road trip to Death Valley, day two

Alright, here we go.  Our full day in Death Valley National Park.  We saw a lot, and yet, we saw only a little of the park.  That is NOT a complaint.  Are you kidding?  I hope you get a sense from the photos of what an awesome day it was.  Mild/cool temperatures and blue skies.  Wow.  So thrilled I got to see so much of it.

Not unusually for us, Conrad and I were up well before Van was, so we poked around outside a little, seeing the grounds. 

But we did get Van out of bed, and we did get up to the main lodge for breakfast before taking some photos of the grounds. 

We had our trusty golf cart for the weekend

(each casita is assigned golf cart, and it was the first time driving one for me and for Van and maybe Conrad).  We got ourselves together, and headed out.

First stop, the park's information center about a mile away in Furnace Creek.  Souvenirs, checking out maps, and then it was on the road south.  We had a plan for the day, but the plan didn't pan out.  Oh, that's fine.  No Stress Express for us.  Let's see what we see and enjoy it!

So we were heading to Badwater Basin, but we were entranced by the long, flat stretch of valley coated in salt deposits. 

En route, we stopped at a site called The Devil's Golf Course. 

All these craggy (and sharp!) salt formations to walk amongst.  Oh, and the glare.  Ouch!  And we weren't even in the pure white of salt pans at that point.  So cool to see, though.

We continued south, and turned off the road to see the natural bridge.  A short hike into the canyon to appreciate it. 

Wow.  Very cool, truly.  A lot of the park makes you think and wonder about natural geologic processes.  Past the bridge, deeper up the canyon, there was evidence of waterfalls when the rains or snowmelt hit.  Just so remarkable.  And then to look down the canyon and see how the Panamint mountains were reflected in the water collected on the valley floor? 

Just stunning.

We decided then not to go to Badwater Basin.  We'd see it the next day on the drive home, and so we ventured north.  Next up, the Artist's Drive and a stop at the Artist's Palette. 

Beautiful colours in the rocks, but Van was disinclined to do the easy hikes.  We admired them and despaired of the throngs of people climbing all over (and especially the one woman who took her dog on a leash to a side area to do its business - dogs are not permitted anywhere in the park where cars can't go, and this was not the first one we saw that day.  I hate people sometimes.) and left.  Onward to the Mesquite Flat Dunes in hopes of making it by sunset.  Alas, we were minutes late, and that made a difference for how we saw light on the dunes. 

They were impressive, but the crowds and the encroaching evening made us decide to return to the hotel shortly after getting some shots of the dunes

and of ourselves.

And then it was dinner at the hotel.  A steak for me, some red wine.  A nice time of it.  A full day, an exhausting day, and I was utterly happy to have experienced it!

once weekly

The schedule has not been good for my swimming lately, I regret to report.  Still, a few lengths are better than none, as I have to remind myself time and time again.  I managed my weekly splash this morning before getting ready for work.  With travel this week into next, it's likely a week from Thursday before I get another opportunity.  Ah well.

road trip to Death Valley, day one

We're home from the long weekend.  It's back to work tomorrow for a couple of days, then out of town again for me.  I'll blog that when the time comes, no worries.  For now, let me tell the tale of the weekend that was.

We set out late Saturday morning, heading up the 210 to the 14 and through Palmdale and Lancaster, cities I knew of from work but had never ventured to.  From there it was onto smaller roads

that took us past the Trona Pinnacles

and Searles Lake, through the settlement of Trona (I was on the other side of the car from the town's buildings)

with its ongoing chemical mining operations, and then through Ridgecrest where we stopped for lunch.  After that, it was back on small roads that opened up onto the Panamint Valley, one valley west from Death Valley. 

We dropped down into it, and drove toward the park, stopping at the marker for the ghost town of Ballarat

and then at the sign for the entrance to Death Valley National Park. 

There were a few blooms already visible,

though I think it won't be a great year for flowers unless we get more rain.  We took pictures at the sign,

including of the Panamint Range and the snow on Telescope Peak,

then we headed east, deeper into the park.

There will be more sights from Death Valley in coming blog posts, but the first one that we got to admire (and come back to the next day) was the Mesquite Flat Dunes. 

Gorgeous with the approaching sunset.  A real delight.  The sun dipped behind the Panamint Range,

and we made it to the hotel in dimming light.

Ah, the hotel.  The Oasis at Death Valley.  An historic site, a classic national parks hotel still nicely maintained.  We stayed down below the main building, in the casitas. 

But ah, what a fine building the main lodge is. 

Come 7:00, we were sitting down to dinner in the dining room.  Salmon for me, nicely prepared. 

After dinner, we stopped by the pool bar,

and then it was home to the casita to unwind and head to bed so that we would be properly rested for a day of exploration.

road trip weekend

This morning, at 10ish (well, more ish than 10, but that’s fine), we set out on the 210 for a weekend away road trip.

And by sunset, folks, we made it.

Our base of operations until we head home Monday:  the Oasis at Death Valley.  Lovely.  

And what a fantastic drive.

I’ll post more in days ahead and when I get home, for sure.  But hooray for a little California adventure and for being here!

quickly, before we go

A hello on a Saturday morning of a long weekend.  Conrad and I are soon out the door, Van picking us up, and the three of us off to Death Valley National Park for a couple of nights.  We've thrown some things into a bag here this morning, and that was after a wee walk and a breakfast.  Yep, our good friends at Amara.  And yep, the arepa for me.  If it ain't broke...