what's in a name?

Introduction

2009-01-22T17:27:00.001-05:00

Temptations and dreams

...written on October 8, 2007

My dilemma? I managed to get through a big chunk of 2007 without solidfying any vacation plans. I usually use the cold winter months to dream, and I usually have a plan in place by the spring. Not so the year... I escaped to Zion National Park for three days in April, but a state of confusion reigned about my "later in 2007 travels". It was August before I decided to travel to Maine with my bike and camera, not for a tour, but for a series of day rides. When I was thinking of a tour, two weeks felt like the right amount of time. But one week of day trips on my bike met my Maine needs (for now) - so I still had a week to play with. That meant I wasn't finished with trip planning for this year. And I can't even begin to dream of next year until I figure out one more trip for 2007. Hmm...

First decision. This will be a trip for hiking, and for playing with my camera. It needs to be someplace different, someplace entirely new to me, or someplace that I haven't visited recently. And ideally, transportation should be simple. Flying is OK, but I'd prefer a non-stop flight to wherever I'm heading to wander, and once that big airplane lands, I'd prefer not to spend too many hours in a car rolling down the road to reach my final destination.

OK, time to stare at a map... For this trip I'm limiting myself to North America, and I'm focusing on national parks. I'm going to be heading out in late October, and I'd really like to be someplace that is reasonably warm. My eyes wandered over my map, and headed to the southwest. That doesn't really surprise you, does it?

Once my eyes started wandering over the map, Death Valley jumped out at me. I've been there once before, on a supported bike trip a long, long time ago. How long? Long enough that I can't remember the year. Let's see, I switched to doing self-supported (bike) tours in 1998, and my Death Valley trip was several years before that, so it's easily been over ten years. That's far enough away that my memories are somewhat dim.

But - I remember... I remember the temperature differences. It went from cool overnight to reasonable daytime temperatures, to unbelieveable heat - and that was in March when the temperature is normally (somewhat) reasonable. I remember the beauty. I remember, and yet, I don't. Death Valley jumped off of the map and invited me to visit.

Yes, I'm going to Death Valley, feet clad in hiking shoes, camera laden, looking for beauty.

Death Valley National Park: A Land of Extremes

Hottest, Driest, Lowest: A superlative desert of streaming sand dunes, snow-capped mountains, multicolored rock layers, water-fluted canyons and three million acres of stone wilderness.
(Source: Death Valley National Park web page)

I'll be staying in Furnace Creek, described by the National Park Service as "an oasis in a salt brine desert, a spot of greenery and life on a burning salt pan, and an anomaly in an otherwise extremely harsh environment. Water has always shaped and controlled the life that is here. Water is our life's blood."

And I'll be wandering, exploring in the desert. Soon...

2009-01-22T17:26:00.001-05:00

For now, please use Blogger's list of posts in the sidebar to follow my trip in reverse sequence. I plan to flip this blog on its head so that the posts flow from oldest to newest (like the table of contents in a book), adding a real Table of Contents and a Page by Page sidebar entry, and adding (better) next and previous links at the bottom of each post.

I probably won't be able to make these changes for the next several weeks.

...Denise, January 22, 2009

Pictures? Yes, of course there are more!

2007-11-17T20:24:00.000-05:00

This was a hiking and exploring trip, but it was a photo trip too.

There are pictures included within this journal, but as appears to be normal for me, there are more in my photo galleries. Yes, there is an overlap; there are photos in both places that also exist in the other, but there are also photos that can only be seen in one place.

There are 5 photo galleries within my photo gallery Death Valley National Park - 2007. You can start at this top level, or you can go directly to the individual galleries:

A trail, a wash, a slot, anywhere! - this is the largest gallery, containing shots from different places (except those covered in the other four galleries) as I wandered through the park day to day. Captions under the photos indicate where the photo was taken.
Sand Dunes on the edges of the day - the first few photos in this gallery were from late afternoon; most were from sunrise. Sand dunes, and patterns written by the wind...
Mosaic Canyon - a magic place, carved rock beauty.
Twenty Mule Team Canyon - a wonderful place to watch the sun paint the badlands.
Zabriskie Point - a handful of the photos in this gallery were from my mid-day entrance to the park, but most of the photos are from the sunrise on my last day there. And most of them were taken as I was looking to the west, waiting for the sun to color the rocks.

Curious to see other places that I've wandered over the years? Start at denisegoldberg.com and join my wanderings! If you are curious about any of my photos or my wanderings, you can sign my guestbook here or click the Contact me link on my photo pages.

Death Valley dreams

2007-11-04T20:22:00.001-05:00

...I'll be back

I had a wonderful 4 days in the park, and I would have been very happy to stay longer. There are many more places I'd like to see that I didn't get to on this trip, and there are places I'd like to repeat too.

My biggest regret? I didn't get to meet a Kangaroo Rat in the sand dunes. They look so cute! But I did see a coyote on my last morning in the park. He even consented to pose for a photo.

I know that I should be used to these feelings by now. If I find a place to explore that appeals to me, it seems normal not to be ready to head home, not to be happy with a single visit. I suppose this is a good problem to have!

And now it's time to dream of my next trip, to a destination that for now is a mystery. And it's time to dream of returning to Death Valley too.

Common sense & warnings!

2007-11-03T20:19:00.000-04:00

Death Valley covers a lot of ground. It is the largest park in the US National Park system from terms of area, with a lot of miles of roads - both paved, and (more) unpaved. It is a desert that deserves a lot of respect.

Carry more water than you think you'll need, more food too. Just in case... While I normally wear a Camelbak on my back, that just wasn't going to work for this trip. Why? Because I was carrying a daypack for my camera gear, and two packs wasn't going to work. I thought about slipping a bladder into my daypack, but somehow the thought of a potential leak onto my camera (electronics) didn't sound like a risk I was willing to take. Instead I picked up a CamelBak FlashFlo, a waist pack that holds a 45 oz. (1.3 L) bladder. I also carried water bottles in the side pockets of my day pack, and I left an extra stash of water in my car. I was only doing short hikes; for longer distances I will need to figure out a way to carry more water.

I have to admit that I was shocked to see other people heading out on foot with only a camera in their hands, no water. That's really not smart...

Recognize that if you run into a problem, or have an accident, that you're going to need to wait for someone to find you, to realize that you need help. And that cell phone you're carrying that usually is reliable - well, there's no cell phone access here.

Plan ahead - or not! Be careful, and above all, enjoy your Death Valley adventure!

Timing, food, fuel, and...

2007-11-03T20:14:00.003-04:00

Timing is everything...

Do you want to try to catch the spring wildflowers? The rangers suggest calling the park in a February timeframe and they may be able to give you an indication of whether and when they expect a spring bloom. For example, a wet winter in 2005 produced an amazing wildflower bloom in the spring that lasted for weeks. Apparently there wasn't a room to be had in the valley, and people were staying 100 miles away and driving in and out each day in order to enjoy the flowers.

I just went wandering on the park's web site, and I found a page in the news section that contains wildflower updates. If I were hoping for flowers I'd probably still call the rangers for a projection, but it's probably also worth checking the Wildflower Updates page.

Camping or not, you may want to bring some food and drink with you - at least snack food, bottled water, and drinks like Gatorade if you use them. I brought energy bars and peanuts from home, and I stocked up on bottled water and Gatorade in Las Vegas.

There are General Stores at Furnace Creek and Stovepipe Wells. They do stock some food, but they are quite expensive. For example, energy bars that I pay $1 for at home (at Whole Foods, which has great prices on these bars) were twice that price in the General Store. Interestingly enough, packs of peanuts were the same price they are outside of the park, probably because the "2 for $1" price is printed on the package as opposed to being a stick-on price tag. The stores had a minimal selection of fruit (bananas, Delicious apples, and Granny Smith apples) and some veggies too. I would have liked to have brought some fruit in with me, but given that it would be sitting in a car for the better part of a day before I could check in to my room I thought better of it. That problem could be easily overcome by bringing a cooler with you, or picking up a cheap (essentially) throwaway cooler. I didn't think of that in time...

The hotel at Furnace Creek has small refrigerators in the room. The same may be true of the lodging at Stovepipe Wells, but you'll need to check.

Gas is very expensive in the park, and you will need to buy it. It's not smart to travel in the desert without a fully fueled vehicle. How expensive? The gas at home is in the $2.80 range. It was slightly higher in Las Vegas, but in the park? I paid $3.99 for regular at the Furnace Creek station. The gas at Stovepipe Wells was slightly cheaper.

There is no cell phone access. None!

Before I left home I picked up a phone card so I could make phone calls from my room without paying a crazy hotel phone rate.

I did talk to folks who had access after they climbed one of the high trails leading up the mountains on either side of the valley. Funny thing, while I was waiting for the sun to rise over Zabriskie Point someone wondered if there was cell phone access up there. Everyone quickly turned their phones on to check, and everyone's phone said "no service".

Are you dreaming of Death Valley?

2007-11-03T20:01:00.005-04:00

Travel hints

Is Death Valley on your list of places you need to visit? What are your dreams?

It's always good to look for information on the National Park Service web site. Click to access the home page for Death Valley National Park.

When you arrive in the park, take the time to stop in the visitor's center and talk to the rangers. They have all sorts of hike descriptions, from a sheet titled Day Hikes to others that are detailed descriptions of longer explorations. (I hesitate to call them trails, since many are marked as No trail.)

Ranger programs, valuable, fascinating

I found the ranger programs in the park well worth attending.

It's funny, the last time I attempted to go on a guided hike in a National Park was when I was in Glacier on my first self-supported bike trip. I didn't stay with the group very long then, but on this trip I did.

I went on two guided walks, and attended 3 evening programs. The evening programs are all at the visitor center which is within walking distance of both the motel and the campgrounds at Furnace Creek. If you choose to stay at Stovepipe Wells, you are 20+ miles away from the visitor center.

I've included descriptions of the walks and evening programs that I attended. In both cases, the descriptions were borrowed from the Ranger Programs handout. Click to view the current week's Ranger Programs.

I was extremely lucky in my timing. These programs are not run in the hot weather of summer and early fall (at least the walks aren't, the visitor center evening programs may be); the week that I was in the park was the week the programs resumed.

Two guided walks in one day - I think that's a record for me! Both were excellent:

Natural Bridge Geology - "Discover the geologic wonders of the Black Mountains. The hike passes under the bridge and ends at a major fault that is part of the Death Valley story." This walk was led by a geologist who was clearly excited about Death Valley. He spends the summer months working in Yellowstone, and the rest of the year in Death Valley, and this week marked his return to the desert.
Desert Photography - "Join a nature photographer for tips and techniques to improve your photography with all cameras. Meet at the Sand Dunes." And what luck! There were only two of us who elected to go on the photography hike on Tuesday. We talked about camera settings, but even more we talked about composition. We walked a bit, but most of our time was spent standing, talking, and looking through a camera on a tripod as Bob used examples to show techniques for improving the composition of shots. Fabulous!

The evening programs I soaked in were:

The Storms of 2004 - "Did you ever wake up and find that everything had changed? See the effects and aftermath of Death Valley's great storms of 2004."
Salt, Sand and Summits - "The varied ecosystems of Death Valley are so unusual and captivating, you may never want to leave."
Rare as Rain - "Sunshine and blue skies in the desert can get a little tedious after a while, but a Death Valley rainstorm is always a special treat! Discover the miracle of a desert cloudburst."

Roads & maps... getting to hiking points

Will you be happy sticking to the paved roads and the "normal car-approved" good condition dirt roads? Or do you want to explore the path less traveled?

Death Valley has over 1000 miles of roads. I'm told that 300 miles of those roads are paved, and there are some dirt roads that are fairly well kept and that can be driven with an everyday vehicle. For the four days I spent there I was quite happy with where I could wander, but when I return I may consider renting a 4-wheel drive vehicle.

If you're a map freak - as I am - you may want a topo map of the park. I picked up a copy of the Trails Illustrated map of Death Valley National Park. This covers the entire park; if you are planning to do some long distance trekking, more detailed topo maps are also available.

There is a new map produced by the park service (well actually, it says "Presented by Jeep" on the bottom of the page, but still...). This map shows all roads, paved and not paved, along with classifications by type of vehicle. Even though it's a brand new document - maybe because it is new - it needs to be (and is scheduled to be) reprinted since the printer laid the roads over the wrong section of the relief. So the map as it exists makes it look like there are roads down the spine of the mountains. Nope! It's still worth requesting a copy.

The roads on this map, titled Death Valley Backcountry Roads, are shown as

paved
unpaved (but OK for normal vehicles)
high clearance, 4-wheel-drive
rough 4-wheel-drive

The roads are all numbered, and the back of the map contains a description of each road along with a note as to the type of vehicle needed.

Even with all of the information on the maps, be sure to check in with the rangers if you're planning to drive one of the rougher roads. One example is Racetrack Valley Road. It's a place that is very tempting, but I knew that I couldn't go there in my rental car. Sam was going to attempt it in his truck, but the rangers strongly recommended that he not go there.

Vehicle needed? High-clearance due to loose gravel, washboard, and rocks. Flat tires are common on this road so be sure your full-sized spare is inflated, all parts of your jack are on hand, and tire tread is good. May require 4WD due to changing road conditions and irregular maintenance, so check postings.

It's 28 miles along this road before you reach the start of the Racetrack.

Why would I love to go there? The description of the area is fascinating:

The Racetrack is a dry lakebed famous for its mysterious moving rocks.

Oh, and the rangers told Sam that if he broke down or got stuck on the way to The Racetrack and he needed a tow from there, the current fee for a tow is $2000. And no, that's not a typo - it does say two thousand dollars!

Maps, maps, maps... you might want to visit the Maps page of the Death Valley National Park web site.

Photos: A coyote goodbye

2007-11-02T23:18:00.000-04:00

I think this beautiful creature came out just to pass on wishes for a good trip home and for a return visit to Death Valley.

Photos: A short jaunt to the north

2007-11-02T23:17:00.003-04:00

It's amazing to see bits of green cropping up in this very dry place.

Did you know that in order to be classified as a desert that there must be less than 10 inches of rain a year? And that Death Valley averages less than two inches?

Photos: Zabriskie Point glowing

2007-11-02T23:16:00.001-04:00

Zabriskie Point called to me as a place to watch the sun rise, and yet most of the time I spent looking away from the sun, watching the sun paint the rocks.

But yes, I do have a few pictures with my camera pointing towards the rising sun.

Zabriskie glowing

2007-11-02T23:13:00.001-04:00

... sun ray decorations

I asked Denise if I could build some word pictures today and she said yes. So today's report is another Rover tale!
First, I have to ask you to send happy birthday thoughts to Suze. If you haven't met her, she's Denise's sister. Suze, happy thoughts are winging their way to you.
I thought we were going to have a lazy morning, but that silly alarm clock buzzed at 6:30 again. I could start to see the outlines of the mountains surrounding Death Valley, but it was still dark out there when we left the room and headed to Zabriskie Point to watch the sunrise. We joined a bunch of other photographers waiting for the magic. Yes, I know, bunch isn't a technical term, and it's probably not very descriptive either. I'd say there were between 15 and 20 people there, but that's somewhat of a wild guess. I think I was the only dog, but I suppose someone else could have been hiding in a camera bag.

All of those people standing there waiting, and no one was facing the direction where they could see the sun rise from behind the mountains. Instead everyone was focused on the badlands, and the mountains across the valley. We were waiting for the sunlight to paint the rocks in front of us. A time of waiting, a time of talking about cameras and lenses, a time of shutters clicking. We were standing high on the viewpoint, and then Denise decided to walk a little lower to get a different perspective. We stayed and watched the sun bathe the landscape with wonderful low light. We stayed a little longer, and when the color faded in full sunlight, we headed back into the low valley.

Oh, and there is an interesting story about the Zabriskie Point viewpoint. There are 2 pit toilets there, and the rangers told us that the buildings weigh 21 tons. Yes, I did say tons. In the flash flood of 2004, the flood waters were so strong that they moved these 21-ton structures about 100 feet from their foundations. Amazingly enough, the structures weren't damaged, so once a new base was built the same buildings were moved to a new location.

It was a very short morning for us in the park. We wandered up the road a bit, stopping at the Harmony Borax works, then heading north for a bit, stopping along the side of the road whenever the colors jumped out at Denise. It would have been nice to fit in a hike, but time was a little short. A hike would have fit the time nicely without the Zabriskie Point sunrise, but watching the sun paintings was a good choice for today.

Denise figured out that we could wander this morning without checking out of the hotel since the checkout time was noon. That way she could wash the sweat off before we headed down the road back to Las Vegas.

And just as we were heading back to Furnace Creek to get ready to travel, Denise saw a small four-legged creature wandering down the center of the road. She immediately pulled over to the side, watching, hoping. It was a coyote! It crossed the road, and loped across the desert. When Denise stopped the car she grabbed her camera. Once she saw our friend was crossing the road and paying no attention to us, she opened the door, stood next to the car, and took a couple of quick snaps. I know she would have liked to change lenses, but she knew there wasn't time. I hope that the camera holds a decent photo of him.

Driving, driving fast! The speed limit on the narrow 2-lane road heading up through Amargosa Valley was 70 in spots, 75 in others. It was that fast on most of route 95 too, at least until we got close to Las Vegas. We were flying down that road, and so was everyone else. Denise kept glancing at the land we were passing through, and I know she really wanted to stop, to grab some photos of some of the low-lying cactus. I told her that really wasn't a good idea. I was afraid that in order to get far enough off of the road to be safe from the flying vehicles, that she'd end up getting stuck in the sand. That really wouldn't have been a good idea. She's pretty careful, and she said she wouldn't have done it even if I hadn't bounced up and barked. I don't know if I believe her though; she was really tempted.

Las Vegas, cars, cars, traffic. It wasn't too bad, in spite of some construction lane closures, and we got to the airport with more time than we needed. We stood outside in the sun for a while, and then it was time to fly, time to head back to the northeast. I have a feeling that we'll be back in the not too distant future. It's so easy to get to some wonderful parks from Las Vegas, and it's really not a bad flight. Yup, we'll be back.

Guess what! Denise bought me some dark chocolate M&Ms for the flight. They are not as good as the chocolate we have at home, but wow - that's good chocolate for an airplane flight. I'm happy!

It's only 5:13 pm in Pacific time, and it's 8:13 at home. I don't know where we are right now. But I just looked out over the plane's wing, it's getting dark out. I think I'll have some chocolate and take a nap now. After all, I have to be awake when we land so I can help Denise drive home.
--- Rover

You didn't believe that I could type, did you? Working on this journal entry was a good way to pass the time while that big airplane was flying east, taking us home.

Photos: Return to Artist's Drive

2007-11-01T23:13:00.001-04:00

Can you see the line of shadow? I was amazed at how fast the sun disappeared from the rocks.

It was well before the published time of sunset, which does make sense given that the sunset time does not take the mountains into account.

Photos: Birds posing

2007-11-01T23:11:00.004-04:00

...conundrum seeking answers

These birds are another reason why I'm glad I took a mid-afternoon break at the green oasis of Furnace Creek today. I'd like to think that I would have been able to capture more of these beauties if I had just spent more time sitting still.

No complaints though; I'm very happy that these birds consented to a quick pose.

If anyone is interested, the Death Valley National Park web site includes a bird list.

The saga of (an inexperienced birder) identifying a hawk...

The first post in my guestbook about this bird was the thought that it might be a Cooper's hawk. According to the USGS page that I found, "The Sharp-shinned Hawk is most similar to the Cooper's Hawk." I posted this photo and my question in the Digital Grin photography forum in the hopes of attracting the attention of some photographers who are also birders. I got two answers there.

The initial reaction was from GraphyFotoz who told me this is a sharp-shinned hawk, identified by coarse brown streaks on the chest. This hawk is rare to uncommon in the area, so I guess I was very lucky to see it.

Then there were some more folks weighing in who agrees with the first guess that this guy is a Cooper's Hawk.

Well, it looks like it's one of the two. I suppose that having two answers is better than none, right? After reading both descriptions and looking at the photos - which honestly don't help me much! - I could be swayed by either argument. The things that jumped out at me...

The Cooper's Hawk "Dark crown contrasts with nape, and Tail ends in white tail band, back dark gray or gray-brown, underparts barred reddish and white."

And yet, the Sharp-shinned hawk "Tail long, barred, and ends with a square tip, adults with blue-gray back and wings, reddish barring on underparts." Yup, those things are true too.

Gerry signed my guestbook with this: "As one who frequently birds the Furnace Creek area, I think you have photos of probably a Cooper's Hawk - based on the pale nape and all the other comparisons noted in other postings. Also, Cooper's are common here, not so for Sharpie's, which are very secretive as a rule."

Another comment I found interesting was from Jeff W over on Digital Grin: "you can see the field id of these 2 birds is not just hard but impossible. the best way is to [after you have seen a few ] tell the size. cooper is bigger sharpie is smaller but they are almost twins".

Links to descriptions of both birds on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology All About Birds page:

Many thanks to everyone who jumped in to help with the identification of these beautiful birds. I'm looking forward to a future return to Death Valley not only to do some more hiking but also to spend some time sitting and watching the birds.

Photos: A mystery, then Sidewinder Canyon

2007-11-01T23:10:00.003-04:00

Photos: A glimpse of Badwater

2007-11-01T23:10:00.002-04:00

Before tramping down the boardwalk surrounding the pool of salty water at Badwater, I stopped to read the sign posted by the park service. It was a tale of the birth of Death Valley, fascinating...

Shake Down

This geographic region - known as "Basin and Range" - is spreading apart, fracturing the earth's crust along parallel faultlines. Huge blocks of land between the faults tilt like seesaws as the extension continues. You are standing above the dropping edge of a fault block that is rising on its other side to create the Panamint Mountains. Behind you, the steep face of the Black Mountains is another rising fault block edge. These forces are still active. The next large earthquake could cause Badwater Basin to drop a few more feet below sea level.

Filling in the Gaps

Even as the basins and ranges form, erosion wears down the mountains. Debris from the surrounding area washes into this basin since it has no outlet to the sea. But erosion cannot keep up with the geologic forces that continue to create Death Valley - the basin drops faster than it fills. After millions of floods, nearly 9,000 feet (2,750 m) of sand, silt, gravel, and salt fill the valley basin.

Quoted information courtesy of Death Valley National Park signage

Photos: Twenty Mule Team Canyon

2007-11-01T23:09:00.003-04:00

Photos: Devil's Golf Course

2007-11-01T23:09:00.002-04:00

Isn't this a wonderfully smooth surface for a round of golf? Of course even with a brightly colored golf ball you would probably never see it again.

I suppose this spot is aptly named.

Chasing light

2007-11-01T20:57:00.000-04:00

...from badlands to narrow slots

Sunrise wanderings in Twenty Mule Team Canyon were a wonderful start to the day. Would you believe that it took me an hour and a half to drive the 2.7 mile loop? Well, maybe I shouldn't call it a drive, it wasn't quite that simple. Drive a little bit, stop, jump out with my camera, walk a little, take photos, back to the car, drive a little bit, stop... The road was described as "winding through otherworldly badlands", and those rocky features were decorated by the sunrise. Nice!

I dropped back to Furnace Creek, stopping for a quick breakfast before I headed south once more along Badwater Road. First stop, Devil's Golf Course. I bounced out of the car camera in hand. (I guess Rover is teaching me to bounce!) Devil's Golf Course was a camera stop and not really a walking stop. The ground was definitely not smooth, described as "immense area of rock salt eroded by wind and rain into jagged spires". Rain? really? I crunched around the uneven surface for a bit, a little bit. And then it was time to drive further south, to the start of my next hike.

Hike? Well, sort of two hikes. My intent was to hike Sidewinder Canyon, but somehow I managed to start up the wrong canyon. It took me a while to realize that though. Oh, but I'd better start at the beginning.

The Sidewinder Canyon parking area is off of an unmarked dirt road. If there hadn't been two cars parked there (with no people in sight, they must have been out on an overnight trip) I think I would have missed the little road.

On the way to hiking Sidewinder Canyon, I took an hour detour up a parallel canyon. Oops! I thought I followed the directions to the right canyon, "from the southern end of the old gravel pit, walk up the large alluvial fan to the south that leads to a shallow canyon with poorly cemented gravel walls". I walked for a while before I realized I was in the wrong place. The trail description (or maybe I should call it a "no trail" description) said that the first of 3 slot canyons was a mile up the trail. I kept walking, and walking, thinking that I hadn't gone a mile yet. I finally came to an offshoot canyon, but it wasn't a slot. Hmm... I think it's time to turn around!

As I exited my mystery canyon, I saw two people heading to the next canyon south. I changed direction, walked over to them, and laughed about my misdirection. Ah, so that's where Sidewinder is. I dug down for more energy in the hot part of the day (well, most of the day is hot here!) and headed up Sidewinder. I'm so glad I didn't miss it. There were three slot canyons, plus a few other "holes". I stopped in the first non-slot and saw the remains of what I think was a bighorn sheep. There were two horns, separated by a bit of space, part of a jaw with teeth, and leg bones. That wasn't really a slot, didn't look like good walking. But I'm glad I walked up there; the bones were interesting. No, not morbid. Clean bones, and death is a part of life, isn't it?

Ah, back to the slots. It's amazing what the force of water can do in a desert. Flowing through cracks, carrying rocks, rubble, scouring the sides of the canyons, polishing the rocks in spots like Mosaic Canyon, leaving rough sides in the slots in Sidewinder Canyon.

Here's a description of the hike so you can see why I didn't just give up after walking my mystery canyon for a while:

"The hills at the western base of Smith Mountain seem uninteresting from a distance, yet tucked deep within them are some of the narrowest slot canyons in Death Valley. .... About a mile in, a major drainage joins from the right and the main canyon narrows abruptly. At this point look to the right and you will see the mouth of the first slot canyon where you can climb through boulders. The walls squeeze down to just a few feet wide and may be more than 100 feet high in places. Hidden within the dark, mysterious passageways are natural bridges, and pour-offs that may provide a challenge to scramble up."

Trail description courtesy of Death Valley National Park, included here to whet your appetite for visiting.

Oh, do you think I should have thought twice about hiking a canyon named after a rattlesnake?

I couldn't resist stopping at Badwater once more. I tried to capture some of the salt crystals with my camera, and then I walked again. Walking down that white path of salt crystals, heading toward the center of the valley. Did you know that there is sometimes a lake here? It only happens in years of higher than normal rains. How do you manage to time a visit to a place like Death Valley to see those special things? I suppose it would have to be pure luck.

I gave myself permission to head back to the hotel in mid-afternoon. Finally, a chance to enjoy the pool! It's a pool that is very easy to enter, a pool that is filled with water that comes from the warm springs at Furnace Creek. The air temperature was 90 degrees, the water was 84 degrees. Warm, comfortable...

Artist's Drive called to me in the late afternoon. There was good light on half of the loop, but I was too late to see the last bright light on Artist's Palette. I headed out well before sunset, but the sunset times don't take the surrounding mountains into account. The sun dropped behind the Panamint Range earlier than I expected. The first half of the drive was magic.

The day wasn't quite over yet. I headed to the visitor center for tonight's program, titled "Rare as Rain". Yes, I think it would be very interesting to see this very dry spot in the rain. Maybe someday... Didn't I tell you that Death Valley has joined my park addiction?

And then, I just had to stop at the General Store for my end-of-day treat. My usual treat on biking trips is chocolate. But on this non-biking trip I found a new treat. The store here has self-serve soft ice cream, and it's good! The choices? They always have vanilla and chocolate, plus one other flavor. For most of the week the third flavor was mocha almond. Tonight was a bit of a change, raspberry chocolate chunk. Yum, tonight's choice was a mixture of chocolate and raspberry chocolate chunk.

Tomorrow? I can play a little bit in the morning before I need to head back to Las Vegas to catch my flight back to the other side of the country. Can't I just stay here?

Photos: Raven delights on Artist's Drive

2007-10-31T20:54:00.001-04:00

It was very kind of this very black bird to take some time from his day to pose for me. He was sitting on a hill overlooking Artist's Palette. It must have been his spot for the afternoon; he actually waited while I switched lenses on my camera!

Photos: A taste of Titus Canyon

2007-10-31T20:50:00.002-04:00

Photos: Mosaic Canyon

2007-10-31T20:42:00.002-04:00

Wow - I got some good prancing and bouncing in today. Mosaic Canyon is just beautiful. I hope that Denise got some good photos!

--- Rover

Look - I got to play with Denise's big camera on this trip. That was fun!

Oh, you want to know what a SmugMug is? That's where Denise has her photo galleries. You can wander over and see them at denisegoldberg.com, or you can go directly to the photos from this trip.
--- Rover

A conversation with a few prancing ravens

2007-10-31T19:43:00.001-04:00

I stopped for coffee and a snack at the Stovepipe Wells General Store after my morning wanderings on the sand dunes. As I walked back to the picnic tables along the side of the store to enjoy my late breakfast, I was greeted by some ravens.
I didn't feed them, but I was happy to share a conversation.

Photos: Sand dunes sunrise magic

2007-10-31T19:33:00.002-04:00

Sunrise wonder

2007-10-31T19:29:00.001-04:00

...and shared visions

Morning came early for me today. My alarm clock was a gentle reminder that even though it was still dark outside, it was time to move. I headed down a dark road with the intent of reaching the sand dunes before the sun did. As I drove, I saw the lights of Stovepipe Wells in the distance. I was traveling down a flat road, but I found it amazing how visible this little village was while I was many miles away.

The sky was getting lighter as I arrived at the sand dunes. I wandered out among the dunes, trying to decide if I wanted to be at the top of a dune or hiding in a dip. I kept walking, waiting, looking for the sun to rise above the mountains. When the sun decided to join the day, it cast shadows, highlighting wind-swept ridges and patterns in the sand. I think I have more pictures of the sand than I do of the sunrise.

As I was following beetle tracks in the sand, one of the black creatures that was leaving its imprint scuttled across the sand.

Walk a little further, look for patterns in the sand, follow an easy track between high points, climb a dune, slide down the other side. Walk a little further, play with my camera, walk a little further... By the time the light flattened out I had covered a bit of distance. Ah, time to reverse direction.

The Stovepipe Wells General Store was a good place to stop for a muffin and a cup of coffee, fuel for my next wander. It turned out to be a good place for conversation as I had a chat with the ranger who shared her excitement about Death Valley in the evening program last night.

And then, on to Mosaic Canyon. I thought about waiting until tomorrow when there will be a guided geology walk there. But hey, it was just down the road, and it was calling to me. The first half mile of the canyon was spectacular, narrow, with polished marble walls. The rest was more a more open wash. And yes, I followed it to a point where I could walk no further. Big chunks of rock filled the passage, a signal that it was time to run around. The plus to this being an out-and-back non-trail was that I traversed the interesting beginning of the trail a second time.

As I walked to my car, I had a surprise greeting. My camera was adorned with my new SmugMug camera strap, and that attracted Sam's attention. We both participate in the Digital Grin photography forum - which was the source of the camera strap. I knew that Sam was planning to visit Death Valley based on a post he made last week, but by the time I saw his plans I think he was already on the road. No matter, because when Sam saw the camera strap he asked my name. We talked, then since neither of us had concrete plans for the rest of the day we decided to explore together.

Sam drove Titus Canyon yesterday, and suggested the end of the canyon as a good place for walking and camera play. That sounded good to me since the Titus Canyon road is one that isn't accessible to those of us driving standard cars (as opposed to a high-clearance vehicle). The 3-mile two-way section of the road that we traversed in Sam's truck was pretty rough, and he said that the rest of the road was worse. It was a treat of a walk, with rock "paintings" drawing my eyes and imagination.

After our Titus Canyon walk we headed back toward Badwater, doing a quick loop around Artist's Drive. That was still beautiful the second time around, but I think I'd like to see it just a little later in the day.

Another good day, another night to dream of tomorrow's wanderings...

See, I really did meet Sam, thanks to my SmugMug camera strap.

Photo courtesy of Sam's camera and a woman in a parking lot who was willing to catch us in the lens.

Photos: Sand dunes... learning

2007-10-30T19:25:00.003-04:00

This quick trip to the Sand Dunes was a listening and learning visit, a session with a photographer. My camera still managed to snap a few photos.

More Sand Dune play at sunrise tomorrow...

Photos: A glimpse of Salt Creek

2007-10-30T19:14:00.003-04:00

Photos: Badwater

2007-10-30T18:47:00.002-04:00

Badwater has the lowest elevation on this continent, at 282 feet (85.5 meters) below sea level. It's between two mountain ranges, which provide an interesting contrast.

There is a small bit of water, but it is primarily dry. I wish I had been here during one of the flood - heavy water from the sky - years. I saw a photo of two people kayaking in a very flooded Badwater (wide, yet shallow water) a couple of years back.

Photos: Natural Bridge

2007-10-30T18:41:00.001-04:00

...with a geologist!

A magic day

2007-10-30T18:36:00.000-04:00

...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.

Photos: an oasis sunset

2007-10-29T18:32:00.001-04:00

Photos: From salt flats...

2007-10-29T18:25:00.002-04:00

Not Badwater - that's miles to the south...

A salt crusted valley floor surrounded by mountains

Once wet, now dry, cracked, even a few remnants of footprints...

Photos: Artist's Drive

2007-10-29T18:18:00.001-04:00

Look at the shadows near the bottom of this shot.

Those stick-like figures? They are photographers, standing on a high point, seeking photos of the colors.

Photos: Golden Canyon to Red Cathedral

2007-10-29T18:00:00.001-04:00

Photos: Zabriskie awe

2007-10-29T17:51:00.001-04:00

The mid-day sun isn't the best decoration, but the views here fill me with awe.

Color fascination

2007-10-29T17:40:00.002-04:00

A desert introduction

Well, I'm going to start today's tale. (Yes, of course, this is Rover writing. After all, I'm the only "person" besides Denise who is on this trip.)

I think I might let Denise write too, but I'll have to see how much writing energy I have today. Denise was really tired last night; I guess that long flight took more energy than usual. Or it could be the fact that she didn't get enough sleep the two nights before we left. I think that was the issue, but she insists it was the flight. No matter though...

We finished our travels to Death Valley with a drive this morning. It was about 140 miles along mostly quiet roads. US-95 started as a limited access highway in Las Vegas, then switched to "just" a 4-lane road, and then shrunk to 2 lanes. The speed limit was 70 for most of the drive - even on the 2-lane portions of road. And you know what? Denise behaved and didn't stop along the side of the road to take pictures. I know she was really tempted. There was low scrub, some taller cactus, blue mountains in the distance, and low haze near the mountains. Stark, beautiful... no photos! Oh, and there was a very interesting metal sculpture of a big horse following a truck on the highway. It passed by so quickly, a flash, but not a figment of my imagination.

Our first stop in the park was at Zabriskie Point. Denise said that she wasn't going to stop until we got to the visitor's center at Furnace Creek, but I convinced her that a viewpoint stop would be a good idea. What an amazing view... Just to whet your appetite, here's the description of Zabriskie Point from the park's newsletter: "Surrounded by a maze of wildly eroded and vibrantly colored badlands, this spectacular view is one of the park's most famous". The sky was still overcast when we were there; I wonder what it would look like in sunshine.

After our quick stop at Zabriskie Point we continued rolling down the road, down, down. The intersection of Route 190 and Badwater Road is at sea level, and the road was still pointing downward. Wow! I've never been on ground that is below sea level before. Denise has, but that was before I joined her travels.

Next stop was the visitor center where Denise chatted with one of the rangers about hikes. I don't think that she will run out of places to wander here. And then...

It was time to walk!

Oh, Denise said she wants to write today too, so I'll sign off for now.
--- Rover

It was still relatively cool when I headed up Golden Canyon, but by the time I wandered back out of that beautiful place the sun had decided to take over the sky, chasing the clouds away. Temperature rising, hot hiking... Up, up, gradually up. Fluted walls of different colors, curves, striped rocks. I continued past the turnoff for Zabriskie Point, heading to Red Cathedral. The trail got steeper, narrower too. And then it was time to turn around, the end of the trail. Out, back again, and on to...

Artist's Drive was just a little further down Badwater Road. It's a very narrow road - just one lane wide. And yes, it's a one-way loop. I have a feeling that it will be very easy to repeat this drive again later this week. I pulled off the road several times to absorb the light, the colors. Artist's Palette jumped out and demanded more time. The colors of the rocks were fantastic. I expected the desert shades of red, from light to dark. What I didn't expect was the greens, and the pinks. I wonder what minerals cause those colors. My camera was very busy trying to capture those colors. (You're right, I really didn't need an excuse to take pictures.)

I was standing near the edge of a dry wash, at the top of what seemed like a pretty steep drop. I looked across and saw someone walking on the other side of the wash, heading up. Hmm... how did he get over there? I looked and looked, and I found a path down. Ah, I can get closer to those wonderful colors by crossing the wash and climbing the other side. I guess this is what the park service means when they mark trails as "no trail".

Tomorrow, I'll have to try some more of those "no trail" trails!

After dinner, I sat outside for a while, watching the dimly lit clouds start to fade into the sky. It was almost dark, almost time to walk over to the visitor center for the evening ranger talk. I stopped first at the general store to pick up a small flashlight. The visitor center is a down the road a bit, and it's a very dark road. I wanted a light not to see but to be seen. Funny, I walk at night at home, and I wear some very bright little blinking lights. It never occurred to me that I might want those lights here!

Tonight's program was titled "The Storms of 2004", the story in photos of an amazing rainstorm. Death Valley usually gets less than 2 inches of rain a year. One night in 2004 there was 2 inches of rain in 2 hours. We saw photos of smaller flash floods, water running down the washes. And we saw photos of this results of the 2004 flood. Roads were washed out, totally destroyed. The park was closed for nine days. That's unheard of. And that storm was the reason why the roads I was on today were in such good shape - they were totally rebuilt just 3 years ago.

Presentation over, I walked back to my home away from home. Stars sparkled, making me appreciate the darkness of the night. Later, I sat outside of my room looking at the wisps of clouds that were highlighted by the moon. I think this place is casting a spell on me.

Flying... no walking today

2007-10-28T17:38:00.002-04:00

I really wish I could just snap my fingers and be transported across the country in an instant. Have you figured out how to make that happen? Oh, I didn't think so, but I thought it might be worth asking in case someone has a wonderful secret they want to share.

Yesterday's warm and wet weather cleared out overnight, leaving me with a morning adorned by a clear blue sky, cool air, and whipping wind. There was no question that a pre-flight ride was in order. In fact, if it wasn't a travel day it would have been a perfect day for a long ride. I was a bit time-constrained though, so a short morning wander on my bicycle had to suffice. That helped the morning hours to fly by, and then it was time to really fly.

Funny, I usually start my vacation travels either directly after work, or first thing the next morning. The timing of this trip gave me a (weekend) day and a half at home before heading out. On the one hand it seems like a waste of time that could be part of my trip, but it was really nice to have a real rest day before heading out. If it had been nice weather instead of our all day soaker, yesterday would have been a riding rather than a rest day - and that would have been good. This time - rest was good too.

Flying early in the day is a habit too, but that habit was easily broken on this trip. Southwest has a number of flights each day between Manchester and Las Vegas, but only one flight in each direction is a nonstop, and that was my preference. My 1:45 PM flight out of Manchester is scheduled to land in Las Vegas at 4:45. My initial thought was to drive partway to Death Valley tonight. My actual plan? I'm staying in Las Vegas at a hotel along my route to California. My initial thoughts about staying in Las Vegas were a very big yuck! That changed when I started looking for a place to stay at a mid-way point, and when I realized how early the sun is setting. I'd much rather drive into the park in daylight. And no, I'm not staying at a casino. A Hampton Inn fits the bill for tonight.

Did you know that flying on Southwest can be entertaining? Yes, it was one of those flights. It started right after they closed the doors. Music filled the plane for the first time. It took a minute before we could make out the words to the song - "hey baby, let's go to Vegas". That was followed by the normal safety talk, and then as our big bird headed toward the runway, we were serenaded with "I'm leaving on a jet plane". An airplane full of smiles...

That continued when one of my seatmates asked the flight attendent for the name of a lake that we were passing over. Her response? "I'm not sure - it might be Lake Way Below Us."

Rover popped out of his hiding place for a minute. He prefers to nap during flights, but the woman sitting next to me pulled a small witch out of her bag, and he decided it would be fun to meet the witch.

For someone who is addicted to maps, I can't believe that I made it this far without any maps. Yes, I admit it, that's a third addiction; to add to my addiction to bicycles and to cameras. Trouble... Uh oh! Well, getting out of Las Vegas isn't an issue since I'm sure that the little rental car map will point me in the right direction. Do I really need a map of California? Maybe not, but I think I want one. I know I want a map of Death Valley, and I'm sure I can buy one of those in the park. Maps... a problem that's not a problem.

When Rover bounced out of his hiding spot he pulled out the information I'd printed about hiking in the park. That was good dreaming material for a chunk of my long flight. Today's dream, tomorrow's reality...

Getting closer...

2007-10-24T17:36:00.000-04:00

...Rover's pre-trip musings

Rover here... I'm borrowing Denise's computer as I let my thoughts wander before our trip to California, well, really to Death Valley. That's a funny name for a place, isn't it?

I just looked at the Morning Report on the National Park Service's Death Valley page. It shows yesterday's temperatures, plus some interesting climate stuff. Let's see, we (Denise & I, that is!) are going to be staying at Furnace Creek. Monday's high there was 87°F (31°C) and the low was 55°F (13°C). Predictions for the coming days are for temperatures in the low 90s. Hmmm... that's pretty warm, but it's right in the range that Denise expects. But wow - the total precipitation there this year so far is only 0.95 inches. So little water, that's so hard to imagine. I have to admit that planning a trip and not worrying about rain is pretty novel. And oh, look, the page shows the high and low temperatures for the year so far. The high was 129°F (54°C) on July 6th, and the low was 24°F (-04°C) on January 14th. I think it would hurt my paws to walk on sand that hot!

I've been bouncing around the house while Denise is at work, trying to see signs of packing, of getting ready to head to the desert. It didn't look like Denise was paying any attention to our upcoming trip, so I started bugging her about it last night. She says that it won't take long to throw some clothes into a bag, and the cameras are always ready to go. She did tell me that I could shop in our food closet and pick out a stash of energy bars. Oooh! I like having a choice. But she told me that we can't take any chocoloate-covered bars because she expects that they would get all melty. (Melty? Yup, that's kind of an odd word, but I like it!) I suppose I can find some good non-chocolate energy bars for us; after all, I know that's what Denise buys for her summer rides close to home. I just figured that we are getting into the safe chocolate part of the year.

It's really a good thing that I've figured out how to turn Denise's computer on. I put it back in a quiet mode again when I'm done so she doesn't even know I've been exploring.

I wandered over to the Death Valley National Park web page to start to understand why Denise thinks we'll have plenty of places to wander there. There are quite a few (relatively) short trails, a lot of wandering without trails, and some longer hikes too. Oh look, we can bounce across the Badwater Salt Flat. It's 5 miles across, so I'd bet we don't follow a straight line across and back. (You're right, Denise really doesn't bounce, but I do!) And there are sand dunes there. And...

Only five more days to wait!

Here's a shot of me on our last trip. I was training for hiking during our jaunts off of the bike - but I think that traversing the desert will be quite different from wandering on the rocks along the coast in Acadia.

If you've followed Denise's other exploits, then you already know who I am.

But for any new readers out there... My name is Rover, and I travel with Denise. I jumped into her bags shortly after she left home on her cross-country adventure back in 2002, and I've been traveling with her ever since. No, I really can't help her with hiking, although I do jump out of my traveling home and bounce across interesting places. And I can help find sights for photos, and I make Denise smile. That's enough, isn't it?