The
morning's sunrise was subdued........................
................but
for a brief moment the sun streamed under the clouds.
It was time
to move on to new places.
The Spiders
followed us down Johnson Canyon Road.
We stopped at
the site of the Eagle Borax Works and remembered this was the operation that
the young engineer, Jean LeMoigne traveled all the way from France to work at.
With all of
our adventures in Death Valley National Park, the Spiders were surprised we had
never visited Natural Bridge. It was a bit
unnerving being around so many people at this popular stop.
But, it is a amazing place with this arch carved out of the towering cliffs of fanglomerate.
We continued
up the canyon leaving the majority of people behind.
We quickly
encountered a series of pour overs that the Lady flew up. Barking Spider was
wondering what she was getting us into.
The Spiders
were very happy to follow.
Barking even
lifted a large chockstone so we and others could scramble safely under.
The canyon
continued on but we had another place to explore.
There was
another very special place I hoped to find this trip. We had tried previously,
came close, but, although we knew we were close, did not locate. On this
attempt I simplified our approach and used the observed geology as our guide. I
was looking for distinctive layers and the possible treasure it held - fossil
camel tracks said to be 5 million years old.
Our search
paid off. We hit the jackpot.
Here's a
photo for scale.
These small
marks were the only other possible tracks of another animal I found.
This was
especially intriguing. A small channel existed when the tracks were made and a
camel slipped on the edge. The channel and the story the tracks tell is
preserved in this stone.
A short
distance away the layers were exposed running up the hill. I followed one camel's
tracks up to a ledge about 16 inches high. On the exposed higher surface were
also camel tracks, showing that the leaving of tracks and filling in with
sediments was continuing over many many years. I cannot overstate how exciting
it was to visit this spot.
Horses, sheep,
and camels, oh my!
It was New
Years Eve. What a way to polish off 2016!
We continued
on over Townes Pass and dropped down into Panamint Valley. The storm was backed
up on the eastern side of the Cottonwood Mountains but the late afternoon sun
was bathing the western flanks in glorious light. The Lady set up our camper as
I was awestruck. We all were. This was beautiful.
Telescope
Peak, the crest of the Panamint Range revealed its new covering of snow as the
sunlight faded.
The company,
the surroundings, the quiet, the night made for the best New Years Eve
celebration.
We awoke to
2017 and made our way home.
Memories and
dreams of this adventure will stay with us. And, our best wishes to all for a
Happy New Year.