2014 WAYALIFE Death Valley Adventure Photo Highlights

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wayoflife

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Thanksgiving weekend has always been a time where Cindy and I have taken a trip out to Death Valley and done some exploring. In fact, we had been doing this for years by ourselves and more recently, with all our WAYALIFE friends. For 2014, we decided to begin our adventures in the town of Ridgecrest, CA, and spend our Black Friday working our way over the Slate Range, through the historic Fish Canyon, across the floor of the Panamint Valley, up Goler Wash into the Butte Valley, down into Death Valley and then finally end our day in Shoshone, CA. On Saturday, we headed back into Death Valley to enjoy some of the tourist traps like Ashford Mill, Bad Water, the Devils Golf Course and then worked our way up and over the Funeral Range through Echo Canyon and ended our day in Beatty, NV. For our final day on this epic three day adventure, we paid a visit to the historic ghost town of Rhyolite, headed back into Death Valley through Titus Canyon and then made our way back to Highway 395 where we all said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. Below is a photo narrative of all the things we had seen and done and I hope you enjoy them.

As everyone knows, we always come prepared with a little American Honey and for 2014, we decided to bring something new - Honey Sting!
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Here's a shot of Moby with his new Truck-Lite LED headlights and Rugged Ridge half doors all packed, shiny and clean and ready to head south to get all dirty.
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The first of many - thank goodness gas prices are finally starting to come down a bit!
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Getting ready to go behind enemy lines.
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Hello California!
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Paying a visit to the Iron Maiden and friends.
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"To give and then take or to take without giving?" That is the question.
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Home for the night.
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Day 1
The first official day of our 2014 WAYALIFE Death Valley Thanksgiving Weekend Adventure would be what most refer to as, Black Friday. Because we would be crossing into Death Valley from the southern end of the Panamint Range, we decided to meet everyone who would be joining us in Ridgecrest. Here shot of everyone joining us for the run all packed up and ready to go.
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At the trailhead airing down and getting ready to have some fun.
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Climbing the Slate Range.
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Along the ridge of the Slate Range taking in the awesome view of the Panamint Valley below.
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Descending into Fish Canyon as we make our way down into the Panamint Valley.
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Back in 1850, the Bennett and Arcanes, two families trying to emigrate to California decided to take a route that lead them through Death Valley. Along the way, they had to abandon their wagon and needed to be rescued. It was at this point in Fish Canyon, named after a Father Fish who perished here a few days before, where Manley and Rogers came to the families in need and led them to safety.
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View from the valley floor looking at our train of Jeeps slowly working their way down the very rough and bumpy alluvial fan of Fish Canyon. It's hard to imagine how anyone could have done this in a wagon. In fact, it this stretch of trail is so rough that back in the 1800's, settlers would fashion makeshift shoes out of leather to help protect the hoofs of their oxen.
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Regrouping and getting ready to move out again.
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Heading south along the eastern shores of the ancient Panamint Dry Lake.
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Making a stop at the mouth of Goler Wash to take it all in.
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Time to head on up the canyon.
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Making a stop to check out the ruins of the Keystone Mine which is located next to Lotus Springs. It hard to imagine but this camp was occupied and the mines in the area worked on until 1997 when it was finally abandoned.
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If you're going to have to work in a place like Death Valley, having a swimming pool would make life a bit easier. Chris and Jen heading up to it take a closer look.
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Jen getting ready to dive in.
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Time to load up and head on out again.
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Further up Goler Wash, we finally reach the Death Valley National Park boundary line.
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Before continuing into Death Valley, we took a detour to pay a visit to the Barker Ranch site.
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Years ago, there used to be a large branch here that arched over the trail and made it difficult if not impossible for tall rigs to continue forward. As you can see, it has long since been chopped off.
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Here we are at Barker Ranch.
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Back in 1969, CHP and Inyo Sherriff came up to this location to look for people responsible for vandalizing some earth movers and by chance, discovered Charles Manson hiding out in a tiny bathroom cabinet. For years, this was an amazing ranch to visit with irrigated fruit trees and a beautiful and well preserved ranch house complete with a lattice covered porch. Sadly, this house was burned down by vandals in 2008.
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This is all that remains of this once amazing home in the middle of the desert.
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For those of you who never got a chance to see what it looked like before, here are a few shots that we took of Barker Ranch before it was burned down in 2008.
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More photos below...
 
After our nice visit to the old Barker Ranch site (aka, Charles Manson house) and a well needed lunch stop, we were back on the road again and on our way up to Mengel Pass.
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Heading up to the top of the observation point at Mengel Pass.
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Moby pulling up to the edge to get a good look at the Striped Butte.
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Everyone else making their way up.
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Stephanie getting a little flexy toward the top.
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Chris too.
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Louie getting a little hang time in.
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Joshua in the same boat.
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As well as Ray.
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Brendon saying "ruts - what ruts?"
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Wagons circled and time to take in the view.
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I don't know if it's true or not but, from what I have read, the Striped Butte you see in the distance is a billion year old piece of ocean sediment thrusting through the valley floor.
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Time to move on out and check out our next destination in the Butte Valley.
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Our next stop was over at what most people refer to as the "Geologist Cabin". Back in the day, this stone house overlooking the Striped Butte and the Butte Valley beyond was the home of Carl Mengel, the prospector who worked the surrounding area and who the pass we just crossed over is named after.
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Stephanie excited to find some bloody Mary mix inside.
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Closer view of the Striped Butte.
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Another shot with a family of burros posing for a shot.
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On the move again and working our way across the Butte Valley.
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After pulling into Warm Springs, we got a call on the radio that Louie blew a tire but that it was getting worked on and so, we decided to hang out here till they caught up.
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Before Warm Spring was a talc mine operated by the Pfizer Corporation and worked until the 1980's, gold was mined in the area and some of the equipment used to process the ore can still be found nearby. While we were waiting for the rest of our group, we decided to check it out.
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As we would later find out, after Louie got his tire changed, he ended up blowing out another just down the way. Fortunately, Rachel and Ray had a stock spare and they loaned theirs to him. Here's a shot of everyone pulling into Warm Springs.
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A closer look at the sidewall damage.
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All back together again, it was time to do some exploring.
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About 20 years ago, Cindy and I had visited this place and at the time, it was still in much better shape with an awesome "warm spring" fed pool that was perfect for diving into. Well, I suppose time has a way of changing things as the pool didn't look to inviting on this day.
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One of the many mustard colored buildings or, dormitories located at the mining camp.
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Shot from the inside.
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Clearly, this place has seen better days.
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Meat locker right out of a horror flick.
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Back on the trail and heading down into Death Valley.
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Regrouping on the valley floor.
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After a long day out on the trail, it was time for a hot meal and drinks over at the Crowbar Café & Saloon.
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Oh, and did I mention it was Joshua's 30th birthday - HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!
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CHEERS!!
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Of course, what would a WAYALIFE trip be without a nightcap. Good times with good friends all around a nice fire - CHEERS!!
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More photos below...
 
Day 2
Good morning from Shoshone, CA - time to gas up!!
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Unfortunately, Tony, Stephanie, their daughter Christina, Et and his son Joe all had to leave us the night before but, we were joined by Al, Jason, Amy, their two kids, Naomi, Russell, Simo and Vanessa. Here's a shot of our Jeeps over at Ashford Mill, our first stop of the day.
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Back in 1914, gold ore from the Golden Treasure Mine was processed here.
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Back on the road and heading north up the valley floor.
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The most famous destination in the entire Death Valley National Park is without question, Badwater Basin. Located along the eastern shores of the ancient Manley dry lake and pretty much in the center of the park, Badwater Basin sits at 282 feet below sea level and is the lowest point in North America.
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There is a small spring-fed pool of "bad" water that exists here year round and amazingly enough, it does contain some plant life like the pickleweed and even a few aquatic insects and the Badwater snail.
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Beyond the pool, the salt flat is rough from repeated freezing, thawing and evaporation.
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Taking a hike out into the salt flat.
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Of course, what would a trip to Badwater Basin be without tasting the salt. Here's a shot of Chris taking a taste.
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Trying to persuade Jason to do it.
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Deciding not to wait for him to do it, Amy jumps right in to give it a try.
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Our next stop was over to the Devil's Golf Course which was just up the way.
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Stepping out on to "the green" to check things out.
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Back in 1934, a comment in a Death Valley National Monument National Park Service guide stated that the halite salt crystal formations in this area was so rough that "only a devil could play golf" on its surface. Speaking of which, look what we found here.
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A few shots of the jagged surface.
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Some of the bizarre salt formations.
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After our fun on the valley floor, we headed to the base of the Funeral Range to get ready to make our way out of it via Echo Canyon. Here we are getting the newcomers in our group aired down.
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And we're off!
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Up the canyon we go.
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The canyon walls getting real pretty.
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Coming up on the "Eye of the Needle".
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On the back side of the Eye posing for a few shots.
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More photos below...
 
On the move again and on our way to the Inyo Mine.
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At the Inyo Mine and our lunch stop for the day.
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Decided to go for a hike up the hill.
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Looking back at the mining camp below.
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Jen taking a spin in an old mining rig.
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Gold was discovered here by Maroni Hicks and Chet Leavitt back in 1905 and the mines in this area were worked on and off until about 1941 by a myriad of investors including Charles Schwab. Unfortunately, a string of bad timing and poor results lead to the early demise of the mine. However, the claim is still privately owned and some of the tunnels can still be explored today. NOTE: These mines are very dangerous and have vertical shafts that appear out of nowhere.
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Looking up one of the vertical shafts.
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Back outside carefully taking a peek down.
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View looking back at our Jeeps way out in the distance.
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On the move again and heading for the only real obstacle on the trail.
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After watching and helping a JK and a 4Runner ahead of us up the rock ledges, everyone headed back to their Jeeps and got ready to make the climb themselves.
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Moby walking up the ledges with ease.
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Chris coming up the first ledge.
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Jason following closely behind.
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Louie doing a great job in his stock JK.
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Russell working his way up the second ledge.
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Ray starting his climb.
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Brendon wondering where the obstacle is.
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Al starting is ascent.
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Just a walk in the park for Joshua.
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Beautiful views as we worked our way around some narrow shelf roads.
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I don't know how it was possible but, coming around the shelf roads, Louie blew out two more tires.
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Time to get to work and swap one out and with any luck, plug the other.
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Time to reseat the bead and hope for the best.
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So far so good.
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Let's wrap it up and get going again.
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Hard to imagine that one guy can get four flats on one easy run but...
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And just like that, we're doing a night run.
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All safe and sound in Beatty, NV - CHEERS to a great day on the trail!!
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But wait, what's this? Looks like a WAYALIFE good time - CHEERS AGAIN!!
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More photos below...
 
Day 3 - Journey Home
Good morning! Our final day on the 2014 WAYALIFE Death Valley Thanksgiving Adventure got started in the town of Beatty, NV. Originally home to the Western Shoshone people, Beatty was established in 1905 and named after a rancher by the name of Montillus (Montillion) Murray "Old Man" Beatty, a rancher who also became the first postmaster of Beatty.
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Checking out some of the fine soda selections at Eddie World.
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After gassing up at Eddie World, we made our way over to our first stop along our route home, Rhyolite.
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Founded in 1905, Rhyolite was one of several mining camps that formed during a gold rush during that time and became a preferred settlement due to its sheltered basin close to the Montgomery Shoshone Mine, one the largest producers in the area. Thanks to Charles Schwab, the town was quickly developed to include plumbing, electricity, a railroad, telephone service, a newspaper, school, hospital, opera house and even a stock exchange. At it's height, the town saw a population of about 5,000 people in 1907-08. Unfortunately, Rhyolite disappeared about as quickly as it appeared thanks to the financial panic of 1907. By the end of 1910, the Montgomery Shoshone Mine was operating at a loss and eventually closed by 1911. By 1920, the population of Rhyolite was essentially zero.

Here are some shots of the famous bottle house that was restored and still stands there today.
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Ghost crickets permanently entombed within one of the many bottles that make up this house.
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Downtown Rhyolite checking out some of the old building barely still standing.
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What's left of the Cook Bank Building.
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All that's left of the old two story eight room school house.
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The railroad station had a longer life than the town as it became a casino in 1937 called the Rhyolite Ghost Casino. It was later turned into a museum and gift shop that operated until the 1970's. It's a shame that it's all fenced off now.
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Toward the south end of town, a series of sculptures were made by the Belgian artist Albert Szukalski in 1984 and are now part of the Goldwell Open Air Museum.
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On the move again and on our way to our next destination along our trip home - Titus Canyon.
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Really? A BMW??
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Making our way up to Red Pass.
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Up and over Red Pass and heading down into Titus Canyon.
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Making a stop in the Leadfield, a boomtown that was established in August 1926 based on wild advertising and was nothing more than a ghost town by February 1927.
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Time to head into Titus Canyon.
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Titus Canyon cuts through the Grapevine Mountains and while they were created relatively recently, the rocks that make up the range are over half a billion years old. The gray limestone rocks that you see in this section of Titus Canyon are from the Cambrian age which is 570-505 million years old.
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Out of the canyon and time to air up again.
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On our way back to Highway 395, we made a quick stop over at the Father Crowley Viewpoint to take a final group shot.
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Hooray to an awesome WAYALIFE adventure!!
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A BIG thanks needs to go out to everyone who joined us on this trip. Cindy and I had a great time with all of you and hope that you'll join us again on future WAYALIFE adventures. :cool:

To see more great photos from our 2014 WAYALIFE Death Valley Thanksgiving Adventure, simply click on the link below:
2014 WAYALIFE Death Valley Thanksgiving On the Go Photo Thread!!
 
Amazing pictures! I was there a week before thanksgiving but didn't get to do any real offroading or exploring like you guys. That Devil's golf course is no joke - It's the kind of place you leave a man with no shoes and a gun with one bullet to think over his sins :dont_tell:
 
Awesome pics for an awesome trip. Was great to see some old friends and the chance to wheel with some new ones. My whole family had a great time!! Hopefully we can make it out for years to come.

A big thanks to Eddie and Cindy for organizing such a great trip that didn't leave a boring moment the entire time.

Jason (and Amy and kids)
 
Bravo! :clap2:

What a great trip report. Brilliant photos, and all the history to go with it. :thumb:
 
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