Hoover Dam and Zion National Park

I decided not to return to Death Valley the next day. I felt that I had already covered it substantially. Instead I took a short road trip to the Hoover Dam about 30 miles southeast of Las Vegas. This is the most convenient place outside of Vegas to visit for the Vegas visitor. As such, there were many people there even though the day was still fresh. Heavy construction work was going on. Despite the crowd and the construction, the views were very nice, especially the dual level of water in the dam.

On the spur of the moment I decided then to visit Zion National Park located 170 miles northeast of Vegas. This turned out to be a great idea. The drive was great. The colors of fall were in full bloom in the park – yellow, brown, orange, golden. It was a very peaceful place.

One thing I noticed was that mostly an older crowd visits the places I go to. This is rather sad. People wait until they retire to go see places. More of us need to get out there.

Hoover Dam


Hoover Dam


Zion Entrance


Zion

Weeping Stone at Zion

Fall Sunshine

Zion

The Moon, the Mountain, and the Train

Death Valley II

At Dante’s View I met a few others. There was a young Dutch couple. I saw many Europeans during the length of the entire trip. The day was still fresh and I decided to move onto the next stop – Zabriskie Point.

Zabriskie Point is a mountain range that looks like it is on another planet. The contours and colors of the mountains really stand out. I saw an old guy sitting on a bench looking at his notes and the mountains in the background looked majestic.

From Zabriskie Point I drove down to the Furnace Creek Inn. This was situated in the middle of the vast desert and is a popular place to stay overnight. I found it to be a bit pricey for an outdoorsy adventure and decided not to stay here.

Next, I drove towards Badwater. Badwater, a basin located within Death Valley, is the specific location of the lowest elevation in North America at 282 ft below sea level.

There are numerous side trips one can take en route to Badwater. The first of these is a hiking trail called Golden Canyon. I stopped here and walked down the trail a bit. I decided not to finish it though. The temperature was now rising fast and I hadn’t brought my hiking shoes.

I came across a sign that pointed to a dirt road and read ‘Devil’s Golf Course’. I was driving a fancy Benz but this wasn’t really offroading. The road was bumpy and the ride rough with anything above 20 mph causing considerable shaking. The Devil's Golf Course is a large salt pan with a rough surface formed of large salt crystals. It was named after a line in a 1934 National Park Service guide book to Death Valley, which stated that "only the devil could play golf" on its surface.

I got out of the car and took some pictures. I saw three geologists doing some experiments with a machine placed on the ground. Then I drove back to the main road to Badwater.

At Badwater I saw a small pool of standing water which was a rather unusual sight in the desert. Here I walked along a whitish surface as far out as I could.

I was getting hungry so I decided to return to my car for a snack. On my way back I detoured onto Artist’s Drive. This was a scenic drive and looked like an artist may have drawn it. It is a nine mile long loop and exhibits brilliant colors of clay and mudstones. These are residuals of ancient volcanic ashfalls and range in color from pale aqua blue-green to rich carmine red. I also stopped at a place called Artist’s Palette that showed vibrant colors.

Artists’s Drive is a one-way and took me all the way back to the road between Badwater and Furnace Creek Inn.

After lunch I decided to visit the sand dunes close to Stovepipe Wells. I parked the car by the side of the road and decided to walk into the dunes. I had only half a bottle of water left. In retrospect, this was a bad idea. I didn’t keep track of how far I had gone off the road taking pictures. When I decided to turn around I was already tired, dripping sweat and thirsty. Walking on the sand is not easy and takes a lot out of you. It took a lot out of me to find my way back to the road.

I had seen a lot of Death Valley and it was time to head back to Vegas. I could return the next day or I could go some place else.

…..to be continued…….


The snowy mountain in the back of the mountain range is Mt. Whitney, the highest point in the US; this picture also captures the lowest point in the US:


Death Valley from Dante's View:


Vastness of the Valley:


Zabriskie Point:

Just you and me:

The Mark of Zorro:

Devil's Golf Course:

Badwater Basin:

A pool of standing shallow water in the desert:

Lunar Surface look-alike at Badwater Basin:

Artist's Drive:

Artist's Palette:

A stone statue in the middle of nowhere:

Sand Dunes:

Sand Dunes:

The Desert:

Hot and Humid:

The Moon above the Valley in late afternoon:

Death Valley I

As always, for the complete set of pictures and videos, go to the Flickr link on the right.

Death Valley is located about 120 miles west of Las Vegas. It is actually in California and not Nevada as I had erroneously assumed. I wanted to go to the desert and photograph it. McCarran, Las Vegas is the most conveniently located airport. At the rental car company there was an unbelievably long line at the counter with over 50 people in front of me. I was convinced that I would never be able to get out in decent time but then realized that Gold Club members could go to a separate counter. I located my Club Gold card in my wallet and skipped the line. The Gold counter was empty. That was a huge relief. I got upgraded to a Mercedes GLK - my lucky night in Vegas. This was a great upgrade because I would be spending much time on the road. I stayed the night off the strip (no point staying at Bellagio when you aren’t planning to do Vegas the way it should be done).

One reason I like traveling to the west coast is that the time adjustment gives me a head start to my day. I woke up early. As the sun came out, I could make out the outlines of the mountains surrounding the valley. It was invigorating and instantly reminded me of why I love being in this part of the country.

The stage was set for another road trip. However, first I needed some eggs in my system. First stop – Denny’s.

The Benz drove smoothly and handled very well. I reached Death Valley early in the morning. The first stop was Dante’s View. The road was deserted, the sun was gaining strength and the temperature rising. And then I saw a crab crossing the road. It was déjà vu. Earlier this year I had seen crabs crossing the road when I was down in the Florida Keys. Then it struck me – it wasn’t a crab, it was a……wait for it…………a tarantula!!!

I had missed my chance to photograph the little bugger but soon I would get another chance. Just a few hundred meters down the road I saw another one. This time I stopped the car and decided to look at the creature up close. That thing was huge and to be honest I was a little scared. I did find the balls to go near him and take a few pictures.

Dante’s View is a unique place to visit because on a clear day you can see both the lowest and the highest points in the contiguous United States. The lowest point is at 282 feet below sea level; and across the valley, barely visible in the distance is Mt. Whitney, the highest point, at 14,496 feet above sea level. I did not know this fact but an elderly couple pointed it out to me. What a treat.

This was just the beginning of the adventure and already I had been treated to some memorable scenes.

….to be continued….


The sun rises over Las Vegas


The Merc





My little friend


Up close and personal


Death Valley from Dante's View - lowest point in the US


Craters make it look like Mars


Death Valley from Dante's View

Death Valley Prologue

My trip starts tomorrow. I only know where I am staying the first night. Rest is wide open. This is a solo trip with main focus on photography. I wanted to go off roading but getting a jeep from a reliable place is very hard. After reading a lot of horror stories on the net I decided to just get a mid-size SUV. I have become adept at traveling light. Just a small duffle bag and camera holster. The wilderness is calling.

I read this today and found it to be so amazing:

"People say 'I want peace'. If you remove I {ego}, and your want {desire}, you are left with peace." - Satya Sai Baba

Don't remember you looking any better...

I was downloading some music to my MP3 and although I already have all songs by John Mayer, I went to his page again. And I found a new single called Who Says. I downloaded that immediately. Its ok. Not real bluesy, and nothing like Gravity or Where the Light is.

Next day I emailed my buddy at work about the single. He wrote back that JM is actually coming out with a new album next month. I am really excited to hear that. I looked up whether he was planning to do any concerts and he is playing in San Diego on December 29.

I asked my buddy if he wants to go. He says he doesnt want to go all the way to San Diego just for the concert. So I am trying to recruit others. Anyone interested? It would be fun times.

Yesterday, buddy and I went to Guitar Center because I wanted to buy a new guitar. The ones I like the best were 3/4 guitars i.e. the bodies are 3 quarters the size of a regular guitar. While I was looking at them, buddy saw an amp for himself. The sales guy demonstrated how it worked and played some awesome guitar for a good 15 minutes. My buddy bought it.

You see the most interesting people at Guitar Center. Long hair, tattoos, leather vests, facial scars, mullets and beards - its all in there. There was a biker lady experimenting with various electric guitars and I vaguely recognized her from some band in the 80s - Roxette perhaps.

In the end I decided not to buy the guitar because my buddy said it wasnt manly enough. Image is important for an artist. I say that trying to keep a straight face.

We then proceeded to grab a sandwich at Pot Belly. The poor fella was doing math in his head as to how he was going to pay next month's rent after his expensive purchase.

It was an interesting Saturday evening.

I still want to go to San Diego to catch JM's concert. You can sleep on my hotel room's couch. Any takers?

Make that 7 trips. Just found out I am needed in the Commonwealth of Kentucky early next month. These guys apparently do not like being called the State of Kentucky. I wonder if they have a King and Queen as well.

Airport

I was just looking at my calendar and I have a total of 6 trips coming up through the end of November. Craziness. Some of these are for leisure and some for business. The places I will visit are: DC, NYC (twice), Philadelphia, Atlanta, and…wait for it….Death Valley in California. It would have been seven trips if I had successfully maneuvered my way to Vancouver. That was the first travel setback of this year. Otherwise, I have been able to stick to plans.

Some people say they don’t like airports. But I love airports, especially when I am traveling for fun. Being at the airport is like being at a crossroad. You can go home or you can go places.