Report of the 2005 Death Valley Adventure - Part Three of Four
The second full day of touring in the National Park allowed us to exploit the ghost town of Rhyolite. Near the turn of the 20th century, this spot attracted over 10,000 souls intent on mining the gold discovered there. The old train station, still fenced off - has at various times been the subject of speculative development as a casino.
Part 4 of 4 -> or
HomeBut the prospects probably aren't that good - since there's a gambling spot close by. Still, some of the artifacts of the old railroad are there, including a caboose, and an opportunity for the Roadrunners to pose.
A mere five miles from Beatty, Rhyolite has been the scene of Roadrunners' official racing venue for all the years of our annual scheduled runs.
The racing is conducted soapbox derby style, which is to say - coasting down a mile long hill to the entrance to the Bullfrog mine.
The system is to set up a series of heats with different competitors in each. If a racer runs his engine ( to insure lubrication of the transmission ) during coasting downhill, the clutch and gears may not be engaged.
After the winners of all the heats are assembled, the annual champion is determined. In 2005, that was Louie May on his GL1500SE. A couple of additional attractions are there too, including the bottle house, now fenced, protected and equipped with a antique, volunteer docent who repeats a set piece about how the Aussie built it in 1903 " out of 30,000 bottles 'cause he didn't have bricks"
A change from years past was a look inside the bottle house and the furnishings which no doubt have been recently restored.
And an addition of concrete pieces, festooned with chips of colored glass to decorate the yard of the old place.
After our visit and a benchracing session with a group of riders from Pasadena, we continued over to the park. Posing for this shot:
As usual there is much to see and do in a park bigger than the state of Delaware. The Harmony Borax Works stands as the memorial to the "white gold" mined in the last decade of the 19th century for a mere five years.
Borax was used then ( and now ) for many personal and manufacturing applications. The 20 mule team ( actually 18 mules and two horses) pulled these wagons 165 miles from the works to the railhead at Mojave. The load weighed some 37 tons, and was comprised of the borax which had been refined in the vats at the site. Temperatures over 120 degrees prevented the crystallization of the materials, so the mid-summer months, were not worked.
Our last overnite at Beatty followed a visit to the NPS museum and visitors' center, where a number of historical, geological and nature study exhibits are displayed. Stand by for the final chapter of this adventure and our return home. John the Interlocutor