GET-YUR-MOTOR-RUNNIN' ROAD TRIP
(Astoria - Santa Fe - Death Valley - Astoria)
Death Valley National Park, CA
November 8, 2013 (Day 25 of 44)
Miles Today: 79 / Trip Miles: 3,021
Photos
Click on Photos For A Larger Image
All photos Copyright © 2014 Leon Jackson. All Rights Reserved.
Zabriskie Point:
Zabriskie Point is located east of Death Valley in the Black Mountains (part of the Amargosa Range). Noted for its erosional landscape, this area is composed of sediments from Furnace Creek Lake, which dried up 5 million years ago—long before Death Valley came into existence. The location was named after Christian Zabriskie, vice-president and general manager of the Pacific Coast Borax Company in the early 20th century. The company had borax mining operations in Death Valley. (Rating = B+)
Trivia: This location was used to represent the surface of Mars in the film Robinson Crusoe on Mars. You might recognize this location on the cover of U2's album The Joshua Tree.
Zabriskie Point
View of the Amargosa Range from Zabriskie Point at high noon. The towering spire is Manly Beacon.
[flickr]
20-Mule Team Canyon:
The spectacular landscape seen at Zabriskie Point extends several miles to the southeast, and is easily viewed close-up via Twenty-Mule Team Canyon Road. This fun-to-drive, unpaved, one-way, lightly-used road leads up a dry wash, then winds through undulating desert hills, and back to the highway. The 2.7-mile track passes through eroded badlands with contrasting colors – black, dark brown, cream, yellow and white. (Rating = A)
Twenty-mule teams were teams of eighteen mules and two horses attached to large wagons that carried borax out of Death Valley from 1883 to 1889. They traveled from mines to the nearest railroad spur. The routes were from the Harmony and Amargosa Borax Works to Daggett, California, and later Mojave, California. The wagons were among the largest ever pulled by draft animals, designed to carry 10 tons of borax ore at a time.
Trivia: Although the name of the canyon conjures up images of the famous 20-mule team wagons transporting borax ore, this trail was not actually part of the original 165 mile twenty-mule-team Borax freight route.
My Subaru STI loves this dusty, one-way silt-like dirt road with twists-and-turns, ups-and-downs across a picturesque landscape of canyons and badlands. The scenery is impressive, and the road perfect for a test drive.
[flickr]
[flickr]
Dante's View:
The road from Highway 190 through the Black Mountains (part of the Amargosa Range) to Dante's View is steep, windy and paved. For part of the way, the roadway is cut into the mountain. The drive in, and out, is terrific … a great road to clean an engine's cobwebs. Road signs along the way: "Potential Flash Flood Area" and "Last 1/4 Mile 15% Grade". Elevation at the viewing area is 5,500 feet. Dante's View is named after Italian poet Dante Alighieri (1265–1321), who wrote the Divina Commedia (Divine Comedy), referring to the nine circles of hell. (Rating = A)
Death Valley
Death Valley viewed from Dante's View (5,500 ft) looking toward the northwest. Most of Death Valley is at, or below, sea level. The Panamint Range forms the western wall of Death Valley and separates it from the Panamint Valley to the west. Telescope Peak (11,000 ft), the highest peak in the range, is out of view to the south.
[flickr]
[flickr]
Artist's Drive:
Artist's Drive is a one-way, nine mile loop that travels through a narrow canyon cut into the Black Mountains (part of the Amargosa Range). Along this fun-to-drive roller-coaster road are colorful rock formations. The colors are caused by the oxidation of different metals. Red, pink and yellow are from iron salts. Green is from decomposing tuff-derived mica. Manganese produces the purple color. (Rating = A)
Black Mountains
Early evening view of the Black Mountains from Artist's Drive.
Death Valley at Dusk #5
Twilight in Death Valley. Looking to the southwest toward Badwater Basin & the Panamint Range from Artist's Drive.
[flickr]
[flickr]
Overall Scenic Rating = A
Driving Fun/Road Rating = A
Tomorrow:
Death Valley - Golden Canyon, Bad Water, & Artist's Palette.
1 comment:
Wow, Leon. Looks other-worldly. Lots of fascinating information. Looking forward to more.
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