Ranger Programs
Death Valley National Park
April 12 to April 19, 2009
Furnace Creek Visitor Center and Museum: Open 8 to 5 daily. Exhibits cover geology, climate, plants and animals, and human history of the park. The 15-minute orientation program runs continuously, 8:00 to 4:30. Orientation programs start at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday. Scotty's Castle Visitor Center and Museum: Open 8:30 to 5:00 daily. Exhibits about the history and the colorful characters of Scotty’s Castle. Step back in time to 1939 with a Ranger in period costume on a guided tour of Scotty’s Castle or a hard-hat tour of the basement and tunnel system. A fee is charged for each of these tours.
SUNDAY
9:00 - 5:00
April 12
Scotty’s Castle Tours Join a Ranger in period costume on a guided tour of the Castle or on a special tour of the underground tunnel system. 50 minutes each, $. Adventure Hike (Guided Walk) Join the Ranger to explore a seldom visited area of the park. Sign-up required, starting at 8 am the day before the hike at the FC Visitor Center. Bring water and hiking shoes. Moderately strenuous with some climbing and crawling, 2 miles, 3 hrs. Desert Photography (Guided Walk) Join a nature photographer for tips and techniques to improve your photographs for all cameras. Meet at the Golden Canyon parking lot. 1½ hrs. Voices From the Past 101 Ways to Die in Death Valley (Ranger Talk) Many dangers lurk in Death Valley, so there are unusual ways you could expire here if you're not careful. FC Visitor Center patio. 40 min. Star Program Boom & Bust (Evening Program) Death Valley mining camps were as ephemeral as desert wildflowers. Both depended on water. Take a look at boom....and bust times in Death Valley. FC Visitor Center Auditorium. 50 min.
TUESDAY April 14
9:00 - 5:00 10:00 a.m. Scotty’s Castle Tours See 4/12 description. Desert Photography (Ranger Talk) Join a nature photographer for tips and techniques to improve your photographs for all cameras. FC Visitor Center patio. 40 min. The Lost Boys (Ranger Talk) Learn about the near-fatal adventures of the lost 49ers in their wanderings in the “Valley of Death”. FC Visitor Center patio. 30 min. Sorry, No Evening Program Tonight
9:00 a.m.
2:00 p.m.
3:00 p.m.
8:00 p.m.
3:00 p.m.
WEDNESDAY April 15
9:00 - 5:00 10:00 a.m. Scotty’s Castle Tours See 4/12 description. The Spice of Life! (Guided Walk) Discover the strategies used by plants and animals to adapt to this hot, dry climate. Meet along Hwy 190 by the large Park-Entrance sign, 14 miles east of the FC Visitor Center. Easy, 1 mile, 1½ hr. Bad Men of Death Valley (Ranger Talk) A potpourri of less than perfect men (and women) whose lives were often cautionary tales and who worked with both gun and pen to do evil. Join us to find out what forced good men to be strong. FC Visitor Center patio. 45 min. Fish Tales! (Evening Program) Fish…in the desert? Pupfish have inhabited this area for thousands of years. Discover how these fish have adapted, endured human impacts, and survived in their own fishy way. FC Visitor Center Auditorium. 45 min.
8:00 p.m.
MONDAY April 13
9:00 - 5:00 10:00 a.m. Scotty’s Castle Tours See 4/12 description. Borax in the National Park (Guided Walk) Discover how the borax industry led to preservation of the National Park. Meet at the Harmony Borax parking lot. Easy, ½-mile. 1 hr. Scary Creepy Crawly Critters (Ranger Talk) Death Valley is home to rattlesnakes, scorpions, and tarantulas. The desert denizens terrify many of us, but just how dangerous are they? FC Visitor Center Patio, 30 min. Wagons, Trains, & Automobiles (Evening Program) How transportation changed Death Valley from unknown land, to land used, to land preserved. FC Visitor Center auditorium. 1 hr.
2:00 p.m.
8:00 p.m.
2:00 p.m.
8:00 p.m.
RANGER PROGRAMS (continued)
THURSDAY April 16
9:00 - 5:00 10:00 a.m. Scotty’s Castle Tours See 4/12 description. Badwater Walk (Guided Walk) Join a Ranger on a walk onto the salt flats. Learn about faults, springs...and all that salt. Meet at the Badwater parking lot. Easy walk. 1 mile, 1½ hrs. Hidden Heroes of Death Valley (Ranger Talk) What did it take to stand out in the old days? Discover heroes secluded in strange places and in the most unusual circumstances. FC Visitor Center patio. 40 min. Boom & Bust (Evening Program) Death Valley mining camps were as ephemeral as desert wildflowers. Both depended on water. Take a look at boom....and bust times in Death Valley. FC Visitor Center Auditorium. 50 min.
SATURDAY April 18
9:00 - 5:00 10:00 a.m. Scotty’s Castle Tours See 4/12 description. The Spice of Life! (Guided Walk) Discover the strategies used by plants and animals to adapt to this hot, dry climate. Meet along Hwy 190 by the large Park-Entrance sign, 14 miles east of the FC Visitor Center. Easy, 1 mile, 1½ hr. Dante’s Geologic View (Ranger Talk) Join us for an overview of park geology and unique topography. Meet at the Dante’s View Parking Area, 30 min. Heroes of Harmony (Guided Walk) Hear the stories of the Chinese workers, the 20-mule team drivers and the mine owner, all of whom reflect the bold spirit of Death Valley’s past. Meet at Harmony Borax Works, 1 mile north of the FC Visitor Center. 45 min. Wagons, Trains, & Automobiles (Evening Program) How transportation changed Death Valley from unknown land, to land used, to land preserved. FC Visitor Center auditorium. 1 hr.
2:00 p.m.
2:00 p.m.
8:00 p.m.
4:00 p.m.
8:00 p.m.
FRIDAY April 17
9:00 - 5:00 10:00 a.m. Scotty’s Castle Tours See 4/12 description. Voices From the Past (Guided Walk) Stroll through Cow Creek Historic District where the CCC camped and the Japanese Americans were temporarily interned. Their structures and stories still remain. Meet at the FC Visitor Center for a short car pool to Cow Creek. 1¼ hr. Borax, the White Gold (Ranger Talk) Borax and 20-mule teams are synonymous with Death Valley to many people. What is borax and why was it so important to the development of the National Park? FC Visitor Center Patio. 40 min. The Lost Boys (Ranger Talk) Learn about the near-fatal adventures of the lost 49ers in their wanderings in the “Valley of Death”. FC Visitor Center patio. 30 min. Star Program (Evening Program) Explore the starry skies to reach deeper into the beauty, precision, and inspiration of our universe. Short slide program followed by night sky viewing outside. Bring a jacket and binoculars if you have them. FC Visitor Center Auditorium. 45 min.
SUNDAY
9:00 - 5:00 10:00 a.m.
April 19
Scotty’s Castle Tours See 4/12 description. Desert Photography (Ranger Talk) Join a nature photographer for tips and techniques to improve your photographs for all cameras. FC Visitor Center patio. 40 min. Scary Creepy Crawly Critters (Ranger Talk) Death Valley is home to rattlesnakes, scorpions, and tarantulas. The desert denizens terrify many of us, but just how dangerous are they? FC Visitor Center Patio, 30 min.
2:00 p.m.
2:00 p.m.
3:00 p.m.
8:00 p.m.
END OF THE SEASON
No more Ranger Programs at Furnace Creek or Stovepipe Wells for the summer. See you next fall. Tours continue at Scotty’s Castle