Charcoal Kilns In Death Valley National Park

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During the winter of 2014-2015, I worked at Furnace Creek in Death Valley National Park. I was a restaurant Host and also worked as a cashier in the Employee Dining Room. During our days off we would go out and explore the park. Death Valley at first sight may seem like a desolate landscape without life, but there really is so much more to this beautiful park. One of my favorite places that I visited was the Charcoal Kilns located in Wildrose which is on the west side of the park. It is a place far from most tourist attractions down a long dirt road, When a friend and I went there we thought we had taken a wrong turn... but we kept going down this road for a few miles before we ran into these kilns. There was no one else around.. just us and that also made this place amazing to experience. These Charcoal Kilns were created by a mining company in 1877 and they have been really well preserved. I think the isolation of these kilns and the fact that so few tourist even know about this place has kept it untouched. These Kilns were used as a source of fuel for the mining company. They stand about 25 feet high and when you step inside you feel like you are being taken back in time. I just found these Kilns so amazing and so well built. These are also located in a part of Death Valley high enough in altitude where is gets cold enough to snow. There are trees and shrubs around them and on the day we visited there was some snow on the ground. The contrast in elevation and temperatures is what makes Death Valley so beautiful and unique.