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Keane Wonder Mine, 10/27/2019
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Hell's Gate235 viewsThis is where the Beatty Cutoff branches off the Daylight Pass Road to head toward Highway 190 and Furnace Creek. It also took us to the turnoff to Keane Wonder Mine. It really was the gate to Hell on this day, given the conditions on the Valley floor.
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Dust Storm in Death Valley268 viewsThe floor of Death Valley as seen from the turnoff to Keane Wonder Mine on the Beatty Cufoff Road, about 10 AM on Sunday, Oct. 27.
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Boudika in Jeopardy?255 viewsLooks as if the dust storm will quickly advance up the hill and engulf JoAnn's beloved pickup in the Keane Wonder Mine parking lot, but it didn't.
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Hazard Warning363 viewsI couldn't figure out why such a sign might be necessary. Everything seemed perfectly new, spiffy and in great working order.
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On to the mine320 viewsIgnoring the hazard warnings, we ambled from the parking lot up the hill toward the mine.
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Aerial Tramway274 viewsWe were going to take the tramway to the top of the hill, but it turned out to be closed on Sunday.
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Mine Camp and Mill295 viewsIt turns out this isn't actually the mine, which is at the top of the hill; it's just the area where the ore was processed after being hauled down the hill on the aerial tramway.
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Trail to the Mine270 viewsThis trail takes you up 1.4 miles and 1,500 feet to the top of the tramway, where the actual mine is located. We had originally intended to climb it, but decided to get the hell out of there before the dust blew up the hill and engulfed us.
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Tank307 viewsThis tank looks kind of like a WWI German U-boat. I think it must have held water used to process the ore from the mine.
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Dust to Dust281 viewsA view toward the Valley floor from the approaches to Keane Wonder Mine. We were glad not to be down there inside the dust cloud.
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Lizard Hill309 viewsSorta looks like a giant lizard climbing to the top of that hill. Glad it wasn't.
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Back at Hell's Gate241 viewsThe dust storm in the valley floor doesn't seem to have abated any since we first passed this point. If anything, it's gotten worse.
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