evaporated again within
weeks, its reemergence
just goes to show the
tenacity of life in this
valley that appears
deceptively barren.The Drive » About 8 miles
north of Badwater, past the
turnoff to the Natural Bridge
trailhead on your right and
the bizarre salt crystals of the
Devils Golf Course on your left,
detour right onto Artists Drive, a
one-way 9-mile scenic loop (no
vehicles with trailers or over 25ft
long). Rejoining Badwater Rd,
drive 5 miles north, then turn
left onto Hwy 190 to Furnace
Creek.4 Furnace Creek
At Furnace Creek Ranch,
the park’s busiest tourist
hub, the Borax Museum(admission free; Hwy 190;
husually 10am-5pm)
lets you poke around
historical exhibits
about mining and the
famous 20-mule teams
that hauled mineral
ore out of Death Valley.
Out back are authentic
pioneer-era wagons and
stagecoaches. A short
drive north of the park’s
Furnace Creek Visitor
Center (%760-786-3200;
http://www.nps.gov/deva; Hwy 190;
h8am-5pm), walk in the
footsteps of Chinese
laborers as you examine
the adobe ruins of the
1880s Harmony Borax
Works on a scenic
side-trip loop through
twisting Mustard
Canyon.54 p339
The Drive » If you didn’t fill
up outside the park, Furnace
Creek has an expensive gas
station with 24-hour credit-
card pumps. Head north fromFurnace Creek on Hwy 190. After
less than 20 miles, turn left to
stay on Hwy 190 west toward
Stovepipe Wells Village. Just
over 5 miles later, pull into the
Mesquite Flat parking lot on
your right.5 Mesquite Flat
It’s time to take up
another strand of history
in Death Valley: the
story of the lost ’49ers.
When the California
gold rush took off in
1849, a small group of
pioneers chanced what
they hoped would be a
shortcut to the California
goldfields, leaving behind
the Old Spanish Trail.
Exhausted, dangerously
running out of food and
water, and struggling
with broken wagons and
worn-out pack animals,
the woeful group arrived
near Furnace Creek on
Christmas Eve. Failing to
get their wagons acrossStart: 1 Baker
For even more Wild West history than you’ll find in Death Valley’s abandoned mines
and ghost towns, head into the lonely Mojave National Preserve (%760-252-6100;
http://www.nps.gov/moja; admission free; h24hr), southeast of Baker off I-15. Start by touring
the beautifully restored Kelso Depot, with its modern museum of local history
and lore. Drive south to scramble around the Kelso Dunes, a field of ‘singing’ sand
that makes strange music when the wind blows just so. Further east at Hole-in-
the-Wall, scale the cliffs Native Americans used to escape Western ranchers, then
drive through Wild Horse Canyon or follow the old Mojave Rd blazed by Spanish
missionaries, fur trappers and traders and, oddly enough, camels on an 1867
military expedition. North of Cima look for the trailhead for Teutonia Peak, a 3-mile
round-trip hike through the world’s largest forest of Joshua trees, ending with
panoramic desert views peppered with colorful cinder cones.MOJAVE NATIONAL PRESERVE
DETOUR:
SOUTHERN.CALIFORNIA.32
(^) LIFE IN DEATH VALLEY