and mounds, rocks and more rocks, dry gulch canyons.- 3.4 million acres of stone wilderness. And we made this a National Park because?? Home to the Timbisha Shoshone and to plants and animals unique to the harshest deserts located in California and Nevada. It is the largest national park south of Alaska-established in 1994-receiving over 1 million visitors per year. Huh. I don't think so. So where did such a forbidding name come from? The 2" a year rain or the up to 134 degrees heat-driest and hottest spot. This place has the highest mean temperature on earth. I can see why they named the visitor center Furnace Creek. The park is 140 miles long. Rock art indicates humans were here 9000 years ago. The American Indians called the valley "Tomesha"- the land where the ground is on fire. Boy you got that right. If you haven't been here. don't. It was only 108 here today....the other 5 cars made for a lively venue....talk about the opposite of Zion and it's Disneyland appeal. Why is this a National Park??? Grey, gritty and dismal....remote beyond remote and lots of flies to boot. This place is named appropriately. Perhaps to the uninitiated eco girl this looks like a vast, empty wasteland. And we can thank Bill Clinton in signing it into being a National Park in 1994- geez, who did he owe that favor to and for?Do you remember the TV show "Death Valley" in the 50's? Ronald Regan hosted the show-a western about Death Valley and the area-come on you remember 20 Mule Team Borax. Keith had the 20 Mule Team Model Kit that you put together-from the laundry detergent. 2 wagons, 2 little guys that drove the wagons, 20 mules and harnesses (he remembers the harnesses getting all tangled up). In the 1880's wagon teams hauled powdery white borax from mines since fallen to ruin (from Gold Rush days). Gold mining? Hey I am sure there has to be a little something somethin left behind...."Pam, can't you read, no going in the mineshafts or messing with the prospect holes! And for gosh sakes, keep out of the abandoned tunnels!". Mr. Grumpy Pants.
I do love the tail of Death Valley Scotty and The Castle-the would be miner, beloved charlatan and sometime performer in buffalo bill's Wild West Show liked to tell visitors that his wealth lay in a secret gold mine. That "mine" was, in fact, his friend Albert Johnson a Chicago insurance exec, who paid for a castle where Scott lived until he died in 1954. This Moorish castle is now owned by the park and open for tours...While Scott never owned the building and Johnson paid all the bills Johnson claimed "Scott repays me in laughs". Located in Grapevine Canyon. Hey, where do I get that gig?
Backcountry camping permitted....yeah right. And we are protecting this national treasure because? Things to know before you go-DON'T. The best time to visit? NEVER.Per Keith "once is more than enough."
I must say this drive in the desert has been interesting. Lots of military bases, sites and such....bombing ranges out here. My first siting of a drone! Buba does like to take the back roads. Head out of Vegas north on 95 and it looks like picturesque Afghanistan. We are talking China Lakes (huh) Weapon Center, Fort Irwin National Training Center not far from the Mojave Desert and the Marine Air Ground Combat Center. Lots of bombing sites...maybe that will improve the terrain and look. Oy. Hey, I get it maybe Clinton had to buy it to have a place for the boys to cowboy up and get training for those pain in the keester Taliban and somc such vermin.
Day 38 Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park
Did you know Sequoia is our second oldest Park? (right after Yellowstone). Established 1890.
planet—the incomparable giant sequoias. And surrounding them is a land of enormous scenic and biological fascination, a land that has captured the imagination and spirit of uncountable numbers of people. Today, the two national parks of the southern Sierra Nevada are know as Sequoia and Kings Canyon. In 1890, when the U.S. Congress first set them aside as the second and fourth parks of the system, they were known as Sequoia and General Grant national parks. A century has now passed since that event. The park encompasses 865,257 acres.These two parks testify to nature's size, beauty, and diversity: Immense mountains, rugged foothills, deep canyons, vast caverns, and the world’s largest trees! The parks lie in the southern Sierra Nevada, east of the San Joaquin Valley. Elevation ranges from 1300' to 14,494'-meaning Mount Whitney is the highest peak in the US (outside of Alaska). We are talking backpackers paradise with over 800 miles of trails-whew. Too late to sign up for an advanced trail walk....the 70 mile trek across the park. The star attraction is the General Sherman Tree-about 2100 years old, 275 ft high and 103 ft circumference. A 13 story building would fit under it! Buba, where did they get that name? A pioneer cattleman who had served under Gen. Sherman picked it.
Kings Canyon
And all those signs for "active" black bears....we kept leaving our food out. Not a one. I think Bocahontas is becoming quite the Park Babe...who knew!!For more detailed info: www.nps.gov/seki
