Abandoned mines litter Death Valley’s history. In my last post, I featured one of the most successful mines in the area, the Harmony Borax Works. It was so successful that the twenty-mule team responsible for hauling its ore across the desert served as a logo for the long running TV show, Death Valley Days. The show was hosted by none other than Ronald Reagan in the 1964/65 season when I was a student at Berkeley. It’s possible I even watched an episode or two while avoiding the baton-wielding police sent to campus by Edwin Meese, Oakland’s District Attorney at the time— and Reagan’s future Attorney General.
Mercury, talc, gold, silver, sodium chloride, Epson salts, tungsten, and copper were some of the other minerals that miners pursued with visions of wealth dancing in their heads. Few were successful. Some 2000 mine ruins were left behind as their legacy. Ashford Mill is one such ruin. It was built by the Ashford brothers to process ore from their Golden Treasure Mine located 5 miles to the east in the Armargosa Range. The brothers alternated working the mine and leasing it out to various companies for over 30 years until they finally gave up in the early 40s. A lot of money, work and heartache was devoted to the effort, but the ‘golden treasure’ was not to be found. Today, all that remains of the mill are the cement walls of what was the office and a few remnants.
For all of our trips into Death Valley over the years, Peggy and I have never entered from the south end of the park. We remedied that this time by heading over to Pahrump from Las Vegas following Highway 160 and then cutting over to the remote town of Shoshone on 178 and on into Death Valley. Following are some of the photos that Peggy and I took illustrating this route.
NEXT POST: A bit of Las Vegas and the road north to Reno.
Wandering through Time and Place 
Thanks so much for showing me parts of Death Valley I never saw.
You are welcome, Peggy. It is always my pleasure to show off Death Valley. –Curt
With heatwave here in Australia and the Death Valley on this wonderful journey, Curt, I have taken to taking large bottle of water upstairs just in case of dehydration.
What beauty there is in the desolation of Death valley!
I noticed Peggy was well rugged up. It could not have been very hot.
We always carry extra water when we travel through there, Girard! 🙂 Although it’s cool at this time of the year.
I’ve been reading about the Australian heatwave. Our main concern today is getting home from Reno without having too much snow along the way! Yesterday it would have been floods. –Curt
What a wonderful world! Looks like you were smart enough to avoid visiting in summer. My first trip through Death Valley was in September in a VW bug with no A/C. A bit too warm for my liking then! 🥴
Laughing. September can still be hot. I suspect I traveled through there in a bug myself back in the day. But it would have been during the cooler months. It is a wonderful world, Gunta. It is strange and wonderful! –Curt
You certainly have a lot of connections to the history of the west, Curt. Berkeley, eh? In the news quite often back then!
Yes, it managed to grab a few headlines, G. 🙂 They were fascinating times, the 60s. –Curt
Peggy and the car are brilliantly colour coordinated!
And it wasn’t even planned! 🙂
Even so…
Pahrump? Harumph! Have you been there? I looked up the quirky-sounding name, and learned it’s based in the original indigenous name Pah-Rimpi, or “Water Rock,” for the artesian wells in the area. I also learned from Wiki that, “until the 1960s, Pahrump had no telephone service except a radio transmitter phone in a phone booth next to the small market, and there were no paved roads in or out of the Pahrump Valley.” That would have been a destination, back in the day.
Fun information, Linda. Thanks. This was our first trip to the town. It’s off the main route that Peggy and I usually follow on our journeys south. I’ve always been curious about it, however. The town is no longer sleepy! It’s closeness to Las Vegas has guaranteed that and they are now finishing up a four lane highway/freeway between the two locations. I suspect it will quickly become a bedroom community. Beautiful drive, I must say. –Curt
I could get completely lost in these photos. So so very beautiful.
Death Valley is filled with beauty, Sylvia. It’s easy to get lost there!
Love the pictures – and the ghost mine! I just love spots like that, you can really feel the history! 🙂
I always find ruins interesting, MB. They have a way of transporting in you back in time, but many are surprisingly photogenic, almost beautiful. –Curt
I completely agree – they seem so peaceful or something and it always shows in the photo!
Peggy looks cool indeed, and so do the ghost mill and the Death Valley landforms. We had to race through there too quickly; I’d love to go back and really take my time.
🙂 That she does. We’ve been to Death Valley a number of times, Lexi. And we have every intention of making it many more! –Curt
Love the landscape on the eastern side of the Sierra. There’s nothing quite like it and you’ve captured it beautifully, Curt!
Thanks, Kelly! So much beauty out there. –Curt
Those framed shots are terrific, Curt. Just watched The Passenger, a 1975 film by Antonioni starring Jack Nicholson and Maria Schneider that has fabulous photography. It’s rarely seen, for some reason, but well worth searching out.
Thanks, Dave. For both your comment and recommendation. Sorry it took so long to get back to you. The writers’ conference in SF has kept me occupied the last two weeks. –Curt
No probs, Curt, sounds a fascinating event!
Curt, you visit such interesting places! And your photos are lovely. Thank you for sharing your adventures with us.
Half the fun of having the adventures is sharing, Cynthia. Thanks. –Curt