Trekking in the Valley

Let's get the obvious thing out of the way first. It's hot. Really fucking hot. Never been anywhere like this before and probably never will until I come back here (which I definitely will). 

Things to note about the heat:

1. The cold water tap doesn't deliver cold water. It's nearly as hot as the hot water. 

2. When driving you have to watch what you touch including the steering wheel. The sun bakes any surface to a blistering temperature and as soon as you touch it you feel a burn. 

3. When out of the car and looking around the heat of the wind makes your hands hurt. It's like being hit with the output of a convection oven. 

I started the day by going to the ranger station to get some info. I told him I intended to camp tomorrow night and he, his colleague and two other people from the hotel looked at me as if I was insane. The ranger said it would be extremely dangerous to stay in a tent at this time of the year and as it's going to be a public holiday tomorrow it would be better to reconsider. I haven't made my mind up yet but will give his advice some thought. 

I first headed to Zabriskie Point which has a great view of some of the salt plane. I took some pictures with my other camera and will post them later. 

 Then I stopped off at Devils Golf Course. So named because the terrain is brutal and almost otherworldly. 

The road leading up to it was just a dirt track so I was pleased to try my first bit of off-roading and the car handled it well. 

Getting back onto the main road I headed to Badwater Basin which is the lowest point in the USA (you could say it was the lowest point of my trip - ha!)

 To give you an idea check out this picture. 

You might be able to zoom in to a small black sign half way up. That, dear friends, is sea level. 

I managed to take a couple of good pictures with my other camera but here's one from my phone. 

The salt plane was eerie and just downright weird. You could see small holes where moisture is present, even in the searing heat, and whatever reaction is going on to make it accumulate caused a faint crackling sound that filled the air. 

The next stop was Artist View where most of the panoramic shots of the valley are taken. I took a couple and will post them later. 

 There was also a stop at Artist Palette where you can see mineral deposits in the rock forming pretty colours. 

 

I headed back up I-190 and drove the steep track up to Dante's View. There were a few moments around some very tight hairpin bends when I thought the car wasn't going to be able to make it up much further but luckily I found some power just in time to keep moving (ie I slammed the throttle way down). 

 The view from the peak was amazing. You could see the whole bed of the valley. It was also noticeably cooler by a good 10 degrees or so. 

Coming down the road from the peak was almost as challenging as going up. My foot was on the brake for the whole time and the road was narrow which made things....interesting. 

It was getting late so I decided to head back to Stovepipe Village. On the way I stopped off at a sand dune close to the village. 

I think I'll come back here this evening to see if I can knock one more thing off my bucket list and see a clear sky and the Milky Way.