Computer Bug

Just hanging out on my laptop
Not a virus just a visitor. Yet after six months of DSL being back on dialup moves slower than snail. Oh yea, that’s not a bug. Oh well.

Time for a little rant, I have to get this off my chest. Feel free to leave right now, that’s OK. I’ve been spending an average of 15 hours a day online, no phone access at that time. Why so long? It can take several minutes to upload a blog page to read and then possibly another 2-3 minutes for word verification while I click and wait sometimes three times. What’s up with that? Some verifications are worse than others. I can’t watch videos so sometimes miss the best part of a post. Music comes in spurts so why bother. Some images are posted so HUGE they flow off the edges of my screen, can’t I have the option to click and enbiggen? And isn’t there a limit to how many posts are on a page? If I quit writing comments it’s only because there aren’t enough hours in a day to get to everyone. Oh, and I didn’t even mention the hour it might take to download pics for my own blog.

Thank you for allowing me to get this out of my system. Please know this is not directed at anybody in particular. Now I can go back on line and try to read over 300 posts on Sky Watch Friday.

Part 6 Death Valley National Park - Day 2 Furnace Creek

Some folks called it hell.

Furnace Creek Inn
Originally built as a working ranch in the 1880s it is now a complete resort complex including 224 guest units, three restaurants, a saloon, a general store, an airstrip, gift shops, gas station, post office, three campgrounds, horse rides, carriage rides, golf course, tennis courts and swimming pool. This is as close as I got to it. Way too swanky for my budget.

Old locomotive
After the closure of borax mines in Death Valley the Pacific Coast Borax Company from 20 Mule Team fame encouraged tourists to use their narrow gauge railway to visit Death Valley. The Furnace Creek Inn was completed in 1927 but the railroad closed in 1930 because tourists preferred the freedom of driving their own cars.

Inside Borax Museum
In 1926, the company promoted the idea of Death Valley becoming a national park to the director of the National Park Service Stephen Mather. But because of his prior employment with the borax company and to avoid favoritism he suggested media support and thus the successful radio program Death Valley Days was created. Finally in 1933, President Hoover created Death Valley National Monument and in 1994 Congress designated it as a National Park.

Old stage coach
Springs in the Amargosa Range created a natural oasis at Furnace Creek which according to a US Geologic Survey report has subsequently dwindled due to diversion of this water to support the developed area. Who's surprised about that, it's a damn desert.

Old grinding mill
Furnace Creek has the distinction of holding the record for the highest ever recorded temperature in the United States reaching 134 °F (57 °C) on July 10, 1913. Elevation is 190 feet (58 meters) below sea level. No wonder this place gets called hell. But the 2000 census only showed the population as 31.

Furnace Creek Inn, an oasis in the Funeral Mountains
The visitor center was very interesting, so much so that I got sidetracked and didn’t take any pictures. But I picked up a Junior Ranger book. Jeremy and I next went on a guided Ranger walk into Natural Bridge Canyon. And, of course that’s another post.

Sky Watch Friday - Yarnell Sunset

I just never get tired of the magnificent sunsets seen out my window.

To see other skies from around the world, or to share your own, go to Sky Watch Friday by clicking here.

Part 5 - Death Valley National Park - Day 2 Harmony Borax Works

In the last Death Valley post I mentioned the mining of salt deposits. Well sodium borate, or borax, known as the “White gold of the desert” ranks as Death Valley’s most profitable mineral.

Harmony Borax Works
Harmony Borax Works was one of the first mines operating in California from 1883-1888. Owner William Coleman was also involved in mining borax in Nevada. Although reasonably profitable, Coleman made some bad investments, borax deposits were discovered closer to rail lines, and new processing technology was developed which all lead to the closure of Harmony.

Salt deposits
Salt minerals, or borates, deposited on ancient lake beds were uplifted and eroded into the yellow Furnace Creek badlands. Then water dissolved the borates and carried them to the Death Valley floor where they recrystallized as borax.

20-Mule Team Wagon
Crude shelters and tents once dotted this flat where Chinese laborers slept and ate. They scraped the borax off the salt flats with shovels and carried it by wagon to the refinery. They received $1.30 a day less lodging and food bought at the company store.

The wheels were protected with steel tires eight inches wide and an inch thick which had to be replaced regularly. Two men rode the wagons, driver and swamper, and traveled 15 to 17 miles (24 to 27 km) a day. Waterholes were 50 miles (80 km) apart with dusty, rocky, sandy ruts for roads in between.

Boiler at refinery
Workers refined borax by separating the mineral from unwanted mud and salts. The borax was allowed to crystallize on iron rods suspended in large vats. However the borax won’t crystallize in temperatures above 120 F (48.9 C) so Harmony Borax Works was closed during summer.

Borax has long been used for every kind of household cleaning from windows to tile grout. It is also a component of cosmetics, insecticide, glass, pottery and enamel glazes. It is used as a food additive or preservative in some countries yet is banned in the US.

Some of the workers from Harmony Borax Works lived in nearby Furnace Creek. Which is where Jeremy and headed next, and that’s another post.

Remember Whensday - Self portrait 1990

I was an adult college student finishing up my Associates Degree at Shoreline Community College near Seattle, Washington. One of my classes was figure drawing and we were working with conte crayons. I still like the slightly abstract look.

Sally from The (Mis) Adventures of Karl and Sally has started a meme where the past is remembered through sharing old photographs and this is #23, I think. I love the idea and hope you will too. So join the fun by clicking here.

MWT - Death Valley National Park Day 2 - Salt Creek - Part 4

We didn’t beat the early birds but tried to get an early start as planned to see a lot on our second day in Death Valley. First stop the .5 mile (.8 km) roundtrip boardwalk to Salt Creek which you can read about here.

Death Valley National Park Day 1 - Aguereberry Camp and Eureka Mine - Part 3

 Explore Aguereberry camp and the Eureka Mine here.