Living the Dream...: Friday, November 8, 2013 (Sunset Campground, Furnace Creek, Death Valley National Park, CA)

Today was a sightseeing day. We noticed on the National Park Activities sheet for this week that there was a guided tour of the Furnace Creek Inn
So we drove the short distance, arriving just before the 11:00 start time. The tour started near the lower parking lot where the Park Ranger started the tour by giving the history of why the hotel was built. Then we walked up the long driveway to the main entrance.

The Furnace Creek Inn was built by the Pacific Coast Borax Company as a means to save their newly built Death Valley Railroad. Mines had closed and shipping transportation was no longer needed, but mining tourist pockets seemed a sure way to keep the line active. The borax company realized travelers by train would need a place to stay and wealthy visitors accustomed to comfort would be attracted to a luxury hotel.

First opened for business in 1927, it was an immediate success. Unfortunately for the mining company, their railroad closed forever in 1930 when it became apparent tourists prefered the freedom of arriving to Death Valley in their own cars. Nonetheless, the Inn remained popular and construction continued for the next ten years.

This room used to be the cocktail lounge. Of course when the hotel was first built, there was no need for a bar because of prohibition. Later on though, with customers wanting to drink, this room was built. This room is under the main part of the hotel...they actually dug into the hillside under the hotel to make this room.

The old bar used to be along this wall...

Walls made of borax...

Tennis Courts...

Rooms below...

We had to go outside and downstairs to see the Marquise Room...

Designed by a prominent architect as well as a landscape architect, the 66 room inn sprawls across a low hill at the mouth of Furnace Creek Wash. With view over Death Valley and Panamint Mountains to the west, the Inn's location was well chosen but rather conspicuous. In less skilled hands, the Inn could have been a visual imposition on the otherwise natural landscape, but the both architects created a masterpiece in harmony with history and scenery. Red roofs, stucco exteriors, archways, arcades and tower were inspired by the old Spanish Missions on the California Coast. The Inn's wings wrap around a lovely garden of palms and flowing water; the Hollywood image of a fantasy desert oasis. The lower levels constructed of local stone seems to be a natural extension of the alluvial fan pouring out of Furnace Creek Wash.

Even with amenities such as a warm spring-fed swimming pool, tennis courts and nearby golf course, the Borax Company realized the primary attraction for their resort was its location in Death Valley. An oasis of comfort and luxury in a wild and desolate desert proved to be irresistible to tourists. The mining company understood Death Valley's rustic charms could be easily lost without some preservation. National Park status for Death Valley would not only limit damage from mining but also control excessive development (and competing hotels).

Tourists hesitant to visit such a morbid sounding place as Death Valley would know that it must be worth visiting if it was included with the nation's other crown jewels like Yosemite, Yellowstone and Grand Canyon.

The Stone building at the end of the pool is the most requested room by the rich and famous...

To promote the idea of Death Valley becoming a National Park, the company invited the Director of the National Park Service, Stephen Mather, and his assistant, Horace Albright to visit Death Valley in 1926. Although Mather was impressed by the scenery and agreed it was of national park quality, he declined to request to help. He knew the battle to convince Congress would be difficult and was afraid his involvement would sour the deal due to his personal history.

Prior to becoming NPS Director, Mather had worked for Pacific Coast Borax, and so had his father. To avoid scandal and accusations of showing favoritism, Mather suggested using the media to spread the word of Death Valley's wonders and start grass-roots support for protection of Death Valley.

What a great spot to enjoy the view in the daytime and stargaze at night! This deck overlooks the pool and gardens...

Magazine and newspaper articles and a successful radio program--Death Valley Days--were all tools used by the Borax Company. After Mather's death in 1930, Horace Albright became the NPS Director and felt free to promote the idea in Washington D.C. In February 1933, President Hoover signed a proclamation creating Death Valley National Monument. More than sixty years later, Death Valley finally was designated a National Park in 1994.

After a very informative tour (the Ranger was excellent) 90 minute tour, we were encouraged to wander down into the gardens.

Where's Waldo? (or...can you see me?)...

Such a lovely spot...

When it was time to go, we found our way back up to the tunnel that lead back to the lower parking lot, where we had started.

Interesting rock formations on the hillside as we left the parking lot...

We decided to go back to the trailer, have our lunch and then head out for a drive south. This afternoon, I would be doing the driving and we would be going down Badwater Road to Badwater Basin and onto Ashford Mill Ruins...about 47 miles including all of the scenery along the way.

Seventeen miles down Badwater Road we came to Badwater Basin. The salt flats in Badwater Basin cover nearly 200 square miles and are among the largest protected salt flats in the world. Salt flats are too harsh for most plans and animals to survive yet are quite fragile. Delicate crystals are easily crusted and the relatively thin upper crust of salt can break through to the mud layer below leaving tire tracks and even footprints. For this reason, vehicles are prohibited off established roads in Death Valley.