The year was 1907 and many still suffered from the gold fever that started almost six decades earlier.  Harold Ashford came to Death Valley in search of this treasure called gold.  While death Valley is known for the Twenty Mule Team branded borax mining, many other minerals were mined, including gold. 

Ashford discovered that the Keys Gold Mining Company had failed to do the proper assessment work on some of its claims and he took them over.  The Keys Company tried to sue Ashford to get them back but lost in court.  Ashford built the mill site on the floor of the valley, five miles from and 3,500 feet below his gold mine in the Black Mountains to the east.  The ore proved to be not as rich and the cost greater than the gold obtained.  Ashford leased the mine over the years.  At times the lease holders would fail to pay him.  Ironic the lease thief became a victim of thieves himself. 

Ashford and he and his two brothers would work the mine from time to time when not in court trying to get justice.  The last reported mining took place in 1941, 76 years ago.  All that remains of the mill site is the stone walls of an office and concrete footings of the mill.  The mine, miles up a steep road, offers the adventurous good exploring.  We only surveyed the mill site.

Death Valley has such a rich history and we enjoy exploring it.  As we are here for the art show later in the week, we will enjoy the rich diversity of visitors from all over the United States and from all over the world.

Today we celebrate nine years of marriage. It has been nine wonderful years and we look forward to many more years together.  Another milestone we celebrate in March is the beginning of our fifth year of retirement.  We are spending the week, here in Death Valley, enjoying the mild weather and desert sites like no other found on earth. 

Had we stood in this spot 20,000 years ago we would be at the bottom of 600 foot deep Lake Manly.  We could have drowned!  The lake stretched from the Black mountains on the east to the Panamint mountains on the west and was some eleven miles long.,. Imagine the crystal clear blue waters of Lake Manly, surrounded by thick forests of trees and abundant wildlife.  Today a salt plane, 282 feet below sea level, the lowest place in North America. 

We are back here for the Death Valley Spring Art Show later this week.  God is good and we thank Him for all that we have.

 A fire-breathing creature that terrorized many according to early literature, still popular today, the dragon appears in many forms.  Since there is often some truth in every legend I would suppose a creature of some kind did exist.  The Bible describes a dragon called Leviathan, an ominous creature indeed.

What is real is their popularity in Sherry’s artwork.  Pictured here is an Evershine Pewter dragon together with an ammonite fossil and a sea biscuit, a fossil sand dollar – sold.  As I complete this post, Sherry is busy making new pieces.  The dragon myth or real, will continue to live on – at least in our imaginations – and in Sherry’s work. 

Never give up on your imagination and never give up on your dreams.