Blogs from Death Valley National Park, California, United States, North America - page 8

These days, my getaways have been relegated to day trips to nearby destinations close enough for a day trip. The economic realities of the day have all but put an end to the usual 2 week European trips that I have been used to since 2000. For the past few weeks, I've had a burning need to get away but when my pocketbook was consulted, any possible ideas were quickly dashed. So at the very last minute I decided that a day trip to a nearby national park was in order. Along with Kevin, we both chose to go for an extreme day trip to Death Valley, nearly 6 hours away. The idea was conjured up about 8pm on a Friday night and by midnight we were on the road. We picked up Michelle who set ... read more

Rocks, Sand, and Twisted Metal. 90 miles an hour out of Shoshone. Midnight. 20 gallons of gasoline in the trunk. Loaded pistol on the passenger seat. Too much to drink. Uninsured, expired tags... Car burning through the night. Its remains, the only warm place to sleep. Sun rises. Watch it slowly climb, waiting. Stash gun under rock. More waiting... Hitch ride back to Pahrump. So the story goes. I was begged to pull over one day on the way to do some surveys in my government issued Ford Explorer by two concerned men in a truck. They told me there was an overturned car just over the pass in the middle of the road. I radioed it in to the rangers, but didn't hear anyone responding, so assumed it was old news. I went and did ... read more

We woke up on a strange barren planet. We were in a valley covered in salt, which was inhabited by creatures much like ourselves, but whom oddly had no sense of their own nakedness. Overcome with confusion and slight disgust, we sought escape. Marty, the 5-foot tall, 55 year-old BLM Wilderness Manager led myself, 5 SCA volunteers, and a certified chainsawman on a death defying trek into Cougar Canyon. After dropping into this sharp little incision in the Inyo Mountains, we found ourselves trapped in a thick and tangled Tamarisk jungle. This vicious vegetation was growing before our eyes, closing us in, sucking up copious quantities of water from deep beneath the ground and depositing salt from its needle-like leaves. Besides ourselves, the Tamarisk was also threatening the little bit of remaining native riparian vegetation in ... read more

Vanmorgen vertrokken we om 7u daar we een lange rit voor de boeg hadden. Van Visalia naar Tonopah welbepaald. Onderweg rijden we door DeathValley waar we halt houden bij het Crowley panorama, Mosaic Canyon, Badwater en de Artist Drive/Painter's Palette. Het crowley panorama is de eerste stop en geeft een eerste indruk van het uitzicht van Death Valley (van bovenaf). Het is meteen duidelijk dat Death Valley zijn naam niet gestolen heeft, er groeit en leeft praktisch niets. Verderop (verschillende km verder) rijden we via een hobbelig grindweggetje naar het parkeerterrein bij Mosaic Canyon om daar de wandeling door de canyon aan te vangen. Hoe dieper we afzakken in Death Valley hoe warmer het wordt, bij deze Canyon ongeveer 32°C. Geen wolkje aan de lucht, een zachte bries baant zich een weg door de rotsen. Mosaic ... read more

♪♫” In a cabin by a canyon, excavating for a mine, ♪♪ ♪♫ dwelt a miner 49er and his daughter Clementine”♫♫ We headed into Death Valley on October 28th to prepare for the 59th Annual 49ers Encampment. We camped in Furnace Creek Campground which is 200’ below sea level. Thus it’s name. No electricity or water so I had to go into the campground prepared with all my tanks full so that I could run my generator, enjoy some heat and full water tank so that I could have a shower! I also carried gallon bottles of drinking water. I had been told that the Encampment usually drew around 2000 RVers but because of the price of gas (or diesel) there was no way of knowing how many would attend, and no one had any ... read more