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We escaped London in the biting cold on Friday and returned to the same on Monday night. On arrival in Las Vegas we rented a car and headed west through Pahrump to Death Valley. Our first goal was to catch sunset over the Panamint Range from the high point of Dante's View on the east side of Death Valley directly above Bad Water. We ran into a traffic hold up where they were doing roadwork along the way but this gave us an opportunity to get out of the car, explore a bit of rough land and catch some rays.
We did manage to catch the sunset. You have a view of the vast salt flats below, the Panamint mountain range on the far side with a snow covered Telescope Peak in the distance. After the warmth of the afternoon, it's surprising how cool it gets when the sun goes down.
We stayed at the Death Valley Ranch that night — there are only a few places to stay in Death Valley and we have only been able to book the one night. The nearby Death Valley Inn is frightfully expensive (we did stop in later for a bite) and Stove Pipe Wells, which has reasonable lodging, is further to the north. But that's it, there's just these three places within the valley. We've learned that when travelling to the National Parks and Monuments in this part of the world that you should book your accommodation first, then worry about flights.
First thing in the morning we went to Zabriskie Point to catch the sunrise. We spent quite a bit of time there as the sun slowly rose behind us revealing the bad lands, the valley beyond and Manly Beacon (a tooth like rock that's the centerpiece of the view). We are not alone, there's a photographer group from Los Angeles with tripods and all sorts of gear who are also capturing the moment. The photo above is from that morning.
Down the road a bit there's been some flooding. This road into the valley follows Furnace Creek which is usually dry and often "below ground". There's been some rain and some washed out roadway. The soil here is all rough gravel. The rain of late has meant that the salt flats themselves (down at Bad Water) are wet as we could see from Dante's View the night before.
At the north end of the valley we visit Scotty's Castle (only briefly) and the Ubehebe Crater that morning. Back at the other end of the valley we visit the Devil's Golf Course (a nasty rocky area on the Salt Flats) and Bad Water (the lowest point in all of North America) in the afternoon. Sometimes Bad Water is just a little tiny puddle but with recent rains it's quite a bit larger with water standing on the flats.
We visit the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes near Stove Pipe Wells on our way out of the valley through Emigrant Pass to the west. The sand dunes are quite large and impressive. It's not like the Sahara Desert or places like that where the sand dunes go on for ever and ever. Although the dunes are impressive, the area covered by them is not that extensive. We travel to the west over the Panamint Range and as night approaches we are travelling in very empty deserted country.
In the morning, we're in the Mojave desert and explore Red Rock Canyon State Park in California (not to be confused with Red Rock Canyon/Valley of Fire State Park near Las Vegas which we passed by on our way to Pahrump). Cindy has picked up a tourist guide/brochure from an outdoor dispenser at the park office and as she opens it asks, "What kind of bug is this?". Turns out there was a scorpion inside the brochure trying to stay warm. She thought it was dead until she brushed it away and it scampered off. Luckily no one was bitten. I don't think scorpions are fatal, just nasty.
Near Barstow we stop to visit the Calico Ghost Town. It's hard to miss with signs along the interstate urging you not to. There are actors (both men and women) dressed in period garb: cowboy hats, boots, six shooters, dusty beards, etc. We do the tourist thing and stop at a restaurant/bar to get a drink. Kate asks if they have any wine. "Sure". What kind of wine? "Red and White". Can I see it .... so the server pulls out a gallon glass jar of each to show us. They're both largely empty, warm and look like they've seen way too much air. The white is oxidized and no longer white. "Ah, ... no thanks, I'll have a beer".
Back in Las Vegas we take a drive to Lee Canyon on Mt. Charleston. It's very high country with skiing and sledding areas – they get snow at this elevation! I believe we attended the Folies Bergère at the Tropicana Hotel on our last night but have no photographs of that event. That might have been the time the security at the show came and confiscated Kate's camera -- she was taking pictures when they were pretty clear that this is forbidden.
It was a short visit, a welcome retreat from the cold miserable days of a February winter in Ontario. I especially liked seeing water on the Salt Flats of Death Valley and driving west out of the valley into the really deserted country found there. We wish we had stayed longer but we'll be back another time and explore more.
These notes and recollections composed during November of 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pictures in the photo album are from scanned black and white proofs I had developed back in 1995. Quality would be much better if/when I find the negatives. Why I decided to shoot black and white escapes me now.
