Death Valley Postscript

We couldn't resist a return to two favorite desert haunts--Darwin Falls and Randsburg ghost town. The last time I was at Darwin Falls was in February, 1971. We had gone to Darwin on the happy occasion of ELECTRICITY finally coming to the small desert town. Darwin Falls was quite a ways from Darwin but still a beautiful oasis of 9 waterfalls in the middle of the desert. When Death Valley was made into a National Park it was also expanded to include Darwin Falls. And now there's a difference--PEOPLE!!! But the beauty and surprise of the falls and pools of cold water are not diminished.

This was a new sign in the rough town of Johanesburg on the way to Randsburg. These are old mining towns and they are not for wimps.

Randsberg had been a fun place in the 70ies. The same woman who tended bar back then still owns the place but she is now in her 90ies and doesn't work the hours she once did. I also remember a refugee from Los Angeles who built harpsichords in the solitude of the desert. He is gone now.

I found the town historian named Charlie in his shop-of-all-trades, aptly named CHARLIE'S. He was very friendly and filled us in on what life in Randsburg had been like since he moved there 26 years ago. By his reckoning, there are about 43 regular residents. There is more cafe and less store these days but a pretty good milkshake can still be had.

What a creative use of an old iron bedstead as a frame for an ocatillo!

A sadder state of affairs was the historic Catholic church. Poor old St. Barbara's has fallen--almost literally--into terrible disrepair. Check out the "flying buttresses" on one wall. Old telephone poles are holding up on side of the church. How much would it take to do the repairs and maintenance of such a simple, historical building? Yet 5 billion dollars can be paid out in sexual abuse lawsuits. One weeps.