My favorite desert in CA is Death Valley & occasionally Jason & I get to grace it w/ our presence. It's so big, we hit up a different area each time. This March trip was to the most touristy section which is Furnace Creek. Make reservations before you go! Or you may just do what we did the first night which was camp out at the Sunset camp in the gravel. It's really for hundreds of RVs and overflow for the hand full of sad little tent campers that couldn't make it into one of the other full camps. Not so bad, really. People were nice & we scoped out a spot at Texas Spring up the hill the next morning. They do have a spring there, too.
And some neat lil' trails directly around the campground. A lot of campers would go wandering off in them at night & we'd see their little flashlights floating around in the darkness. Some views from one we climbed.
A bit of our campground in the back ground. Beyond that, Sunset campground. Beyond that, the oasis of Furnace Creek Ranch.
The Devil's Golf Course. Ha ha ha (get the joke-yes? no?) That's Telescope Peak in the background; the highest point in Death Valley. 11,000-something feet, I believe? The ground is very crunchy to walk on.
Behind me is the Natural Bridge. The hike to it is pretty easy, but be sure to have a spare tire for the drive up the road to the trailhead. More washboard than a country mountain band? Yes.
Bad water is the lowest point in the western hemisphere, but we didn't have to swim there. Behind us is a little puddle which is home to the Badwater Snail. They are visible & tiny. (I also highly suggest the floppy hat when in DV. Saved me from being Lobster Girl yet again after a desert trip.)
Another crunchy place to walk.
These "sculptures" were everywhere. At first I thought they were neat, but then I realized jerks were breaking apart the salt flats to create them. Jerks. Telescope Peak in the background again!
I've been wanting to go to the Opera House in Death Valley for years & got to do it this time around. Created & ran by Marta Becket for 40 years, it probably won't last much longer. Hopefully it'll still get used for shows & won't turn into another small, dusty museum.
It's located at Death Valley Junction.
The place is actually a bit creepy, but there's a lovely pond across the street from it w/ real live ducks!
The center piece of the full room mural Marta took years to paint; the Renaissance Queen & King & their court. When we got inside, I've never seen a crowd more vicious about taking pictures of EVERYTHING. Would've thought they were getting pictures of some celebrity love child.
Detail of the ceiling.
Jason at the paper mache piano in the prop display room.
Marta was kind enough to sign my picture postcard of her after her performance.
This is where the Golden Canyon hike meets the Red Cathedral.
There's a side trail from Golden Canyon that goes to Zabrinskie Point. This used to be mining territory & there's still a bunch of old shafts to be found in the cliffs.
The signs guided us on proper mine safety.
So of course we went in.
Part of the trail leading from Golden Canyon to Zabrinskie Point. It was a round trip hike of about 6 or 7 miles. Not really that hard, even in 90 degrees. Really.
Behind me is Manly Beacon. I have no idea why it's called that. Oh, wait, it's named after someone named William Manly. Hmmmm... Notice I'm in focus & the Manly is not.
This is a hill to the side of Zabrinskie Point. It was more interesting than ZP, so I got a picture of it instead.
There's a twisty curvy drive called Artist Palette Drive. It's all colorful from the various kinds elements in the ground, such as iron, kids!
Colors!
The bloom was in full swing. Little tiny flowers EVeRYWHERE! And lizards.
'Till next time Death Valley! I'll miss you. xx
