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Death Valley National Park

Big Rock Candy Mountain?

Is this the Big Rock Candy Mountain that the late Burl Ives made famous in the 1950s? Nahhh, but it should be.

The one Burl sang about is located in central Utah. According to the Utah Geological Survey, the folks living around Marysvale stuck a sign in front of a mountainside with decided volcanic origins. And indeed that mountain is somewhat colorful, with shades of red, yellow, umber and white.

Kurt Repanshek

Creature Feature: Feral Burros are "Equina Non Grata" in the National Parks

Guys who holler “watch this!” just before they do something incredibly stupid aren’t the only jackasses in our national parks. We’ve got the real kind too, and where there are feral burros the habitat is degraded and native wildlife suffer. Cute though they may be, burros are unwelcome in our national parks.

How'd They Do That?

Racetrack, Death Valley National Park, Kurt Repanshek photo.

One of the great mysteries of the National Park System is how the rocks in a far off corner of Death Valley National Park manage to scoot along the ground.

Unfortunately, due to the teeth-jarring, rig-wrecking washboard road you have to negotiate for 27 miles to see the Racetrack, not many folks actually get to ponder this mystery while gazing at the rocks and their trails.

Kurt Repanshek

Chimes Tower, Death Valley Ranch

Chimes Tower, Kurt Repanshek photo

Visit Death Valley Ranch, home of Scotty's Castle, in Death Valley National Park and your eye can't help but be drawn to Chimes Tower. When construction got under way in November 1928, Albert Johnson already had purchased a 16-tone carillon chime to be installed in the tower.

According to National Park Service records, in April 1930 Johnson purchased nine additional tones and an automatic roll player for the tower. The first set of chimes was installed that year, and a second set was installed in 1946.

Kurt Repanshek

INN Member

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