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Death Valley Nat’l Park

Wednesday, January 19th, 2011

High profile vehicles like mine are no fun in the wind. My van danced and rocked as I drove through the San Gabriel Mountains, demanding all my attention just to keep from being buffeted into another lane. To say that it was windy is a gross understatement. A steady wind is one thing but strong gusts are yet another. They hit you with a thud, demanding all your attention just to keep a vehicle on a semi-straight line.

I was headed north to spend a day at Death Valley National Park. With temperatures in the summer reaching well over 110 degrees, this January weekend would be the best time for me and my old truck to tour the park. Richard told me the climb over the mountains just to enter the park would give my vehicle a workout both going up and coming down and I didn’t want to have to worry about overheating, too.

Highway 14 north was very nice. Valleys, canyons, and distant mountains dot the landscape, and to my relief, the wind calmed down as I descended into the lowlands. It wasn’t long before the Sierra Mountains came into view and I turned away from them towards Death Valley. It is amazing that the highest point in the lower forty eight – Mt. Whitney in the Sierra Mountains -and the lowest -Badwater Basin in Death Valley – are less than 100 miles (as the crow flies) apart.

I have a hard time coming to grips with the price of gas in California, so I passed by more filling stations than I should have. By the time I reached the road that turns into Death Valley, I hadn’t seen gas for twenty miles. I’m not sure what felt worse, the apprehension of running out of gas in Death Valley, or the reality – as it turned out – of paying $4.45 a gallon for a tank full at a run down mom and pop quickie store.

I spent the night at Stovepipe Wells in a campground built on a chunk of desert wasteland. It was little more than a parking lot divided by cement curbs into a two dimensional grid, sporting only one restroom for five-acres of campers. But it was quiet, cheap, and conveniently located for my next day of exploring.

In the morning, after a good night’s sleep in mild temperature, I was puzzled by the fact that it seemed to take forever to boil water for my coffee. I always thought that water boils easier at sea level than high altitude, but it sure didn’t seem like it.

I spent the day visiting historic and scenic sights scattered along the Valley floor. My first stop was at Scotty’s Castle in the northern area of the park. The story of Scotty’s Castle is in itself a tale right out of Hollywood, involving deception, wild west trickery, and the romance of a mansion built on the edge of a wasteland. The tours were expensive so I walked around the property and read information boards in the visitor’s center. Then it was off to hike one of the slot canyons near Furnace Creek.

In most parts of country, there is usually a transition of plains to foothills and then to mountains, but the mountains seem to rear directly from the valley in Death Valley. It doesn’t rain much here, but when it does, the soft mountain base erodes to form deep, beautiful canyons. I hiked up Golden Canyon to the Red Cathedral, unfortunately joined by about a hundred other people, enjoying an afternoon of 80-degree temperatures in January.

My last stop took me to the lowest point in the USA. At 282 feet below sea level, Badwater Basin holds the record high temperature of 135 degrees. It is an inferno of heat in the summertime. I walked to the edge of the salty lake and took pictures of a sign high on a cliff above the parking lot, marking the symbolic point of sea level.

Death Valley National Park was a fascinating place to visit. I always imagined the park to be a desolate desert of sand and rotting animal bones, but it was surprisingly beautiful in a unique sort of way. I’m glad I got to see another natural wonder in this vast land of ours.

West Coast Trip

Wednesday, January 12th, 2011

I thought I would take a few minutes and update everyone on what I have been doing. It seems like the days blend together so quickly that nothing is very important, but as I think back over the last couple of weeks, a lot has happened.

My first stop was in Quartzsite, AZ to explore the phenomenon community of RV living. Every year, the area around Quartzsite explodes with snowbirds escaping cold and snow in the north to live for a few weeks or months in the southwest desert. I drove through the campgrounds of two visitor areas and talked with a retired couple about the requirements for staying in the park. It’s really quite an inexpensive way to live and ideal for people on fixed income. By the time I explored several sections of campgrounds the afternoon was slipping away, so I staked out a section of parking area in a boondocking area and stayed for the night. The next morning I headed out early for Joshua Tree National Park.

Joshua Tree is a nice scenic area within the Colorado and Mojave Desert, and I enjoyed the drive along unique boulder formations and colorful cactus displays. The Mormons named the Joshua tree. They thought the trees looked like Joshua raising his arms to Heaven. There is a beautiful place in the park called Cholla Gardens, scattered with hundreds of flowering cacti, accessed by walkways winding through the desert. I took a couple of hikes during the morning and found a campground later in the day. Even though it was a fairly low altitude, it got very cold in the night and I scraped frost from my windshield before I could pull out the next day.
West Coast 010

Nothing on the West Coast moves at a slow pace. It is not a place to find restful activities or tranquil spots for relaxing. Even visiting the beaches at the Pacific Ocean sometimes involve traffic, parking troubles, and expensive admission to the State Beaches. Visiting the Los Angeles area usually involves trips to the wild and wonderful amusement parks scattered throughout the city, and I have to admit that I stood in line and became a kid again. For a few hours, and maybe my last time, I rode the cars, trains, and boats through Disney’s jungles and temples of adventure. It was a tiring two days but I probably got my moneys worth of enjoyment.

Don and Betty graciously opened their home to me and I enjoyed staying with them for a couple of days. I had a good time visiting with them and meeting Betty’s three daughters. Don and I went to the Getty Museum for a little culture on Saturday and then we visited the Ronald Reagan Library on Sunday. It was fun spending time with my brother, but I have to admit that one time at each place will be enough for me. The Reagan Library was a disappointment because there were so many exhibits closed for remodeling. On Monday, Don, Betty, and I will visit Universal Studios.

Don by Berlin Wall

Don by Berlin Wall

Right now I am staying with Richard and Dianna as they prepare final arrangements for Dianna’s parents home and belongings. The idea is that I’m helping them box, arrange, sort and distribute a household of belongings, but I am actually so glad to be here and spending time with them that it doesn’t even feel like work. I will help them for as long as they need me. My plan this weekend is to spend a couple of days at Death Valley National Park and I will try to update more quickly this time. There are a few photos on my gallery.

For Mom

Sunday, January 2nd, 2011

On Sunday, the second day of 2011, Daryl, Les, and I went hiking in the South Mountains near Phoenix.  Les, a good friend and hiking partner of Daryl, and incidentally a professor of botany at Arizona State University, gave me an introductory lesson of plant life in the Arizona desert. It was amazing to learn the names of the various plants and their characteristics.  I hope I remember some of the interesting traits, and that I will be able to identify a few species when I’m in the field again. 

In the chill of early morning we had the trails mostly to ourselves. A few mountain bikers and scatted hikers were enjoying the bright sunshine and crystal clear views from the mountains.  We stopped to admire some petroglyphs left by ancient natives and then ate lunch in the lee of a rocky ridge. By the time we walked back to the parking lot, the place was getting crowded with bikers, runners, and hikers. 

 It felt good to exercise after a week of holiday feasting and inactivity. Both Daryl and I are aware of too many calories going in and not enough burning off. Only the day before, we took a 6 mile bike ride with Apollo, and while it was great exercise, Apollo got the ultimate workout.  I hope to keep hiking and be more careful with what I eat as I head out to the west coast for a few days. I owe many thanks to Donna and Daryl for putting up with me the last few weeks. 

Check out my Gallery to see a few pictures of our hike.

Along the Rio Grande

Sunday, December 12th, 2010

Yesterday, I drove to Santa Elena Canyon and walked the short trail back into the canyon. It’s an awesome place to see. The gorge narrows to 30 feet with vertical rock  walls 1500 feet high on either side. I took some pictures, but you really can’t capture the experience with anything but your eyes.  The Rio Grande River is famous for it’s beautiful passage through spectacular scenery in and above the Big Bend area, and that’s why many people raft/canoe the miles of waterway along the border.  I decided to drive the road that follows the river through Big Bend Ranch State Park to Presido and check out the scenery. 

Mexico is privileged to hold most of the beautiful mountains and canyons along the Rio Grande and I often wished I could explore them. I heard tell of one canyon, feeding into the Rio Grande, that is so lush with vegetation it is like a rain forest. The drive was very pretty and interspersed with information at canoe access points. 

From Presido I drove north and soon came to the Border Patrol checkpoint. I have the wrong kind of vehicle to pass through an inspection station in innocence, and they always give me the third degree. I answered questions about every part of my life for the last few years and even some about the future. I kind of guessed I was in for a grilling when I saw the narcotics dog held by one of the patrolmen as i pulled up. I guess it’s good that they are spending money and time with these inspection stations, but all the miles I drove along the border, not once did I see a Border Patrol vehicle. 

Last night i stayed at Davis Mountain SP in Texas, and tonight I will camp somewhere near Carlsbad. I want to see the cave one more time and then head back to Arizona. 

Big Bend Nat’l Park

Friday, December 10th, 2010

I guess I’d better catch up on my journal. It’s been so long since I’ve had a cell signal my writing fell into extinction. This section of the southwest, from the Gila National Forest to White Sands National Park and Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico, down through Guadeloupe National Park all the way to Big Bend Nat’l Park in Texas never once gave me one bar of  AT&T signal. This is not the section of the USA to have an iPhone. 

The Gila Wilderness is the neatest place on earth. I would love to backpack there someday. It took forever to cross through the mountains but it was worth it. The road is so winding and steep it keeps you to about 20 mph all the way through. Finally, you come down from the mountains and skirt the Missile Range on I15 to White Sands Nat’l Monument. 

I took a nature trail through the sand dunes and drove the 8 mi loop around the park. There’s not much to see there except pure white sand. Most of the visitors were sledding down the dunes with there kids like they were on a hill of snow. 

Carlsbad Caverns Nat’l Park is worth the trip all by itself. I never remembered it being so hugh when I was there before. It took me two days to tour only about half what is open to visitors, and then I wanted to do them all over again. Two of the largest and longest cave trails are now self-guided:  the Natural Opening that spirals down a trail for over a mile to a depth 800 ft below ground, and the Big Room, another trail over a mile in length were free with my Golden Pass. I liked them so much that i came back the next day and did them again. I also joined two guided tours, a lantern walk and the Kings Palace. It is just such a place of alien beauty I may stop and do It again on my way back, if it is not too far out of the way. 

Guadeloupe NP was a good place to spend the night while I toured Carlsbad Caverns. I left there with a full tank of gas for what I knew would be a long lonely stretch of barren highway through southern Texas. Texas likes to put up a lot of Historic Markers along it’s highways, and for awhile I stopped at each one to marvel at some fact, but soon I tired of stopping from 70 mph every few miles to read about some cattleman killed by Indians, or where a railroad went through, and passed a few by. 

I’m now spending three days- or maybe more- at Big Bend NP. I’ll have to see how many Mexicans I can get in the back of my van to bring to Phoenix.  Donna says they need a lot more illegals there  That’s the only scary thing about being here, this park is pretty active with smugglers. Most of my hiking has been in the Chisos Mountains though, and the heavy traffic goes through the Rio Grand area twenty miles from here. 

Today I climbed Emory Peak, the highest point in the Chisos Mountains at 7825 ft. My legs are a little tired but otherwise I feel good. I’m not sure what I will do tomorrow