I started to take a job here in 2005 but decided against it due to the extreme heat. I lived 65 miles from Furnace Creek and where I worked we were doing repairs for people who had car problems while they were staying at the resort. The resort had their own wrecker and would tow the vehicles to us and come and deliver them back to the owners. So I had a large dodge motor home and thought about moving out there and I drove out one day and seen the manager and talked to him a while. I could have taken the job but at the last moment I thought about my two dogs and I would not be able to keep an eye on them even if they were living at the motor home. I could have kept them cool using a water cooler but I was more concerned with someone stealing one of the dogs. It was about 120 in summer and just not a good place to be living, at least not for me and the two dogs. The wrecker driver told me the trailer that the resort provided for him to live had an air conditioner in every window. He said you could stand with your back to the wall and could feel the heat on the wall. Anyway these photos were taken a bit later on a road trip with friends visiting from Houston. The steam vehicle was one of three that was built to replace the 20 mule team borax wagons. They proved to be unreliable and this one in the photo was the only one left. It was out in the middle of the desert because when it was in use there was no way to bring it back to where ever it was based. I looked at the seat sitting on the engine and thought about that 120 degree heat while sitting next to a steam engine out in the sun. The stage is from the old Overland Stage. I imagine there are things left out there in the desert still. When the silver and gold mines went dry it was natural for the entire village or small town to up and leave as a group, because there was no water if there was no one to bring it in by wagon. That was why in the past those places were found with the dining table set and personal belongings exactly as they were left when they all loaded up what they could and got out fast. They became Ghost towns !
Just out of curiosity, where were you living? Since I once hiked from Lathrop Wells to Furnace Creek, I know the area fairly well and have some first hand knowledge of how hot it can get.
LOL! Small world. My son’s mother and I had 27 acres of desert property that is now part of Pahrump. Don’t know about now, but it was a nice town some 40 years ago. All the “hi, I’m from” signs in some neighborhoods in front of people’s houses was a nice touch. At the time, I lived and worked right next door to the Shamrock cathouse in Lathrop Wells and also did a 6 month stint in Indian Springs.