2017 Desert Rat XVI

ACA tent and Alpines (ours and Jeep on right)

This was our second Desert Rat Rally in Quartzsite. Fifty eight coaches signed up, all but a handful Alpines. 
Alpine coaches have not been manufactured since 2008 but Alpine members who replace their Alpines with newer motorhomes remain part of the Alpine family, even though they are known as SOB’s (Some Other Brand).
Friendships are a binding force among us and it’s always good to re-connect and catch up with Alpiners we have not seen in a while. There were 10 new attendee couples this year, several from the Northwest, and several with new-to-them Alpine coaches. It is most heartening to know that older model coaches are still sought after and recognized for the fine coaches they are, even though we are all "orphans" now. 

Our rally hosts, the Sandmires and the Maurmanns, worked hard to create a memorable rally despite the challenging weather this year. The rainy weather that broke the long drought in California reached Quartzsite and we experienced windy, cooler, and occasional rainy spells during our week there. That did not deter us from having a good time. As the song claims, “who cares about the weather so long as we’re together.”

our music entertainment for the evening
by Art Machaud

We gathered in the tent for breakfasts, lively happy hours and dinners, and in between times for socializing. One evening we had live music and pretty soon the whole crowd got going on the desert sandy and rocky dance floor. This year I wore my hiking boots, definitely a first for a dance, but also much safer to prevent a twisted ankle while boogieing over rocks and stones. 

getting ready for another yummy dinner

meeting new folks and socializing at happy hour

judging the crazy t-shirt contestants

just a bunch of retirees having fun in their Alpines

There were two 4-wheel trips to Dripping Springs and Desert Bar, but we had done the washboard Desert Bar experience last year and once was enough! The golfers went off to play a round. All of us met for our annual ACA Membership Meeting. There was also a swapmeet and craft sale.
A couple of times, those of us working on quilting projects got together in the tent when it wasn’t too windy and chilly and set up our machines. I got to play with my new Featherweight sewing machine which is perfect to tote around and set up. Soon other "crafty ladies" appeared and we discovered more of us who enjoy quilting, sewing, embroidering, and knitting or crocheting. 
Another time a few of us gathered in Willy Egg’s coach and chatted away as we worked on quilting projects. Quilting is most definitely a part of RV life for many of us.

Michael working on something...

The guys all focus on coach issues and upgrades. And sharing stories about adventures and challenges with things that go wrong. They also had their fair share of seminars and gearhead sessions. Our mobile homes are as much a maintenance hobby as they are our recreation and there is always some tinkering involved. Several coaches had work done while all the “seasoned experts” were gathered here.

gridlock as thousands of RV-ers pace the Big Tent vendors looking for deals
and new products

The other draw to this rally is the RV industry show held in the Big Tent in downtown Quartzsite. Dozens of booths spring up promoting and selling every possible convenience, gizmo, and necessary accessory or part for the RV. Let’s just say that Michael’s Xmas wish list 
was postponed until Quartzsite, and that Santa fulfilled most on that list. 
One of the booths was sponsored by Progressive Insurance. Leda is a great Flo fan so we followed along and went to the booth, drew a prize each (a Flo bobble head and water bottle) and had an Progressive Adventure movie made.

After the rally ended and we said our goodbyes, several of us stayed another couple of nights. We made a few more trips back to the Big Tent for final purchases and just generally relaxed and spent time together. 
The Quartzsite desert is always active at this time of year. Many snowbirds perch here for weeks at a time, staying on BLM land, savoring the solitude and wilderness. Perhaps one year we too will stay longer than a week but tomorrow we head to Yuma, to check out what the attraction is there. 

ACA tent and Alpine row

the after-rally stragglers

Arizona sunsets

Next stop: Quartzsite, Arizona

From Lake Mead, we continued to Quartzsite, to spend the rest of the week with our Alpine friends at our annual Desert Rat Rally. We took Route 95 south from Boulder City through Nevada and into California. 

Joshua trees appeared in sections

Needles in the distance along the Colorado River 

It was a smooth drive until we crossed I-40. Then Route 95 turned into a wavy drive as we "undulated" our way along for many miles.

the undulating stretch of route 95

ocotillo cactus grew along this wavy section of 95

a wash with traces of recent rains

We connected to Route 62, crossed the Colorado River into Arizona at Parker, then continued along 95 to our turn off on Plomosa Road. There was an Alpine ahead of us, also heading to the rally site.

RV's boondocking on BLM land along Plomosa Road

Three miles further, we spotted the big white tent and Alpine coaches lined up on either side. This would be home for the next week as we gather in the ACA tent to enjoy friends, food, and fun while dry camping in the Quartzsite desert.  And shopping in the "BIG TENT" set up in the town for the annual Quartzsite Sports, Vacation & RV Show. 

the ACA tent and the Alpines

Hoover Dam Day

Today we explored Hoover Dam. We were here 15 years ago and walked across the dam, a quick stop en route to our next destination. 
Those were the days when we hurried through many places of interest because of time constraints. I call them the "drive-by" touring days. 
This time we spent several hours here, went to the visitor center, watched the film about the dam's history, and also took the tour of the plant with its massive turbine generators.  

It turned out that the dam is a mere 3 miles away from the RV Park where we stayed. We could have walked the trail to the dam, and since we want to return to stay longer and explore more of the Lake Mead Recreation Area, we will definitely do that Hoover Dam Trail hike through the 5 tunnels to the dam in the future. 

More than 80 years since it was built, Hoover Dam continues to be a marvel and attracts tourists from all over the world. 

The dam project was planned to provide and assure a stable year-round water supply. In the 1800's and early 1900's, the Colorado River often flooded low-lying farmlands and communities in the spring and early summer. In the late fall and winter the river often dried to a trickle. Herbert Hoover was in Congress at the time and became instrumental in proposing a bill whereby the waters would be equitably divided among the seven states that relied on the Colorado's waters. Signed in 1922, the agreement divided the Colorado Basin into an upper and lower half and gave half the river's annual estimated flow to each basin. Division of each basin's apportioned allotment was left to the states in that basin. Mexico only received its guaranteed apportionment after the signing of the Mexican Water Treaty in 1944.

In 1928 after the construction of several storage dams and delivery facilities on the Colorado River, Congress passed the Boulder Canyon Project Act authorizing the construction of Hoover Dam (which until 1947 was called the Boulder Dam).
Hoover Dam is named for 31st President Herbert Hoover. 

Construction began in 1931 and ended in 1935, two years ahead of schedule and well under budget. The original $165 million cost has been repaid, with interest, to the Federal Treasury through the sale of Hoover Dam power. 
More than 5,000 workers labored day and night, in extreme heat and constant danger to raise this concrete marvel. The project required housing for the workers and their families, and in one year the barren desert was transformed into a company town, Boulder City, with schools, churches, and recreational facilities. 
Ninety six workers lost their lives in accident-related deaths and contrary to popular belief, none are buried in the concrete. 

scale model in visitor center of construction

The dam has received many accolades: National Historic Landmark; National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark; one of America's Seven Modern Civil Engineering Wonders; one of the Top Ten Public Works Projects of the Century; and named a Civil Engineering Monument of the Millennium by the American Society of Civil Engineers. 
Technical innovations developed during the dam's construction transformed several traditional engineering methods, setting a precedent for future large construction projects. Of noteworthy mention are the following: a three-story jumbo drill allowing 30 miners to drill simultaneously was invented and built; the dam was poured in individual, interlocking blocks rather than as a solid mass; cold water carried in pipes was used to cool the curing concrete; the aerial cableway system was the largest, most complete ever built; hardhats were provided to workers; and the dam's concrete plants were the world's most sophisticated.

Building this dam required more concrete than was used in all the dams built by the Bureau of Reclamation prior to 1931. To assure that the concrete would harden properly, the dam was built in a series of blocks. Each concrete block added 5 feet to the wall, and no more than 7 blocks (35 feet of height) were added in a 30-day period to assure the integrity of the drying concrete.
As concrete hardens (cures) it gives off heat. Cold water from the Colorado River and a refrigeration plant was used to cool the concrete, allowing it to cure quickly and evenly. The information board explained that had the concrete been poured as a single mass, it would have taken 125 years to cure. 
The arch gravity dam stands 726 feet tall (221.3 m); is 1,244 feet long (379.2m); 45 feet (13.7m) thick at the top and 660 feet (201.2m) at the base; weighs 6.6 million tons, and used 3.25 million cubic yards (2.6 million cubic m) of concrete.
It certainly is an impressive wall of concrete!

President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the dam in 1935. The powerplant wings were completed in 1936 and the first generator began operation in October that same year. The 17th and final generator went into operation in 1961.
Lake Mead, Hoover Dam's reservoir, with its 9.2 trillion gallon-capacity (nearly two years of the river's average annual flow) is the largest man-made reservoir in the US.  

intake towers control the flow of water into the penstocks

going underground to take the tour of the powerplant

the massive penstocks that carry water to the turbines

Turbine generators in the powerplant wing on the Nevada side that produce electricity

Hoover Dam generates more than 4 billion kilowatt-hours per year. Put another way, it serves 1.3 million people. Today, most of the power goes to southern California (56%). Arizona gets 19% and Nevada 25%. Revenues from the sale of the power pay for operation and maintenance of the powerplant, and replacement of the aging equipment.

On our way back home, we stopped and walked across the O'Callaghan-Tillman Memorial Bridge, completed in 2010. The bridge spans the Colorado River between Arizona and Nevada. From the bridge we could look directly across at the entire expanse of Hoover Dam.

O'Callaghan-Tillman Memorial Bridge

900 feet above the Colorado River overlooking the historic Hoover Dam

Lake Mead, Nevada

From Death Valley we continued on to Lake Mead, a spot we have driven past on earlier trips but not yet investigated.
It was a convenient stop on our way to Quartzsite where we will be joining our Alpine Desert Rat Rally in a couple of days.

The drive out of Death Valley was stunning. We headed out along Daylight Pass Road east towards Beatty, Nevada, climbing steadily out of the valley bottom, across the Amargosa Mountains, past the Death Valley Buttes, peaked at 4,316 feet (1316 m) at Daylight Pass, then continued across the flat expanse of the Amargosa Desert (elevation 2,660 feet). 

more colors in various shades of earth tones

... and interesting formations

... and flat stretch of desert ahead

approaching Beatty, Nevada

We filled up in Beatty, a little town in Nevada where we knew there was a truck stop with regular petroleum #2 diesel. Michael had been advised by a service center to avoid the B-20 biodiesel sold in most truck stops because it may be incompatible with our Alpine's ISC 350 engine.  (He later got confirmation directly from Cummins that our engine can use biodiesel up to a maximum of 20%, B-20).  

From Beatty, it was a straight drive along Rt 95 heading south to Lake Mead. The terrain is familiar and predictable: miles of wide open desert, surrounded by mountain peaks in the distance, some with a smattering of snow on the highest peaks. It is lonely and remote, but well traveled. 

In the middle of nowhere, we passed a spot to refuel and eat at the 50's diner. Or you could shop at the small white building advertising that it is "Open Year Round, Everything 50% off." 

The yellow building claims it is the "Area 51 Alien Center." 
Whatever it takes to get your attention.

Route 95 lies between the Spring Mountains to the west, and various ranges
to the east: Spotted, Pintwater, Desert, and Sheep Range

straight road ahead through the desert, between ranges

snowcapped peaks in the distance

Route 95 takes you through Las Vegas, a city that grew with the construction of Hoover Dam in the 1930s, and has expanded and keeps growing.





At Boulder City we turned off towards Lake Mead, and headed for Lake Mead RV Village at Boulder Beach in the Lake Mead Recreation Area. We stayed two nights before continuing on to Quartzsite, Arizona.

approaching Lake Mead Recreation Area

looking across Boulder Beach to Lake Mead from the RV park

The visitor center at the Lake Mead has great information about the area and its history. Lake Mead was created as a result of harnessing the Colorado River after Hoover Dam was completed in 1935. The topographical relief model below shows the river curving south through Black Canyon. Hoover Dam blocked the Colorado as it turns south into the canyon, and the backed up waters formed the 110-mile-long series of basins and coves now known collectively as Lake Mead. 

Lake Mead flooded the ancient channels of the Colorado and Virgin rivers, as well as towns and native settlements. Some towns like St Thomas were thriving communities while others like Callville, Overton, Rioville, Kaolin, and Gregg's Hideout had been abandoned for years. The Lost City Pueblo Ruins were also submerged. 
Prior to the dam construction, the Colorado River overflowed its banks for centuries, depositing rich layers of soil that the native Anasazi relied on for about 800 years (300 - 1150 AD) to sustain their agricultural way of life. After the Anasazi abandoned the area, the Chemehuevi, Mojave, and Southern Paiute partially relied on crops grown along the river. In the 1860's the Mormons began to settle the area, establishing missions and building farms, tilling the fertile bottom areas like the native inhabitants once did.
This map shows the location of Lake Mead in the south eastern corner of Nevada, in the Mojave Desert. The Lake Mead Recreation Area lies between the Great Basin and Sonoran Deserts and contains both arid (annual precipitation less than 10 inches per year) and semi-arid (10-27 inches of rain) regions. The predominant vegetation is Joshua Trees and creosote bushes.

Lake Mead with the RV Park in the foreground and Boulder Beach

the surrounding topography of Lake Mead, relatively unchanged since the lake's formation

Exploring Death Valley National Park

The Death Valley National Park newsletter describes the park as “the Hottest, Driest, Lowest and Wildest (contains the largest designated wilderness in the US outside Alaska).”

It certainly is that and more. Despite its morbid name, Death Valley National Park is very much alive and active, attracting folks with a variety of backgrounds and interests: archaeologists, geologists, historians, naturalists, zoologists, botanists, star gazers, explorers and adventurers (and retirees) come to experience all that Mother Nature has created over the past millennia.

Wilderness is the highest level of conservation protection afforded public lands and prohibits mechanical devices including bicycles and wheel barrows. It’s off limits to commercial enterprises but not people, and to qualify as wilderness it must have outstanding opportunities for solitude and primitive unconfined recreation. You can hike, climb, backpack, horseback ride, camp, marvel at the views, take photographs or simply sit in your comfy chair and gaze at the mountains surrounding the valley.

We spent a few days exploring Death Valley National Park 10 years ago. It was an intriguing place then, and a decade later Death Valley remains just as fascinating. 
Camping at Stovepipe Wells with our Alpine group of friends made this visit that much more memorable. 
We stayed for a week, found that it was just enough time to scratch the surface, and definitely want to return to explore and investigate the park more thoroughly.

all set up at Stovepipe Wells with the Smiths, Archers, Collins, and Hasmans

good friends, good company and good times 

At almost 3.4 million acres in size, Death Valley is the largest national park in the contiguous United States. To the west, Telescope Peak towers at over 11,000 feet, while to the east, Dante’s View peaks at over 5,400 feet. And in between lies a valley with the lowest point in North America, the Badwater Basin salt pan, at 282 feet below sea level. The difference in elevation is the most dramatic in a series of parallel mountains and valleys that extends from eastern California all the way to the Rocky Mountains. 
Once again, we got to enjoy and explore the dramatic result of plate tectonics that occurred here over millions of years after the earth’s crust got stretched out and pulled apart to create the steep peaks and slanted valleys of Death Valley.

Winter is a good time to visit. Summer highs can reach 120 degrees Fahrenheit or more. Back in 1913, aptly named Furnace Creek (elevation 190 feet below sea level) soared to a record temperature of 134 degrees Fahrenheit, the hottest recorded temperature in the world. 
Our weather on this visit was mixed. We had cooler weather   than expected and it rained one   day at the lower elevations in the valley, while snow sprinkled the mountain tops at higher altitudes. But the sun shone brightly most of the time and the clear night skies provided exceptional star gazing opportunities in this dark and desolate spot without adjacent city light glow. 

This barren landscape and the variety in geological formations offer wonderful photo opportunities. At different times of the day, the light highlights the various rocks that transform into palettes of striking color. 
It’s a story of millions of years of transformation: this area was once a lake, and also experienced periodic volcanic eruptions. What we see today are the remains of arid badlands with their yellows and tans, colorful canyon walls, and white gypsum and borax deposits on the valley floor. 
I took dozens of photos as we explored various areas.

salty deposits in the valley between the mountain ranges

colorful peaks

mountain edges that look like pleated folds 

spectacular colors of Artist's Palette

Furnace Creek, elevation 190 feet below sea level, has a terrific Visitor Center with displays and a film about the park and its history. I like to learn about the native people who were here centuries before western "discovery" of the area. Death Valley’s native people are the Timbisha Shoshone. Timbisha is their name for this valley and refers to a sacred red pigment found in the mountains overlooking the valley. Timbisha Shoshone inhabited this remote, arid, and hot place for the past one thousand years. With the advent of Western exploration, settlement and mining altered the landscape, diverting spring water and displacing traditional village sites. Western contributions to the history of the area are never without consequences, it appears. While the natives protected this inhospitable area, their stewardship was not readily recognized when the national park was first established. In 2000, the Timbisha became the first Native Americans to secure land rights within a National Park.Today the Timbisha and Park Service work together to protect the land and its resources. 

The first men to enter Death Valley were pioneers heading to the gold rush in 1849. Many gold seeking pioneers arrived at Salt Lake City to be told not to continue on as it was too late in the year and were advised to wait until spring. But the pioneers became restless and organized a wagon train of over 125 wagons with Captain Jefferson Hunt as their guide. At the present-day town of Enterprise, Utah, those impatient with the slow progress decided to take a shortcut toward Walker Pass, hoping to cut 500 miles off the journey.

Within a few days the wagon train came across a major cliff extending several miles in both directions. After about a month of slow progress through central Nevada, they reached the borders of Death Valley in December, arriving at Travertine Springs located near Furnace Creek. 
Why the name "Death Valley"? After stumbling into this desert, the pioneers had to deal with severe consequences, losing animals, wagons, one another, and sometimes lives. It was the Bennett-Arcan party that turned back and said, “Goodbye Death Valley” as they were finally led out by their rescuers.





At Stovepipe Wells there is a historical marker commemorating the hardships endured by the pioneers.

The thing about having a Jeep is that we can now venture out onto trails that are suitable for 4-wheel drive vehicles. One day we went in search of Darwin Falls. Yes, there are real falls in this inhospitable terrain. But you really need to know where to look.

We drove to the trailhead accessed via gravel road west of Panamint Springs, and hiked a mile up Darwin Canyon. After some rock scrambling we arrived at the 20-foot falls, a year-round spring-fed oasis in the desert.

the Alpine party in search of Darwin Falls

the Smiths, Weitzes and Mike Collins with Harley

Darwin Falls, a year-round source of water

On another day the two of us hiked into Mosaic Canyon. The featured attraction of this canyon is hiking within polished marble narrows filled with unique color patterns. 

entering the canyon

layers of marbled rock

At Badwater Basin we crunched our way across the salt flat at the lowest point in North America. Two to four thousand years ago this was the site of a 30-ft deep lake that evaporated and left a one-to-five-foot layer of salt in its wake. It is 4 times saltier than the ocean, remains a basin during winter but shrinks to a puddle size during the hot summer months. It has interesting salt formations.

standing 282 feet below sea level, marked on the mountain above me

walking across the salty expanse of Badwater Basin

a strange, rippled, salty surface

the salt appeared to form in the shape of hexagons

looks like snow and ice but it's salt

We gals went on several morning walks. One was to the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes. The tawny dunes rise to nearly 150 ft in some areas and are surrounded by mountains on both sides. The dunes are one of the many geologic highlights in this valley and the crescent contours are visible from afar, and are especially spectacular at sunset. 

made it to the top of the dune: Stephanie, Toni, Michele and me

Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes seen from the road

We all set out on the 40-mile juddery, unpaved, off-road vehicle drive along West Side Road to explore less accessible points of interest. 

lots of bouncing and dust

We took the turnoff to Shorty's Well, but couldn't find it.

no well, oh well....

Further along, there was a turnoff for a grave marker for two prospectors. This is where Jim Dayton and Frank "shorty" Harris lie buried. Apparently Jim Dayton died a horrible death according to a newspaper article: https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=LAH18990825.2.177
Frank Harris, a colorful character, was Dayton's friend and asked to be buried beside him. 
The inscription reads as follows:

Bury me beside Jim Dayton in the valley we loved. Above me write:

"Here lies Shorty Harris, a single blanket, jackass prospector."

Epitaph requested by Shorty (Frank) Harris, beloved gold hunter. 1856-1934

Here Jas. Dayton, pinoneer perished 1898.

To these trailmakers whose courage matched the dangers of the land, this bit of earth dedicated forever.

Here is a link to Frank "Shorty" Harris's story: http://www.legendsofamerica.com/nv-shortyharris.html

Gold, borax and talc were mined in Death Valley with limited success. We stopped to check out the ruins of the Eagle Borax Works, the first borax works in the valley, established in 1882 and operated for two years until the owner took his own life. Borax has been Death Valley's most profitable mineral. It's used in laundry detergent, cosmetics, insulation in walls and roof, in fire extinguishers, and ceramic dishes, as well as in the glass used on electronic touchpads. 

Borax is only present if volcanoes have added boron rich lava into the mix. 

today all that remains are mounds where the kilns once stood

The marker for Bennett's Long Camp is noteworthy because it marks the spot where the Bennett-Arcane contingent of the Death Valley 49-ers broke away from the rest of the wagon party and became stranded seeking a shortcut to the gold fields of California. They remained here for well over a month nearly perishing from starvation. Two young companions,Manly and Rogers, undertook an heroic journey on foot to San Fernando, returning with supplies, and then led the party to the safety of San Francisquito Ranch near Newhall.
Eventually we reached the turn off to Warm Spring Canyon which took us along more washes and rutted sand and gravel paths. Miles later, we began to see the remains of old mining shafts.

heading towards Warm Spring Canyon under grey skies and softly falling rain

an old abandoned mine shaft

how anyone discovered minerals worth mining in this remote area is in itself a feat

On Sunday we all went to brunch at the rather ritzy and historic Furnace Creek Inn, established in 1927. It remains an oasis in this desert, and boasts a warm spring fed pool and pretty garden with palm trees.

oasis in the desert, a natural spring pond surrounded by palms

spring fed pool

We'll be back again next year. There remains more to explore and investigate in this valley, not to mention re-visiting the attractions from our first visit 10 years ago.