Zabriskie Point

Death Valley badlands

"The otherworldly badlands around you are deathly silent and still.  Yet this arid scene is often the result of the violent action of water and earthquakes."
(~sign on site)

Long ago, shimmering lakes filled the valley.  Silt washed into the lakes creating thick deposits of clay, yellow sandstone, and tan siltstone.  Flung into the lakes, hot mud, lava, and volcanic ash caused streaks of color.  This created the Furnace Creek Formation.  Seismic activity tilted the once level layers.  Rainstorms cause gullywashers that continue to carve out this strangely beautiful landscape. 

In July of this year, hubby and I began our visit to Death Valley here.  Unlike much of Death Valley which is at or below sea level, Zabriskie Point is 713 feet (217 meters) above sea level.

Borax, a combination of the element boron and various salts, has been mined here.  (The last of the mines closed in 2005.)  Borax can be found in laundry detergent, cosmetics, insulation in walls and roofs, fire extinguishers, ceramic dishes, and the glass in electronic touchpads.

looking down on the parking lot

LINKS:
mining in Death Valley, National Park Service
hikespeak 
National Parks Traveler  interesting!
The 20 MuleTeam borax brand spawned a radio show that later became a TV show.  Called Death Valley Days, it ran for many years.  Ronald Reagan appeared on this show!  (link includes a clip of this show but don't know if Reagan is in it.) 

Alphabe-Thursday, hosted by Ms Jenny, is so much fun!  This week our letter is  "Z."  Come visit others' submissions HERE  and join in the fun!  

PS:
uses of Borax:
"Borax is well known as an ingredient in high efficiency laundry detergents, but it's most important modern use is in the production of fiberglass and borosilicate glass. The element Boron has powerful abilities to stengthen, toughen and make fire-resistant glasses, metals, wood, and fibers. It is used in appoximately three hundred high-tech products. A few of its uses are as soldering flux, in welding rods, as preservatives for wood and fabric, as fire retardant, in insecticides, in pottery glaze, as antiseptics, in hybrid fuels, and in experimental fuel cells." ~from National Park Service site

photos by me  © 2014   all rights reserved 

photographs

random photographs from this summer... 

Because my hubby and I were attending our niece's wedding in July in San Diego, we decided to visit Death Valley on the way--yep--in the middle of Summer! Here we are having fun with shadows on the western edge of the park looking out to the Panamint Mountains. 

The wedding was so wonderful!  The ceremony and the reception were held outside.  Banners and lights were strung in several courtyard areas.  

The day after the wedding, the bride and groom escorted 13 of us into Baja California, Mexico for wine tastings.  First up--tacos and paletas.  Then we had all the energy necessary to visit 4 wineries!  At one of them, there was a grape tasting garden.  I wish I remembered what variety these are.

back home again to a waiting kitty!

and a mini garden harvest

My 9 year old twin goddaughters came over to play for an evening.  We had lots of fun!  Oliver (kitty) enjoyed man little girl-handling, we made fun food, and played flashlight tag.  This ice cream lady was inspired by Samantha Lee's amazing food art.  ("Lola" was made of 2 kinds of ice cream, strawberry lips and cheeks, chocolate sauce eyebrows, hair of oreo-type cookie surrounded by chocolate sauce.  A tree was made of cantaloupe branches and pieces of fruit for leaves and blossoms.) 

2 trips to Asheville, NC to visit my daughter and SIL.  We always work on a house project.  Sometimes we explore the town or the mountains.  We always have awesome food --and wine.  (My daughter's a wine rep!)  Recently, we were working on converting a carport into a greenhouse.  Alas, we didn't finish.

Yesterday, I was playing around with my iPhone taking photos of my flowers.  The asters have just begun to bloom.  It must be Fall.  See the beetle?

Alphabe-Thursday, hosted by Ms Jenny, is so much fun!  This week our letter is  "P."  Come visit others' submissions HERE and join in the fun!  


 
photos by me  © 2014   all rights reserved