Desert Daze - A Southwest Adventure (XXI)

Part Twenty-One: The Torrential Rains of Death Valley

After spending the night in a cozy motel (I needed to both thaw out and catch up on my notes), I am off across southern Nevada, heading for ultimate of harsh desert landscapes: Death Valley. (While I am writing this in August, I clicked on the weather forecast for today: Sunny, 124 degrees and no breeze – then ‘cooling off’ to 95 tonight. These readings are taken at 5 feet above the ground, on the ground itself temperatures can rise to above 200 degrees, eggs can be fried on rocks!) I am surprised anything at all can live in this climate, so arid and sooooo hot from late spring through fall.

I, however, am visiting in early February, when temperatures are quite pleasant - in the 60’s and 70’s during the day, 40’s and 50’s at night. I’m looking forward to hiking through marbled canyons, fields of sand dunes and, of course, I must do the tourist thing – amble across the salt flats of Badwater, at 282 feet below sea level, the lowest place on the North American continent while snowcovered 11,000 foot Telescope Peak hovers above.

I do so love Death Valley for it’s pitiless landscapes, it’s such a contrast to everywhere else, even the high altitude deserts that I’ve spent the last week and a half in, seem positively lush by comparison. Here on the ‘valley’ floor there aren't even any cacti or creosote bushes, just rock, sand and a few scraggly saltbushes.

But Death valley has its own kind of unique beauty – the earth laid bare revealing bands of pastel colors running through the rock walls of the surrounding mountains – in places it resembles different flavors of ice cream layered on top of each other if one uses a little imagination.

At sunset and sunrise, when the low sun accents the colors, the effect can be quite stunning. Sand dunes also stand out during the magic hours of dawn and dusk, taking on a warm glow with long shadows accenting their textures.

So why do I find myself in a motel again tonight, outside of the park? Because, believe it or not, it is pouring relentlessly and all the roads in the park are closed due to flooding (and snow and ice at higher elevations.) What? In Death Valley? The place where the 1.9 inch annual rainfall is greatly exceeded by an evaporation potential of 150 inches per year? Yes, I have timed my arrival perfectly (not.)

Guess I’ll have to enjoy the relative comfort of a motel room for one more night and see what tomorrow brings. It’s not like I have a choice, my next destination is the Owens Valley and it is only accessible from here, at this time of year, by traversing Death Valley.

Next: Ghost Towns and Snowplows (say what?)