More Death Valley

I've been back from my trip for a couple days, but have a lot of extra pics so will post a few. Incidentially, for more-and better-pics of Death Valley refer to my friends' websites...The Lazy A, Steve's Bike Blog, and Duane's World; they're all Death Valley veterans and have great pics on their sites. Especially check out their photos of the Racetrack. That surreal site is 20-odd miles off the pavement, and I really shouldn't take my car in that area. I don't even know if it would make it! On my recent trip I stayed on the sealed roads for the most part. The scenery is great even from there; this is Zabriskie Point.

Here's the Devil's Golf Course. I reckon there are no good lies here...does the Devil have a Salt Wedge in his bag? The mountains in the background include Telescope Peak, which at 11,049 feet is over two miles above the golf course.

The word "stark" to describe a desert landscape is somewhat trite, but it could have been invented in Death Valley. This shot is on Artists Drive, on the east side of the valley. It's ironic that the desert, where rainfall is lowest, often provides the best evidence of erosion caused by heavy rains. Death Valley is full of gullies and alluvial fans, shrouded by vegetation in wetter areas but clear for all to see in an area where the average rainfall per year is about two inches.

Near Stovepipe Wells are large sand dunes; the biggest ones are about 100 feet high. When I visited in 1991, I climbed to the highest dune, which was very neat. Didn't have the time to do that this time; will have to go back for several days. The dunes provide a foreground scene to the more distant mountains; the whole scene is delightfully surreal.