California: Death Valley National Park
130 images Created 3 Jun 2018
During our visit 19-21 April 2018, some refreshing sprinkles formed a rainbow over Death Valley's colorful geology. Parting clouds revealed fresh snow whitening Telescope Peak (11,043 ft), impressively high above Badwater Basin, the lowest point in North America (282 feet below sea level). Cresting the Panamint Range, Telescope Peak has one of the greatest vertical rises above local terrain of any mountain in the contiguous United States. At our feet, evaporation from Badwater Basin concentrated crystalline mounds of sodium chloride (table salt), plus calcite, gypsum, and borax (famously mined 1883-1889 with Twenty Mule Teams). Artist's Drive was worth the short side trip to explore the colorful geologic formation of Artists Palette. More than 5 million years ago, multiple volcanic eruptions deposited ash and minerals which chemically altered into a colorful paint pot of elements (iron, aluminum, magnesium and titanium).
We were delighted to photograph sunrise illuminating a tapestry of golden yellow striated landscape patterns at Zabriskie Point. Next, driving around to Golden Canyon Trailhead begins a great hiking loop uphill to Red Cathedral then back downhill via Gower Gulch (6 miles with 800 ft gain), our favorite walk in the park. Around lunchtime, I enjoyed photographing pioneer-era mining and transportation machines outdoors at the Borax Museum at Furnace Creek Ranch. To escape increasing heat, we drove up Emigrant Canyon Road to 4100-foot Wildrose Campground, where faucets provided tasty drinking water. Along the winding road, we luckily spotted some Desert bighorn sheep with lambs. Campground quiet was suddenly shattered with the loud hee-haw braying of an alpha donkey keeping his herd in line.
Near Stovepipe Wells, the first light of sunrise spectacularly highlights Mesquite Flat Dunes. Then, along the hike to Fall Canyon's dry waterfall (6.7 miles with 1250 feet gain) I photographed some feisty Zebra-tailed lizards, some lusciously creamy yellow flowers of the desert rock nettle (desert stingbush) clinging to shaded canyon walls, plus some intriguing rock patterns.
We were delighted to photograph sunrise illuminating a tapestry of golden yellow striated landscape patterns at Zabriskie Point. Next, driving around to Golden Canyon Trailhead begins a great hiking loop uphill to Red Cathedral then back downhill via Gower Gulch (6 miles with 800 ft gain), our favorite walk in the park. Around lunchtime, I enjoyed photographing pioneer-era mining and transportation machines outdoors at the Borax Museum at Furnace Creek Ranch. To escape increasing heat, we drove up Emigrant Canyon Road to 4100-foot Wildrose Campground, where faucets provided tasty drinking water. Along the winding road, we luckily spotted some Desert bighorn sheep with lambs. Campground quiet was suddenly shattered with the loud hee-haw braying of an alpha donkey keeping his herd in line.
Near Stovepipe Wells, the first light of sunrise spectacularly highlights Mesquite Flat Dunes. Then, along the hike to Fall Canyon's dry waterfall (6.7 miles with 1250 feet gain) I photographed some feisty Zebra-tailed lizards, some lusciously creamy yellow flowers of the desert rock nettle (desert stingbush) clinging to shaded canyon walls, plus some intriguing rock patterns.
