Tuesday brought our second day in the park, and more adventure than one could possibly hope for! Our plan for the day was to check out a few more of the "touristy" spots, run two trails and meet up with the parentals in Stovepipe Wells to camp. I had also gotten an email from Linda who had managed to get her RV fixed and was heading to the park, so I directed her to Stovepipe as well.
So we were off, being responsible park visitors, we stopped in at the visitor center to pay for our pass and get some maps. A few folks were interested in the FJ but we didn't think too much about it. We left the center and headed down the road towards the Harmony Borax Works. Suddenly, we were pulled over by two Park Rangers who decided to read us the riot act. Unbeknownst to me just the day before when we were checking out the Artists Drive, some different Park Rangers had gone to the hotel to look for us. They had gotten reports that we had been driving off a designated road in the park, etc. The situation was taken care of at that time and considered closed.
Apparently these two didn't get the memo. In an attempt to make a long story short, these guys were pretty much looking to bust us on anything. First it was asking if we were running tours without a permit in the park because of the Sierra Expeditions stickers; then it was are we selling stuff out of the back of the truck...oh yes officer we just drove 9 hours to sell our only fridge that happens to be stocked with food. Finally he pulled Josh out of the car and told him that he didn't really pull him over for running that stop sign (which was the initial infraction), he pulled us over because of the supposed incident of driving off road the day before. After trying to drive the fact that we have 3 maps showing a road there through this guys head we finally showed him the maps. He finally decided that we had indeed followed the maps, but still chose to ticket us for running a stop sign, which he even said we didn't do. Thanks National Parks Service!!
Moving on from that drama, we continued on to Harmony Borax Works and tried to not let the incident ruin our day. There were lots of buildings, old equipment and a wagon all left from the Works, and we were beginning to realize just how much mining had gone on in Death Valley.
Next stop was the Salt Creek to see the pupfish. We were told we had just come at the right time to see this once-a-year event so we had to stop. Even in mid March the sun was intense walking down the little boardwalk next to this tiny creek. Many of the pupfish are endangered and are the only things to really adapt to this extra salty water. The pupfish only live for about a year, so many were busy doing it. **Warning Pupfish Porn**
Our next destination was Chloride Cliff on the northeastern side of the park. We were told that most of the wildflowers out at the time were through Mud Canyon so we took that route. There were certainly some pretty yellows and purples along the road, but nothing like I had been expecting. While we were stopped for pictures there was a callout to us on the radio - it was Tim and Danica! We were hoping to camp and run with them through DV but the timing wasn't quite right. Luckily though, they were about 5 miles behind us on the same road and also planning on running to Chloride Cliff, so we waited for them at the trailhead.
While we were waiting, we got another call over the radio, this time from bob and Diane. They were not feeling well, so they had decided to head home to Huntington. We were sorry to see them go, but it was a fun adventure with them anyway! Tim and Danica arrived and we went down the trail, which wasn't very exciting. There wasn't much left of the mining town Chloride City, but at the end of this spur we climbed up a steep hill and had the most amazing view of DV. Words cannot describe the area. We relaxed and had a late lunch, saw a Chuckwalla and soaked up the view.
The afternoon was carrying on so we headed down the mountain an into Beatty, Nv. Unfortunately Tim and Danica had to head to Tucson so they departed towards Vegas. Somewhere on this route we lost our R2 flag! After gassing up in Beatty, it was getting pretty late in the day but we really wanted to run Titus Canyon trail. Fortunately the late time meant not a lot of traffic. With the sun setting there were fantastic shadows on the hills and mountains. Then we entered the canyon and were surrounded by huge rock walls on both sides. An easy trail but one of the best in the park for sure.
As we exited the canyon Linda called to us on the radio - she was at the dunes at Stovepipe Wells and reported that the campground there totally sucked. Dispersed camping is VERY limited in the park, so we figured our best bet was to head about 35 miles up the road to the Mesquite Spring campground near Scotty's Castle. It was a much smaller campground but quiet and nice. We got a decent spot for both trucks, had some dinner and hung out by the fire for a while. Things didn't go as planned today, but it still worked out for the best!!
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