Wedding of the Waters Pageant

Wedding of the Waters Pageant. . , The pageant weekend in 1937 was created by Father Crowley and locals to celebrate the opening of the much needed new paved road section connecting Owens Valley to Death Valley and points east., Friday morning a special gourd of water was scooped from the highest lake in the USA, north of Mt. Whitney. It was carried down steep trails to Whitney Portal at roads end. That afternoon three Pony Express type local horsemen took the water down to the Bank of America in Lone Pine for the first night. Participants in the many special events included Governor Merriam of California, Movie Stars, decedents (sic) of the ill-fated Sierra Donner Party and Death Valley 49ers. Saturday the water gourd was carried short distances south by local drivers and historic conveyances to Keeler train station for the second night. Sunday a car and driver took the water south to the Road Opening Ceremony, then down to the Union Oil plane at Panamint Dry Lake. The pilot then flew the water to Death Valley headquarters at Furnance Creek for a luncheon. Near sunset he completed lthe "Wedding of the Waters, from Highest to the Lowest, Pageant" by flying south to spill the water into Badwater Springs, the lowest body of water in the USA. Moutain top campfires along the way signaled the completion of the Pageant.