Then we shot down the mountain to Fresno, turned left, scooted down Hwy. 99 to Bakersfield and ended back at one of my favs – Ming Lake. Yeah! Rested there, did my thing sniffing, running, swimming and generally being a dog then started back on the road headed for Death Valley.
The country sure changes rapidly as you drive out of the southern Sierras and begin to enter the desert environment. Cactus and sagebrush the likes of which I have never seen before and sand, lordy, there is sand! Sand smells old, kinda worn down, you know what I mean?
As we entered Death Valley the Pod had to be very brave at one point because we asked it to wind and twist its way through a place called Mustard Canyon; obvious name, we thought.
We visited the site of an 1880’s borax mining operation with interesting old machinery and good information about the processing. Death Valley Scotty of the famous Scotty’s Castle actually got his start as a mule teamster for one of these borax companies. What a harsh life this was!
The Ladies were saying we may stay several days in Death Valley and I got to thinking that it was not the most inviting name I had ever heard! Boy, were we surprised! This National Park lives up to its reputation as a land of extremes, what with average temperature ranges from a low of 39 degrees to a summer high of 115 degrees; rainfall averages under 2 inches and elevation changes from -282 feet below sea level to 11,000 ft.
The real surprise though was the subtle colorfulness of it all and the way those colors could change minute by minute with the difference in light. We all agreed that Death Valley is actually MORE colorful than Grand Canyon or many of the other Colorado Plateau canyon lands. The mineral richness of the mountains and the parfait layering of the canyon walls provide a seemingly endless palette of hues. In fact there is one drive that is actually named the Artist’s Palette.
Hikes into the washes and water carved canyons were full of color and rock formations unimagined by mere mortals; only unfathomable time and Nature can create such beauty. Names like Gold Canyon, Mustard Canyon and Natural Bridge are too mundane to do these works of Nature justice.
The hike up to Zabriskie Point in the Armagosa Mountains gave us a fantastic view of the valley, canyons and patterns of erosion through the convoluted geologic layers. What looks like a lake out in the valley is actually nothing but desolate salt flats, No water here, folks, even though the storms look like they would dump tons of rain, virtually none of it reaches the valley floor.
After a couple of days we trekked up to the north end of the valley to Scotty’s Castle and Ubehebe Crater.
Quite a story was Old Scotty; mostly it seems the story was of his own promotion and imagination. The castle his friends the Johnson’s built was Scotty’s home anytime he wanted it and is a monument to their lasting friendship. The Ladies felt that in many ways it is more integrated and beautiful than Hearst’s Castle because it follows an old world Spanish theme rather than just a theme of accumulation. The tile work was awesome!
At Mesquite campground I caught the scent and stories of several animals who have adapted to these harsh conditions: coyotes, ravens, kangaroo rats, pack rats, lizards and snakes, just to name a few. I learned a valuable lesson about coyotes from one of the volunteer rangers. He told us that in and around the campgrounds you may see a single adult coyote out by the dumpsters or restrooms; they aren’t begging but are actually trying to lure unsuspecting dogs to chase them so that they can lead the poor dummy into a trap set by the rest of the pack and whamo, the dog becomes lunch. I learn fast because I never wanted to be an appetizer!
We stayed nearly 5 days then decided to head south to the Joshua Trees National Park. On the way we stopped in Death Valley Junction (used to be called Amargosa) to see a performance at the Amargosa Opera House. Unfortunately Marta Beckett, sole proprietor and performer must be slowing down after 37 years because she only performs on Saturdays. Dang, we were three or fours days too early. The only other lively thing on the main street of this almost ghost town is a huge male peacock which has the art of panhandling down to a fine science. So of course the Ladies shared some bread with him!
Movin’ on down the road, passing through some of the more boring and desolate landscapes I have seen in quite a while. Actually the Dumont Sand Dunes were starkly beautiful, as were the Granite Mountains and Devil’s Playground south of the dying town of Amboy. For sheer contrast the restored train depot at Kelso was worth a photo and the strange man-made formations of the chloride processing plants along the way.
We arrived at Joshua Tree National Park just in time to set up camp and have dinner. Next two days were spent touring the Mojave and Colorado Desert ecologies contained within this Park. We read they are distinctly different due to differences in elevation and temperature. The Mojave is the western half of the park and the Colorado is the eastern half. The San Andreas Fault line runs through this eastern section also.
These granite boulders are some of the most unusual shapes we have so far encountered, yet they are rounded, benign, even soft feeling, ancient and solid. How can that be? We spent the morning on a good walk and learned a great deal about these 150 million year old granite rocks, their ingrained faults and the erosion by wind and water that shaped them. Quite frankly, this National park would not be half as interesting if these wondrous stones were absent. Later we went in search for The Arch and as you can see we found it.
The geology and botany walks are very well done in this park so we were able to learn about the Mojave Yucca, Ocotillo and Cholla cactus, Smoke Trees, Fan Palms and of course, Joshua Trees. Mormans named the tree after the Biblical figure, Joshua, seeing the uplifted arms of the tree as outstretched in supplication and guiding the pioneers westward.
As we traveled east toward Nevada we encountered some of that strange stuff that teens must do to entertain themselves out in a barren, rural terrain. This time it was graffiti art along the berm of the railroad tracks, all made out of rocks and junk. No spray paint here, folks!
We decided to spend Christmas in Las Vegas. Since we are not putting up a tree, (go ahead, you figure out why we would pass up that tradition! Does 24 square feet give you any clue?), the Ladies thought having all the lights and stuff of Las Vegas might be sorta fun. Personally I found the place a little loud after 10 days or more in the silences of Death Valley and the Joshua Trees National Parks. The Gals seemed to be having fun. I want to thank all of you for hanging in there with me through this exceptionally long California adventure. The fact that we had to send it out in three segments should tell you how exhausting all this dictating and computer work can be for a guy!
I wonder where our next adventure will be. There is talk of heading for more of Arizona, then New Mexico and hopefully on into Mexico. I’ve got all my shots and papers on hand and the Ladies have all theirs too, so we should be good to go. Hope your ‘holidaze’ were excellent and that the New Year will be filled with your dreams, your wishes and your loved ones. Thanks for coming along for the ride all of these months and hopefully our new travel years will bring us more beauty surprises and adventures.
No comments:
Post a Comment