| Death Valley is a place that you just cannot fully appreciate by looking out the windows of an air-conditioned car -- even when it is 130 degrees outside. Regular Guys gotta hike! We checked with the park rangers at Furnace Creek and chose some areas we could see without spending too much time out in the heat. Fortunately, one of the most dramatic sights was nearby, Zabriskie Point. Click here for a map that shows key points of interest in Death Valley. |
| The hike to Zabriskie Point was not too bad, even in the heat. We had kerchiefs soaked in water around our necks and that helped. The terrain was not the only unusual sight. The sky was fascinating. It was huge, the vistas were large in every direction and the sky itself was totally clear, devoid of clouds, and the deepest blue you ever saw. |
| This is the view from Zabriski Point. It is probably the most alien and hostile environment any of us had every seen, and yet it is beautiful in its stark splendor. To feel the hot winds sweeping up from the valley floor takes your breath away. The distant mountains seem to call you with the promise of California's lush green valleys and the Pacific shore beyond. Yet you know what hardships lay between here and there for those first pioneers who dared to challenge the Valley of Death. |
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No doubt about it. Death Valley was spectacular -- a high point of our trip out west. OK, so maybe we had not exactly mapped out that part of the trip. That does not mean we were lost. Like Dave says, "When somerthing turns out this well, how could you doubt that I planned it that way?" By the way, if you want to explore Area 51, take US Route 93 from Las Vegas not US Route 95....or is the other way around? No, that's right...I think. |
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Thinking of visiting Death Valley? Looking for more information? Check out these links: Death Valley Information Death Valley Web Page Death Valley.com Death Valley National Park (U.S. National Park Service) |
