Death Valley, Day 2

Tuesday, November 3

We are fortunate to take advantage of the extra hour we got over the weekend and naturally wake up at 5 which is perfect here. It allows us to get up, make coffee and oatmeal, shower and prepare to hike and get out the door before the sun comes up. Our first stop today was Dante's View (5000 ft elevation) which offers spectacular views of the valley, the water from the flood in the basin and the Panamint Mountains in the background. There is a short hike up the ridge to give just a little different perspective.

In the 1977 movie, Star Wars, when Luke Skywalker and Obi-wan Kenobi look down on the spaceport where they will find Has Solo, they are standing at Dante's View

 We met Pablo, a professional photographer from San Antonio. There are many photographers here in the park, I suspect some trying to capture the water in the basin. He told us to go to Badwater Basin in the afternoon for good photo opportunities. He and his partner had slept out in a tent last night in the wind. He said it was wild and he had wished he was in a hotel room. After waiting for the sun to get into the basin, we took off and headed to the Golden Canyon trail head and hiked up the canyon, joined up with the Gower Gulch trail and then hiked up to Zabriske Point.

 We walked through badland terrain that looks very much like the Badlands in South Dakota. We had no idea how diverse the terrain and scenery was here. The rocks are beautiful colors; golden, red, purple, brown, and white.

 When we got to Zabriske Point, there was a cyclist there. I started talking to him and discovered he was from New Zealand and had started around the world trip on his bicycle, alone, in 2013. He started at the Cape of Good Hope in Capetown, South Africa and is headed for Cape Horn, at the end of Chili. He had to go home in the middle of his trip in order to work to earn more money for his trip so he is just starting again. I asked him if he had a blog and he does but it is from the beginning of his trip www.globalcheyne.blogspot.com. It is interesting that I came very close to asking him if he had a charitable cause but didn't want to put him on the spot. After viewing his blog, I think I had the right hunch.  I am not sure of his whole story, as I have not had time to look at all his blog, but I did learn from viewing part of his blog that he sponsors 3 kids in Kenya and has for 10 years! I saw pictures of him and his bike with one of the kids he sponsors. He spent time with Bedouins, went to Petra, was in Mongolia (I believe in the winter). He has a device on his bike that converts his pedal power to charge his phone, his camera and all electronic devices, so is self sufficient. He was a delightful and fascinating young man. He is going to send us a link to his new blog so we can follow him. I also asked him if he is planning to write a book. He is thinking of going to Cuba when he is finished to write. I think someone should publish him and make a movie! We won't forget Andrew from New Zealand and pray God will keep this young man safe! We were amazed at the adventurous spirit of some people!

Andrew with all his possessions bicycling the world!

Natural Bridge

After hiking back to our car, we headed back to our room for a coffee and a quick rest of our aching legs. There was a coyote on the golf course outside our room!  Later in the afternoon we went to Natural Bridge (the road just opened today) and walked a little more before heading to the Badwater Basin for sunset. Badwater Basin is the lowest point on land in the Western Hemisphere at 282 feet below sea level. There are salt crystals everywhere, all quite beautiful in an other worldly sense. Because of the recent flooding, Lake Manly has formed again in part of the basin, which is the name for the ancient lake that used to be here. The mountains drain into the basin and there is no escape to the ocean. The basin is 5 miles across (we did not walk it). Pablo was down in the basin busily shooting away. I am quite certain his photos are significantly better than mine! Darkness comes early, before 5. The stars are beautiful we hear, but we are too tired to go out at night!

Pablo

282 feet below sea level, lowest place on land in Western Hemisphere

Salt formations

Salt crystals