A magic day

...learning from the experts

Hot temperatures during the day, cool and comfortable nights... There were two reasons I asked for a 2nd floor room. The first was the only one that crossed my mind when I was offered a choice. Why? So I could drape my washed clothes over the balcony chairs in the late afternoon, drying help. It's so dry here that the outside air probably isn't necessary, but still... The second reason? I've never been fond of air conditioning, and while air conditioning is a good idea here during the day, I can quite nicely sleep with outside air wafting in from the balcony. Nice.

So yes, I did have a good sleep last night. As seems to be normal for me, I snapped into this time zone immediately. It's my return to the east that usually causes problems for me. Of course the real time zone test will be tomorrow morning; I'm going to try to get up early enough to catch the sunrise on the sand dunes. Yes, I did say try... if the mood calls for sleeping longer, well, I am on vacation!

The puzzle for today was deciding where to hike. Well, not so much where, but when I'd hit each spot. Ranger-led hikes were tempting, but so were some other hikes. When I headed out this morning I thought I was going to do my usual solo wandering. Timing is everything though. Because I can't seem to get anywhere quickly - my camera insists I keep stopping - I arrived at the Natural Bridge parking area about 15 minutes before the geology walk was scheduled to start. That one caught my eye, and rather than hurry out on my own I waited for the walk to start. What a treat! The ranger that led our adventure is a geologist who spends his summers at Yellowstone and the rest of the year at Death Valley. It was fascinating hearing tales of the mechanisms of the faults that created this place. We walked up a wash that was "paved" in loose rocks, passing under a natural bridge, and ending at a major fault. It was more than a little interesting to look up at the bridge and see what appear to be major cracks running through the rock. I wonder how long it will last.

Looking at the layers in the rock was interesting, funny how sometimes the tilt of the layers changed.

Next stop, Badwater! That's the lowest point in the park - the lowest point on the continent actually - at 282 feet below sea level. From the geology talk I learned that the negative elevation is not that of the bedrock. That's about another 9000 feet below the surface. That dip in the earth is filled with the rocks that have rolled down from on high, transported by flood waters in this now very dry place.

I walked out on the salt flats for a bit. I could very easily go back and walk there again, perhaps a little earlier in the morning. Wandering, stopping at the pool of water shining with salt crystals, walking on the salt, discovering that the soles of my hiking shoes took a souvenir of some white crystals.

And then... time for a second application of sunscreen, and two more places to visit in the afternoon. The first was Salt Creek which at this time of year contains just a small amount of water. If you're lucky (or smart) enough to schedule a trip here in early spring, you may be lucky enough to see rare pupfish breeding in Salt Creek. No visible fish today, but I was happy to see a little water. I figured that I would be walking next to a dry creek bed.

On to Sand Dunes and a meeting with a photographer. Bob is a pro who volunteers for the National Park Service, both taking photographs and running sessions for park visitors. I was very lucky - today's session was very lightly attended, by me and just one other person. We spent more time standing, talking, and looking through a camera lens than walking, and I picked up some good tips from him. Now I just need to go back and practice. It was a late afternoon session, and it would have made sense to stay for the sunset, but I really wanted to attend the evening program at the visitor center, so I think I'll try for playing in the dunes during tomorrow's sunrise.

Timing really is everything. I don't know how I stumbled on this week as the right time for my vacation. It turns out that this is the first week that the ranger programs are running again. They aren't held during the hot times here. That makes sense given the dangers of playing in the heat. I expected to hike here, to enjoy the park. And even without today's session l would have been happy with just being here. But today's sessions were truly magic.

I hear that tomorrow is Death Valley National Park's 13th birthday. The California Desert Protection Act enlarging Death Valley National Monument and redesignating it as a national park was signed in October of 1994. Halloween, and a park's birthday.

Tell me, how can I fall in love with another national park? This place is addicting, and I have a feeling that my remaining days here on this trip won't be enough for me. I think that's a good kind of problem to have.