I thought it was ironic that my husband wanted to celebrate his “older-than-Jesus” birthday (aka his 34th birthday, one year older than Jesus was when he was crucified) by going to Death Valley.
I like exploring National Parks, and road trips with him are fun, so I knew we would have a good time together; however, I was expecting a fairly bland, sandy desert landscape. Wow, was I wrong (…about the landscape, not about the time together).
Death Valley is an incredibly diverse and interesting place. Jagged mountains, salt flats, miles of sand dunes, green, white, purple, and blue hued canyons, craggy 1 ½ foot-high crystallized mineral formations, and of course, the lowest point below sea level in North America… And, since we were heading there in late March, the desert wildflowers were in bloom.
Awesome.
Death Valley was ripe with photo-opps, especially in the morning and evening hours. We had to bundle up for the sunrise photo shoot (with Colorado-caliber winter coats and hats), but it was worth it.
Our splurge for a night at the desert resort, swimming outside under the stars and then sitting outside listening to the wind through the palm trees added a nice touch to the getaway too.
Along the way we encountered bus loads of people from numerous Asian and European countries. At some locations he and I were in the minority as residents of North America. And, yet, when I mentioned the trip to people who have lived in California all their lives, they seemed to wonder why anyone would want to go to Death Valley. (!)
So, what makes Death Valley so incredibly cool that people from around the world flock to visit? Maybe it’s just close enough to be an international bus-tour-pitstop between LA and Las Vegas.
Or, maybe it is a drama of texture, elevation and color just waiting for explorers!
(The coyote begging for food right next to the “don’t feed the coyotes” sign was also fun to see.)
Check it out for yourself @ http://www.nps.gov/deva/index.htm
http://www.nps.gov/deva/photosmultimedia/photogallery.htm
Photo taken by author
More Posts Like This One:
Stay Updated
Blog Authors
Recent Comments