After lunch and discussions, we took off for our favorite ghost town in this area, a wonderful eclectic collection of back-to-the-60s dwellings, old mining town buildings, most in ruins, crumbling mining shacks, and a section with an interesting display of art work, including what Arnie and I call …

There is a reason they call it Death Valley, and it always gives us incredible respect and amazement for those early settlers who braved this harsh land and survived.

It is also a beautiful land of color and contrasts.

I asked one of our guides to share some stories with us. He talked about growing up in the canyon nearby, of being sent away to boarding school, having his hair cut off, being punished for speaking his native tongue and being made to stand in the corner for the whole day. It was not a bright spot in our …