Indecent Proposal... But he was cute! (Day 2)

 Up at 5am with coffee brewing and dressed to go! Oops, my bad. Its 4am here. On the bright side this subtle time difference could be the key to being on time for sunrise.

I arrived at Zabriskie Point way before the first hints of daylight. In the pitch black, completely alone in the parking lot, I wondered if this was a good idea?! Shortly thereafter, a second car arrived. Now that I had been joined by a fellow human, I had to reconcile the thought that I might actually be MORE creeped out by the steep walk up to the overlook of a vast wasteland and a steep dropoff with a strange man following me! Hahaha.

Soon enough though, there were 6 more of us and Zabriskie's reputation for morning glory appeared to have reached people from all walks of life, all over the planet.

Up we hiked.

It was windy as heck! Wearing a parka, snow pants, wool neck gaiter and hat, I was more prepared than most to hunker down on some golden dirt and start the Death Valley sunrise experiment - me and my tripod (and he was aided and abetted by a 5lb of rice weight bag, being spooned/hugged by me, close to the ground).

Freakin' amazing! I secretly hoped my pictures were going to be good but had already decided that if they were not, I'd simply come back tomorrow - it was that good.

The parking lot was FULL as I turned to go. Walking back down the hill, I followed an older couple. He carried the heavy camera, she had the tripod. They linked arms, supporting each other as the wind threatened to blow them, in their matching Merrell's and olive green down jackets, right off Zabriskie Point. Watching them together was the second magical, beautiful moment of the day. It was 7:30am! The sun had just greeted the new day and at Death Valley my day was already filled with joy, beauty and delight.

In Furnace Creek, I checked in at the Visitor Center to get a map and park pass. It's good for 30 days and sits on the dash so everyone knows you're a good girl. I hit the General Store at the Furnace Creek Ranch - It's carefully hidden but when you find it you'll discover a meager array of fresh groceries, packaged lunches, brewed coffee, souvenirs and clothes. I nabbed an avocado to put in my picnic sandwich and a large coffee that found it's way into my thermos flask for my sipping pleasure all morning.

Devil's Golf Course: Interesting and ancient but I wish people didn't feel the need to stomp on the salt statues! I predict that someday soon it will either be mostly destroyed or closed for walking amongst the formations. A shame either way.

This stop was also a good time to downgrade my winter attire, eat my Lucky Charms from a plastic bowl wth a spork and make up my "napping area" in the back of Beast. This inflatable camp mattress and sleeping back setup will stop me from needing to return to the motel midday. It's an hour and 3000+ foot climb back out of the Valley - I'm happy to save the time and fuel.

Badwater Basin: Maybe I was wrong about my theory of 'curious visitors' stomping and destroying salt formations. There is evidence here of renewal - Maybe in the scorching summer when it's too hot to go stomping, nature revives itself a little? 

It's a crusty ol' lake bed but somehow won a place in my heart. I'd give up sand dunes for more time here. I WILL. 

1:30pm...  I vaguely remember a plan to take a nap.... 

With every twist and turn in the road a new expance of wonder opens up though and now I just stop when the mood takes me, which is all the time! I clamber over salt statues and the muddy beginnings of. Marveling at plants, colors and shapes. A thousand pics later, here I am most of the way along that road past Bad Water. The water is still bad, if evident at all but that just makes life here more resiliant and remarkable. Who would nap through all this anyway?

My personal favorite was Mormon Point. Someone's God graced me with peace and solitude as I made more than a few photos here. Grateful for that.

I almost left it to late but squeezed a quick drive to Artist's Palette in, just as the sun was setting. 

Just when I thought the motel was the lowlight of the day, I arrived back under the cover of darkness to a greeting. Imagine my surprise when I jumped out and walked around the to the back of Beast to discover... a burro waiting for me! 

He was curious, and friendly. And seemed as happy as I was to have a conversation with someone after a long day alone. His ears implied he was a superb listener as I unpacked the car and dumped everything into the room, so I gave them a little scratch. (So soft!!!)

Then he asked to come inside.... Eh.... Pretty sure that's not allowed. 

I pushed his giant head gently out the door and watched as he shrugged and wandered off in the night. 

A Tale of Two Cities... And Two Seasons! (Day 1)

 I'm not going to lie to you; departing DIA was not a piece of cake!

4am wake up call (but I had already been awake since 3:15am)

5am bus ride - full bus - in the snow and dark.

8am flight not technically delayed but due to blizzard conditions, near zero vis, blowing snow and complications getting flight crew to work on time, we were #50 (exaggerating of course) in line for deicing.

Deicing was fascinating though. I wasted LOTS of battery and memory documenting ground staff drowning us in orange spray; then coloring us green. Drowning themselves too. 

As we waited in line for takeoff, my anxiety was being cultivated and overfed by weird screeching run-up noises, a strong smell of vinegar in the cabin and deteriorating conditions outside. I've flown a wee bit... And this was the first time I felt almost compelled to ditch airplane mode and send a last minute "in case I don't make it" message. The engine nearest me screamed like a wild animal just about to die as we climbed aggressively toward the west. Triggering? Just a bit. 

Later, thousands of feet up in the sky over the Rockies the engine now "normal sounding" and the sun shining into my porthole, life seems back on track - mentally! <3

Rental car fears turned out to be unfounded and before long, I was headed out of Vegas in 'Beast' the 4-runner and driving into super interesting Beatty NV. Burros greeted me as I drove down main street... so I stopped to chat! FRIENDLY little buggers! 5 for the win!

Death Valley, just 8 miles up the road was cool at 58F. 

Windy too. When you wish for a breeze to fling some sand and make it appear the sand dunes are dancing, but you get this... 

... Is it a disappointment? No! It's what over-achievement looks like!

Regardless of whether I was downwind or upwind, every time I opened Beast's window/door, a sand dune hitched a ride. He's going to need a spa day at the end. As will I.

Santa Ana gusts from that wind event in Southern California today? Likely. A little more problematic than it played in my head, but by no means vicious. Just insidious. I had packed for most conditions but didn't imagine this and even if I had, I didn't own a haz-mat suit.

A half mile from Mesquite Flats there were road works - for flood damage. It was the last thing I expected here and yet there was ample evidence of the destructive path of sudden and heavy rains. Where does it go, though?  

Even if/when it saturates Bad Water Basin and pools like a mini representation of the lake 2000 years ago, it's reconstituting pillars of salts and minerals. Undrinkable and I imagine toxic for the plants too.

Death Valley is aptly named.