Furnace Creek, CA - Harmony Borax Works

Harmony Borax Works in Death Valley National Park, California.
Look close and you can see the huge wagons.  20 mules pulled them
These "big teams" pulled massive wagons hauling borax from the Harmony Borax Works near Furnace Creek to the railhead near Mojave, a grueling 165 mile, ten day trip across primitive roads. 

Hoover Dam, AZ - Lake water is low

I took the new road to cross the border from Arizona to Nevada plus a little side trip to go check out the dam and see how the water is doing. You can see that it's low by the white marks around the edge of the water. So a beautiful piece of work and the new bridge, you can see it in the background, is amazing.

Nothing, AZ - The Sign Remains

I like to stop by and take a photograph of the spot merely to record it over time and how it's gone from a hustle bustle place to stop to a decent place to pull over and check on the sign. The big sign is now tilting and I don't think that it will be hanging there for very long. I have photos from when this was a place where you could stop and get food, there was an example of a jail, there were baby rattles and other fun things.

On One stop about 20-24 years ago the man inside explained all about the population of Nothing and how it went from 30 to 50 to 10 to 20 and he went on and on and on. This was on a trip with hockey players, and so I think I stop here just to remind them to stop along the way because nothing is going to be there forever.

Wickenburg, AZ - Meet at McDonald’s

When the group is heading north, north west it's easiest to plan to meet in Wickenburg. There are several large parking lots such as McDonald's and a Burger King that are on the right side of the road for pulling in, grabbing a coffee, and making a pitstop.

Step outside of the car and take a deep breath.  The smell of the big city is replaced by the local ranch smells!