Our Jeep club has joined with another and now we are the Pahrump Valley 4 Wheelers. Saturday Vic and I, with eight other jeeps, headed to Titus Canyon which is one of the premier destinations in Death Valley. While it is not a challenging drive (in good weather), it is a dirt road of more than 26 miles with awesome scenery and an interesting but short-lived mining history. 
We begin the dirt road portion of the day with picturesque clouds.
Mere words can't describe the views. The following photos say more than I can convey.
Note the switchbacks cut into the mountainsides in the next two photos.
From the summit at Red Pass, 5250 feet.
And in the other direction
A mine for our explorations
In 1926 investors were needed for the Western Lead Mines. To induce potential investors the owner, Charles Julian, offered a free meal and a tour of the mine. A road was built from Beatty to the mine, a distance of nearly 30 miles. A fifteen-car special train was chartered which brought folks from Los Angeles to Ludlow, CA. Another railroad's locomotive brought the train to Beatty where a fleet of autos waited to carry the folks to Leadfield. They were greeted by a band while lunch was served to over one thousand people. His ploy was a success as the stock more than doubled in value even thought the nearest water was 2 1/2 miles distant. By the end of the year there was no lead, the owner was investigated for security irregularities and the post office closed - all in less than 12 months.
Below Leadfield the canyon narrows.
Unfortunately some of the petroglyphs have been defaced. Klare Springs is the only water source in the entire canyon thus the site was well known by prehistoric Indians.
The canyon narrows to only 20 ft. and towers a few hundred feet above us
then widens out again
We exit into the valley
and stop along the roadside for lunch
then widens out again
We exit into the valley
and stop along the roadside for lunch
We then head for Chloride Cliff. This is an area that was dotted with mine exploration. Silver ore was discovered in the early 1870s. The early miners had to go 250 miles to Barstow, CA for groceries. Eventually gold, silver, lead and cinnabar were found but the ore was mostly of low grade. Only the size of the veins made it feasible to mine. Production of the cinnabar was in excess of one million dollars.
One could keep busy exploring roads for an entire day as they cover the hillsides.
There are fabulous views into Death Valley. On clearer days one can see Mount Whitney 80 miles distant. 
One last mine for the day.....
Sunset nears as we approach civilization once again
There are fabulous views into Death Valley. On clearer days one can see Mount Whitney 80 miles distant. 
One last mine for the day.....
Sunset nears as we approach civilization once again
