-wheeled
wanderlust. And Clem is a very
entertaining writer. See your
local news stand…
© 2015
Church of the Open Road
Press
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