Yea, Though I Walk . . . Red Rock Canyon State Park

Getting There

April 27, 2014

Soundtrack:

• Sonic Youth -- Murray Street
• The Smiths -- The Queen Is Dead / Strangeways, Here We Come

I spent the weekend down in Death Valley.  Woot.

Western Kingbird -- Merced County, CA

There's magic in the wind in Death Valley, but I'll get to that in later posts.  Getting there and coming back is part of the whole experience.  This post is all about the drive down.

Merced County, CA

Interstate Five, Merced County, CA

I drove down I-5 to Bakersfield.  That's one of the least interesting stretches of highway I've ever been on.  There's a lot to like about California's Central Valley, but somehow the engineers who put this road together figured out how to hide almost all of it.  If you look for it, though, you can find things to keep you entertained even on this crusty stretch of interstate.

Cliff Swallows -- Buttonwillow, CA

Take birds, for instance.  Stop at any rest area and you're bound to see a variety of species. As you're driving over overpasses, you may notice large numbers of small birds in the vicinity.  Those are cliff swallows.  They don't live on cliffs anymore.  They like to build their nests on freeway overpasses.  There's a large colony in Buttonwillow.  Hmmm.  Colony?  Flock?  Village?  Metropolis?  I don't know what the right term is for what the birds have built here.  In the Spring the adults will be flying around gathering food.  I like stopping to watch them feed their young 'uns.  It looks like a lot of work for those poor parents.

Red Rock Canyon State Park. CA

After heading East from Bakersfield, I stopped at Red Rock Canyon.  This place has nothing on Southern Utah, but it's still a fun place to stop and stretch the old legs before making the last stretch into the Valley of Death.

Red Rock Canyon State Park. CA

Of course, before Death Valley comes Owens Valley.  There aren't too many prettier stretches of highway than those that course through Owens Valley.

Owens Valley, CA

One hundred years ago Owens Valley was filled up by Owens Lake.  There's no lake there anymore, just salt flats and ponds.  The lake was drained dry by Los Angeles.  The city diverted the lake's main tributaries to sate the city's thirst.  The same thing was happening to Mono Lake as well until Congress put a stop to it.  The story of Owens Lake is ancient history, though.  It's been mostly dry since 1924.  Some water has been diverted back to the valley, so perhaps someday the lake will be restored.  Not in my lifetime, I'm sure.

Owens Valley, CA

It was getting dark by the time I was pulling into Panamint Springs.  I've stayed here every time I've visited.  It's on the Western edge of the park and not actually in Death Valley proper, but just above Panamint Valley.  It's got the best views of any of the campgrounds in the park.  I always try to get one of the sites up against the desert.  At night it can feel like I'm out there all by myself without a soul for miles around.  Well, as long as I don't turn around to see the lights of the bar, anyway.

Death Valley National Park, CA