Death Valley National Park
April 28, 2014
Soundtrack:
- Kyuss -- Blues for the Red Sun
- Bob Dylan -- Blonde on Blonde
The early morning hours in Panamint Valley should not be missed. The air cools down at night, but not as much as one might expect. The sun has breached the horizon but it hasn't yet assumed its oppressive throne in the high sky. If birds can be found in the area they'll be active. On the dawn of a spring day, Panamint Valley radiates hope and optimism.
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| Cottonwood Mountains -- Death Valley National Park, CA |
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| Bullock's Oriole |
The birds were out in numbers on this particular morning. I saw a couple of bullock's orioles, a wilson's warbler, finches, sparrows, eurasian collared doves and best of all a greater roadrunner. I had started to wonder if I'd ever see one.
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| Greater Roadrunner -- Death Valley National Park, CA |
I don't know if all roadrunners are silly, but this one sure was. I spotted him at the gas station, where he looked like he'd pulled in for a fill up but he couldn't reach the handle. He'd spotted a moth on the pump. He jumped up and snatched it, then he walked around with it for a while like he was showing it off. There wasn't any one else around but me, and I don't think he really cared one way or the other about my presence. It was just his own private little happy dance, I guess.
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| Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park, CA |
My first destination for the day was Zabriskie Point. I was hoping to get there early enough for good light, but that didn't work out. The sun was already high and what few clouds I'd seen in the sky earlier had burned off. The bright, cloudless sky would prove to be a problem for me over the next couple of days. I have yet to get a picture worth a damn from Zabriskie Point. This is one of the prettiest vistas I've experienced, but I have consistently failed to capture it on film. Guess I'll just have to go back and try again.
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| Salt Creek, Death Valley National Park, CA |
My next stop was Salt Creek. The water level was a lot lower than the last time I was here, but it was still high enough for the pupfish to be out. They stay underground most of the year and only come out for a few weeks in spring. The water they live in is saltier than the ocean. They don't seem to mind. Neither do the birds that eat them.
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| Salt Creek Pupfish -- Salt Creek, Death Valley National Park, CA |
I ate lunch at Furnace Creek. I tried all three restaurants in Death Valley on this trip. This is the one to skip. It's slightly more expensive than the others and the food isn't as good. They all serve basically the same things, for lunch anyway. Burgers, pizza, chili, etc. I haven't tried dinner at Stovepipe Wells or Furnace Creek, nor have I tried Furnace Creek's buffet, so I guess I haven't tried everything yet. Yet another reason to go back.
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| Death Valley National Park, CA |
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| Telescope Peak |
The next stop was Badwater Basin, the lowest point in North America. There's no good reason to visit Badwater Basin more than once except for this fact. Telescope Peak is over 11,000 feet tall and rises up directly from the western side of the valley across from Badwater. There aren't too many places in the world where you can see 11,000+ feet of elevation change, so that's pretty cool.
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| Badwater Basin, Death Valley National Park, CA |
At this point in the day, the sun was high and I was feeling sleepy. So, I drove to the Devil's Golf Course, cracked open the back of the Element and climbed in for a nice little nap.
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| Devil's Golf Course, Death Valley National Park, CA |
After sawing a few afternoon logs, I headed to Golden Canyon for a short hike. This was easily the most crowded outdoor spot on my visit. There were probably eight cars in the parking lot. In the main canyon there was usually somebody visible either in front of me or behind me. As I was entering the canyon an older man and woman were coming down. The man was carrying a baby stroller. It turns out they were with their kids and grand kids and had made it all of 100 yards into the canyon before realizing they weren't at Disneyland and their stroller wasn't going to do them any good. Wrong park, folks.
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| Golden Canyon, Death Valley National Park, CA |
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| Red Cathedral |
I thought about hiking all the way up the canyon to Zabriskie Point then back down through Gower Gulch, but I was worried about falling apart under the sun so I hiked up to the end of a short offshoot canyon just below Red Cathedral instead. It wasn't super hot (85 degrees), but the air sucks the water right out of you and I'm always nervous about too much sun exposure in Death Valley.
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| Golden Canyon, Death Valley National Park, CA |
After the short canyon hike, I headed out to explore a grove of mesquite trees near Furnace Creek. I was hoping to see some wildlife. No such luck in that regard aside from a few lizards that eluded my camera and a couple of pigeons in a tree. I found evidence of life though. Something had been digging something up out of what must have been hardened mud at the time. The claw marks around the holes were pretty big, perhaps made by a coyote?
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| Death Valley National Park, CA |
My final destination for the day was Artist's Loop. I'm quite convinced that this little drive was the inspiration for Warner Bros.' Roadrunner cartoons.
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| Artist's Loop, Death Valley National Park, CA |
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| Artist's Loop, Death Valley National Park, CA |
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| Artist's Loop, Death Valley National Park, CA |
The jewel of the loop is Artist's Palette. I couldn't have come up with a more appropriate name.
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| Artist's Palette, Death Valley National Park, CA |
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| Artist's Loop, Death Valley National Park, CA |
That was pretty much it for the day. I drove back to Panamint Springs and listened to the Giants game on the radio. They were playing the Padres. I was listening to the Padres' station. We're blessed in San Francisco with some great announcers. I listened to a Dodgers game on the drive into Death Valley. Those guys call a good game, too. Before I found the San Diego station I caught a couple of innings of the Rockies game from Denver. It came in clear as a bell through Mesquite Flats and Stovepipe Wells then suddenly disappeared as I started over the pass into Panamint Valley.
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| Mesquite Flats Dunes, Death Valley National Park, CA |
Of all the places I've visited so far in Death Valley, I'd name Mosaic Canyon as my favorite. The hike up into the canyon proper is less than a mile, but for some reason most people turn back before reaching it. Of those that go past the first few hundred yards, most don't proceed beyond the opening. I don't understand that. The beauty of this place is astounding. The peacefulness of the air and the quiet surroundings mystify me with every visit.
The entrance into Mosaic Canyon is a narrow slot canyon lined with polished marble. A couple of minor scrambles are required to get up the canyon. They are smooth and slick, making descent over these sections a couple of short slides.
Why Beatty? Well, for one I was out of ice and neither Panamint Springs nor Stovepipe Wells seem to stock it. There is also a nearby ghost town, and one of my goals for this trip was to see one. Beatty is an old Nevada mining town. It has a casino and wild donkeys roaming the streets. The casino I half expected, not so the donkeys.
Rhyolite isn't all that old by ghost town standards, dating back to the first decade of the twentieth century. There's a paved road through the town and some of the buildings are fenced off. It's maintained now as a park. There's a nearby art outdoor art exhibit with some interesting pieces.
After spending some time admiring the art and decay, I drove back into Death Valley to romp around a bit on the dunes at Mesquite Flats. I took off my shoes and enjoyed the sensation of the crusty sand cracking beneath my feet. These are the sands of Tatooine.
I'm hopefully optimistic about the new Star Wars movies, by the way. The prequels were abominations, but with Lucas out of the way things might turn around for these new ones. I don't much like what Abrams did with his Star Trek movies, but my big beef there is that they were too focused on action. He made Star Wars-like movies with Star Trek characters. He seems to be the right guy to take the helm, if you ask me.
