November 7-19, 2007 - After leaving Valley of Fire, we spent some time near Las Vegas visiting friends, staying at Boulder
Beach on Lake Mead. The lake was 85 feet low when we visited in 2004, and now, three years later, was 105 feet low. A
campground and boat launch had closed a few months earlier because they were now nowhere near the lake anymore, and we
heard that the turbines in the dam would soon be above the water level. Scary stuff. At least Lake Mead still had her pretty
colors in the sunshine.
We hiked along the rails-to-trails
path that goes from Boulder Beach
on Lake Mead to Hoover Dam. It
passes through some old train
tunnels and comes right out at the
visitors center for the Dam. There is
a wonderful statue commemorating
the daring and hard physical labor it
took to blast the rock and pour the
concrete to build the dam.
From Las Vegas
we made our way
to Death Valley.
We arrived on
Veterans Day and
found the road
through the park
lined with flag
waving veterens
celebrating the
days of the 49ers, the intrepid souls who traversed Death
Valley in pursuit of gold in 1849. The campground was full,
so we were guided back up the mountain to an open
boondocking area by the side of the road.
This was our first introduction to true boondocking -- where
you set up camp on public land and stay a while. There were
many other rigs in the area, and as we got to know our
neighbors we discovered they were part of the Escapees
Boondockers club and were gathered there for a few days.
Eventually most of the Escapees left, but we stayed with
another rig and enjoyed long lazy days and silent nights.
It felt so good to relax after our whirlwind tour of the northwest.
We stayed almost two weeks, making music with our neighbors
and exploring the area.
Death Valley is the hottest place in the country on many summer
days, but in November the weather was perfect.
We learned that the 49ers took two routes to the gold mines in
northern California. One group went around Death Valley, but the
other group trudged through the middle of it. They barely survived.
Borax is mined in Death Valley and has been since the late 1800's.
It was hauled out by mule team, and to this day Borax has an image
of the mule team on the container.
We took the
Artist's Drive which
is a thin ribbon of
road that winds
among brightly
colored hills. The
light danced on
across the cliffs.
Back at the visitors center we found the perfect gift for a young child.
If only we could all be children for a little while once again.
From Death Valley we wandered east and south through Laughlin,
Nevada and then down along the Colorado River to Lake Havasu,
Arizona and finally settled in Quartzsite, Arizona.