Saturday, April 29, 2017, was our first full day in Boron, California. Located in the Western Mojave Desert, Boron is home to the World's Largest Open Pit Borax Mine. It is also right next door to Edwards Air Force Base. We planned to spend the day touring the various museums in town.
But first, a little back story. The town of Boron was named after the chemical element Boron (B5). The element Boron is rarely found alone. Borax (also known as sodium borate, sodium tetraborate, or disodium tetraborate) is an important boron compound, a mineral and a salt of boric acid. Powdered borax is white, consisting of soft colorless crystals that dissolve easily in water. In 1925, a large borax deposit was discovered and the mining town of Boron was established soon thereafter.
On our walk around town this morning, we absorbed the funky nature of this town that still seems stuck in the 1950's or '60's. We think the welcome sign expresses it all. We took the photo in sepia tones to emphasize the mood:
Our first stop was the Borax Visitor Center located high above the nearby Rio Tinto open pit borax mine. In the parking lot was a full-scale replica of a twenty-mule team wagon. These large wagons ferried borax out of Death Valley from 1883 to 1889. While called twenty-mule teams, they usually consisted of 18 mules and two horses. Here are Eddie and George ready to lead the team across the Mojave desert!
The large specimen shown below greeted us as we entered the museum. We watched a short video on the history ofthe mining operation. We learned that the borax deposit was formed by hot springs bubbling up from volcanic faults. The hot water brought the minerals up and when the water evaporated, the minerals stayed behind.
We were given a souveneir of "ulexite" or calcium-sodium borate. Because of the long transparent crystals in the rock, you can view images right through the rock. This is a real photo we took ourselves. Cool, eh?.
Borax has thousands of uses: everything from household cleaners to components in glass, pottery and ceramics. It is a fire retardant and anti-fungal compound for insulation. You can also use it to moth proof wool. It can prevent stubborn pests (e.g. German cockroaches) in closets, pipe and cable inlets, wall panelling gaps, and inaccessible locations where ordinary pesticides are undesirable. The list of uses just goes on and on.
The Pacific Coast Borax Company sponsored Death Valley Days, a radio and television anthology dramatizing true stories of the old American West, particularly the Death Valley area. From 1952 to 1975, Death Valley Days was produced as a syndicated television series. One of Ronald Reagan's final television roles was as host of Death Valley Days in 1964-65. Reagan also acted in some episodes.
After reviewing the indoor exhibit, we were invited to walk up onto the roof of the Visitor Center so we could look down on the mining operation. This is a view of the plant itself:
Three million tons of ore are mined every year. This produces about one million tons of refined products. This mine supplies more than 40 percent of the world's demand for borates. It is expected to continue operations for the next 30 to 40 years. That's a lot of laundry soap! Here's a view of the main part of the mine pit:
There were several exhibits on the twenty mule teams, but most of displays were about the history of the town itself.
We thought about visiting Edwards Air Force Base, but the tours are all booked for the rest of 2017. Instead, we satisfied our curiosity by visiting the Colonel Saxon Aerospace Museum. This tiny museum is just jam packed with all kinds of information about the Base and NASA astronauts.
We were even able to climb up and look into some jet planes.
All this "museuming" builds up a powerful hunger. Thanks to Don and Julie Kline, we learned about The Barrel. This local take-out joint is known for their bacon wrapped deep fried hotdogs.
Here Kathy digs into the delicious decadance. Dave decided to pass on this gastronomic delight and settled instead for a cappucino milkshake!
We certainly enjoyed digging into Boron. Tomorrow we hope to explore some of the surrounding area.
Our first stop was the Borax Visitor Center located high above the nearby Rio Tinto open pit borax mine. In the parking lot was a full-scale replica of a twenty-mule team wagon. These large wagons ferried borax out of Death Valley from 1883 to 1889. While called twenty-mule teams, they usually consisted of 18 mules and two horses. Here are Eddie and George ready to lead the team across the Mojave desert!
The large specimen shown below greeted us as we entered the museum. We watched a short video on the history ofthe mining operation. We learned that the borax deposit was formed by hot springs bubbling up from volcanic faults. The hot water brought the minerals up and when the water evaporated, the minerals stayed behind.
We were given a souveneir of "ulexite" or calcium-sodium borate. Because of the long transparent crystals in the rock, you can view images right through the rock. This is a real photo we took ourselves. Cool, eh?.
The Pacific Coast Borax Company sponsored Death Valley Days, a radio and television anthology dramatizing true stories of the old American West, particularly the Death Valley area. From 1952 to 1975, Death Valley Days was produced as a syndicated television series. One of Ronald Reagan's final television roles was as host of Death Valley Days in 1964-65. Reagan also acted in some episodes.
After reviewing the indoor exhibit, we were invited to walk up onto the roof of the Visitor Center so we could look down on the mining operation. This is a view of the plant itself:
Three million tons of ore are mined every year. This produces about one million tons of refined products. This mine supplies more than 40 percent of the world's demand for borates. It is expected to continue operations for the next 30 to 40 years. That's a lot of laundry soap! Here's a view of the main part of the mine pit:
In the parking lot across form the twenty-mule team are three piles of samples of the borates that are mined. After searching each pile for just the right size, Kathy holds her samples - tincal, ulexite and kernite. Never fear: all three we're added to Kathy's collection of favorite rocks.
Our next stop was the Twenty Mule Team Museum in Old Town Boron. No visit would be complete without a selfie with the Boron Bunny! Don't ask why.
There were several exhibits on the twenty mule teams, but most of displays were about the history of the town itself.
We thought about visiting Edwards Air Force Base, but the tours are all booked for the rest of 2017. Instead, we satisfied our curiosity by visiting the Colonel Saxon Aerospace Museum. This tiny museum is just jam packed with all kinds of information about the Base and NASA astronauts.
We were even able to climb up and look into some jet planes.
All this "museuming" builds up a powerful hunger. Thanks to Don and Julie Kline, we learned about The Barrel. This local take-out joint is known for their bacon wrapped deep fried hotdogs.
Here Kathy digs into the delicious decadance. Dave decided to pass on this gastronomic delight and settled instead for a cappucino milkshake!
We certainly enjoyed digging into Boron. Tomorrow we hope to explore some of the surrounding area.
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