Letter 3: Las Vegas and Death Valley Saturday, April 10, we pulled into Las Vegas and found a referred park close to downtown for only $15 a night. It was within walking distance the downtown casinos. Olivia was talking to JoAnn Clark when she noticed a water
guiser outside the window. As it happened while Fred was attaching the water hose to the tap, the tap broke hitting Fred in the chest, drenching him and knocking him on his rear. Fortunately he was not hurt. After Fred changed and the park staff considered the problem, we scouted out the Texas Hold’m games and ate supper at the old
Sunday, April 11 Olivia decided to visit with her classmate Jo Ann Wilmoth Clark and her husband Will. She drove out to their home in Sun City, a part of Vegas, and the two attended her
Abundant Grace Church. This was a different church for Olivia and she welcomed hearing the guest for the day, Dallas Holm. His was a new name to Olivia since she is not current with Christian music writers and singers. He has won many awards and this day he was their speaker for the morning. We’re sure many of you have heard of him. His most famous song is “Here we are.” He asked for several to testify then relayed the importance of witnessing. He told of an Islamic family who had become Christians through their dreams, as are many of their countrymen. Jesus is working through their dreams. We are all disciples when we have decided to follow Jesus. We are the body of Christ, and his hands to do his work.
After church we picked up Will and went to lunch at On the Border. Olivia enjoyed visiting with JoAnn and Will and we will enjoy having them in Waxahachie for the Class of ’61 reunion in October.
Now, while Olivia was going to church and out to eat, Fred was seeing the other side of Vegas. Fred entered the small (14 players) 10 am tournament. It was fun. He was “on” his game and won 1st place. So now he is ahead money wise. He decided to enter the 2 pm game. This is a much bigger game with 83 players. The object is to be last man with chips. Fred played okay for the first four hours, made a few bad calls and on the last hand he got aggressive when he should have folded. So after five and one half hours he was eliminated. He finished 19th of the 83 players. Not bad, but not good enough. Fred has been second guessing himself ever since, but says he will get over it and maybe learn a lesson from the experience. He still came out a winner for the day, so it wasn’t all bad.
Monday, April 11, we drove north of town to an Indian reservation for Fred to buy cigarettes before we go into California with their high taxes. Upon looking at the map Olivia saw there was a scenic route to Boulder Dam. She wanted to see the new bridge. This scenic route was only a few miles further than retracing our steps through Vegas.
The first part of this route took us to Valley of Fire State park where we saw huge amounts of red sandstone formations, formed from great shifting sand dunes during the age of dinosaurs, 150 million years ago. Our first stop was to see
Beehives formed by wind and rain. As we took a short walk to Mouse’s tank, we saw aMouse’s tank, we saw a
space ship, or boat, carved into a larger rock and lots of
petroglyphs. On our walk to this tank children were climbing all over rocks and in holes. It was warm and we were glad it wasn’t summer. In 1897 a Moapa Paiute nicknamed “Mouse” worked at Bonelli’s landing on the Colorado River. He began wildly shooting up the Indian camp. Bonelli disarmed and fired him. Allegedly Mouse later murdered two prospectors before disappearing. While hiding out he camped by a “well of pure water” in the Valley of Fire at the place now called
Mouse’s Tank.
Rainbow vista was another stop in the park along with
elephant rock.
Mouse’s Tank.
Rainbow vista was another stop in the park along with
elephant rock. The next part of our scenic tour lead us to the west of Lake Mead and eventually to Boulder Dam where we drove across the dam to see the
completed new bridge, then we drove across the
new bridge where Olivia
walked out on the new bridge to take a picture of
Lake Mead, Boulder Dam and the Colorado River. On the way back to the trailer we stopped at the 
Gold & Silver Pawn Shop as seen on the History Channel in Pawn Stars. People line up in the morning to get in as we saw the next morning. We were surprised that it was not large, but the quality of goods seemed to be excellent. We have only heard about this show, but do plan to watch when we can.
completed new bridge, then we drove across the
new bridge where Olivia
walked out on the new bridge to take a picture of
Lake Mead, Boulder Dam and the Colorado River. On the way back to the trailer we stopped at the 
Gold & Silver Pawn Shop as seen on the History Channel in Pawn Stars. People line up in the morning to get in as we saw the next morning. We were surprised that it was not large, but the quality of goods seemed to be excellent. We have only heard about this show, but do plan to watch when we can. Tuesday, April 12 we drove west to Death Valley. We found this highway one big gulley flowing to the valley. The road we entered was totally in a river bed, in fact we found in 2005 the road had been destroyed with a 2” rain. Death Valley is a geologist heaven with all the minerals and rock formations found here. As we drive down the roads we find they are all jumbled up, first one then another. We camped at 198’ below sea level, but drove to the lowest point 310’ where we saw a
sign on the mountain showing “Sea Level.” In this area the dynamics of crustal movement changed and Death Valley proper began to form. This “pulling apart” of Earth’s crust allowed large blocks of land to slowly slide past one another along faults, forming alternating valleys and mountain ranges. Badwater Basin, the Death Valley salt pan comprise one block that is rotating eastwards as a structural unit. The valley floor has been steadily sinking. Close to sunset we drove the
Artist Drive and viewed the
Artist Pallet.
sign on the mountain showing “Sea Level.” In this area the dynamics of crustal movement changed and Death Valley proper began to form. This “pulling apart” of Earth’s crust allowed large blocks of land to slowly slide past one another along faults, forming alternating valleys and mountain ranges. Badwater Basin, the Death Valley salt pan comprise one block that is rotating eastwards as a structural unit. The valley floor has been steadily sinking. Close to sunset we drove the
Artist Drive and viewed the
Artist Pallet. Wednesday, April 13 we awoke about 3:00am to a very strong wind and it persisted all day. We drove north to Scotty’s Castle observing a
strange orange plant, or attachment to the creosote bush and sage in the desert. Sure enough it is a parasite called “dodder.” It was moist and soft. Even though it eventually kills the host plant, it is beautiful to see.
Scotty's castle Scotty did not own the palace, but was the entertainer for the owners. He met them as a con man selling a gold mine, but it was bogus. The owners Albert and Bessie Johnson came out to see the gold mine and found out the scam. They were so happy with the entertainment, relaxation and a beautiful desert retreat; they allowed Scotty to have a room in their palace while entertaining their guests.
strange orange plant, or attachment to the creosote bush and sage in the desert. Sure enough it is a parasite called “dodder.” It was moist and soft. Even though it eventually kills the host plant, it is beautiful to see.
Scotty's castle Scotty did not own the palace, but was the entertainer for the owners. He met them as a con man selling a gold mine, but it was bogus. The owners Albert and Bessie Johnson came out to see the gold mine and found out the scam. They were so happy with the entertainment, relaxation and a beautiful desert retreat; they allowed Scotty to have a room in their palace while entertaining their guests. Mr. Johnson was an engineer and delighted in planning the house and the heating and cooling on alternative energies. Today the rangers dressed in 1939 period costume unveiled the rich history of the Death Valley Ranch, better known as Scotty’s Castle. There were several entertaining rooms including the
Great room. As the depression hit, the Johnson’s decided to rent out vacation rooms to their wealthy friends with their help providing meals from a cook house, so the Johnson’s built a small private 
kitchen just for them in the big house. Our second tour was of the 
underground part of the house where we learned all about the plumbing, electrical and water works. The tunnels built from house to building also became a store room for the
extra tiles bought before the rail road closed. When the depression hit, the construction stopped, therefore all the tiles were left unused. The pool was never finished, and all the beautiful pool tiles were also in the tunnels. There were
120 Edison batteries in the basement. They would still work, if filled with water. Water was the driving force for this castle. The spring above the house ran the whole place. Leaving the castle we visited the
Obehebe Crater where we saw a bus load of tourist had hiked down the trail 500’ to a huge smiley face of rocks in the light colored center. This volcano formed as recently as 300 years ago.
Great room. As the depression hit, the Johnson’s decided to rent out vacation rooms to their wealthy friends with their help providing meals from a cook house, so the Johnson’s built a small private 
kitchen just for them in the big house. Our second tour was of the underground part of the house where we learned all about the plumbing, electrical and water works. The tunnels built from house to building also became a store room for the
extra tiles bought before the rail road closed. When the depression hit, the construction stopped, therefore all the tiles were left unused. The pool was never finished, and all the beautiful pool tiles were also in the tunnels. There were
120 Edison batteries in the basement. They would still work, if filled with water. Water was the driving force for this castle. The spring above the house ran the whole place. Leaving the castle we visited the
Obehebe Crater where we saw a bus load of tourist had hiked down the trail 500’ to a huge smiley face of rocks in the light colored center. This volcano formed as recently as 300 years ago. Back at the Furnace Creek Area Fred filled the car with the
California tourist prices. We learned:
Borax resembles quartz crystals, fibrous cotton balls or earthy white powders. They originated in hot springs or vapors with the outpouring of volcanic rocks such as the colorful formations of Artists Drive. Borax was mined in Death Valley from the 1870’s until the national park service took over the area. Transportation was solved by hitching 20 mule teams to gigantic borax wagons with a payload in tandem of over 20 tons. Like the older generation remembers on the TV show, “Death Valley.”
Rainbow Canyon in the dark lava flows.
California tourist prices. We learned:
Borax resembles quartz crystals, fibrous cotton balls or earthy white powders. They originated in hot springs or vapors with the outpouring of volcanic rocks such as the colorful formations of Artists Drive. Borax was mined in Death Valley from the 1870’s until the national park service took over the area. Transportation was solved by hitching 20 mule teams to gigantic borax wagons with a payload in tandem of over 20 tons. Like the older generation remembers on the TV show, “Death Valley.” Borax is still used in a multitude of ways including pottery glazes, china and porcelain enamel. Heat-resistant borosilicate glass goes into ovenware, lenses and fiberglass. As a flux and deoxidizer, borax is used in welding, soldering, brazing, smelting and refining metals. As a mild antiseptic, it is used in disinfectants, gauze, salves and eyewash. It is also a mold-retarding wash on citrus fruits, leathers and textiles. It is a preservative in cosmetics, glues and food. As solvents and emulsifiers, borax solutions are used in manufacturing coated papers, playing cards, plywood, plaster, paint and leathers.
In fertilizers it prevents boron-deficiency diseases of celery, turnips, apples, tobacco, sugar beets and alfalfa. In high concentrations it is a weed killer. Boron-steel alloys go into armor plate. A new boron fiber developed by the space program is lighter than aluminum but stronger than steel. Boron carbide for cutting tools is an abrasive second only to diamonds in hardness.
Additional uses of borates include gasoline additives, photo developers, rocket fuels, and buffers in electroplating solutions, corrosion inhibitors in antifreeze, fire retardant chemical (borax bead) tests, dye stabilizers and muleskin cleaners. WOW! And it is still used as a laundry detergent, hand soap, water softeners, shampoos, facial cleansers and food preservatives. Where would we be without borax? It is still mined south of the park.
Thursday April 14 as we left Death Valley we headed west and over two passes. The first had 9% grade. When we came in from the east we entered at 3,000’, but today we exited to 5,000’. On the last pass we stopped at Father Crowley Vista where we saw a large gully. Actually, it was a gash of
Rainbow Canyon in the dark lava flows.Again we remind you that we love hearing from you, so contact us at
Olivia@bobheck.com or Fredharrington@yahoo.com
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