Leaving Death Valley

I did make a visit to Scotty's Castle and was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked it. The next stop was Ubehebe Crater which was another amazing place in Death Valley.  I was with my friends and unfortunately I forgot my camera that day so I do not have any photos. It was a good lesson in letting go and enjoying the company of friends on a fun outing.

All good things must come to an end and so it was with my visit to Death Valley.  On the way out I drove past Badwater and stopped once more to take one last photo.

Back on the road, I soon came to a screeching halt when I spotted a small group of Mountain Sheep (also called Bighorn Sheep) near the side of the road. Well, not really near, but close enough to get some photos without a telephoto lens. 

I could not believe my luck! Their eyesight is as good as mine when I use my eight-power binoculars and can spot predators a miles away.  I stayed in my car and they didn't see me as a predator.

They are diurnal, feeding mostly in the morning and evening, and resting during the day while chewing their cud. At night they have regular places where they stay, usually beneath a rock overhang or in the mouth of a cave. Here is a little video I took of them:  http://youtu.be/_vxbFKUp0Gw

I was so lucky to end my  visit to Death Valley on such a high note.  I had never seen a Bighorn Sheep before and I hope to see many more mammals during my Big Adventure.

Titus Canyon, Death Valley

When my friends arrived after plane delays and lost luggage we met for breakfast and then drove through Titus Canyon in Death Valley.  They had a small SUV which was perfect for the drive.  My camper certainly would not have made it.  I was so awed by the experience; I didn’t really take a lot of photos but below are a few I would like to share.

In some ways the mountains in this area were a lot like Artist View with its beautiful pastels only this was on a larger scale.

Halfway into the trip we stopped at Leadfield to stretch our legs and explore a little.  This was more like the ghost towns we expected with old broken wooden buildings.  But unlike Rhyolite this one was pretty much a bust from the beginning.

As we descended into the canyon we began to see many folds, this one was the most impressive.

Later that night we drove up to Zabriskie Point to watch the sunset. The first photo is looking east and the second is looking west.  There was a sign with brief description of how this was formed, "These once-level layers are being tilted by seismic activity and presssure that is folding the ancient valley's floor. As the layers uplifed and were exposed, periodic rainstorms cause powerful gullywashes that erode the soft rocks into the chaotic yet strangely beautiful landscape we see today."

 

I wished I had the nerve to walk down to where those people were to immerse myself in the experience. Nevertheless behind the railing was pretty good.

Please visit NATURE NOTES by clicking HERE.

Mesquite Sand Dunes, Death Valley National Park

The wonderful thing about being retired and traveling is that I don't have to necessarily be any place at any given time.  So I changed my plans and came back to Death Valley earlier than planned and decided to camp at Stovepipe Wells. I managed to get the last site for the day.  I had hookups (electricity and water) and it was still pretty cheap, had I known I probably would have stayed there before.  Anyway, Stovepipe Wells is very near the Mesquite Sand Dunes so I passed them often and of course each time I just had to stop and take another photo. So here are a few of the better ones.

I was getting tired of my own cooking so I decided to go into the Stovepipe Wells Saloon for lunch. There were only 4 men at one table, me and a young couple with 2 small kids.  My waiter noticed something blowing in the distance but since this was his first week in Death Valley he wasn't sure what was going on. The more experience female waiter said it was a dust storm headed our way. As it got closer I began to smell the dust.

Well, I had left the camper windows open to let in the nice breeze so I jumped up from my seat and ran down the hill to my camper and to get my camera. By then the wind was picking up a lot. With the windows now closed I went back to the Saloon to finish lunch and sit out the storm. I don't have any photos because once it came upon us I couldn't really see out the window.  I felt like I was in Ken Burns' documentary about the Dust Bowl that I had seen last year. 

The ravens were having a ball flying into the wind.  It seemed to me that they were seeing who could stay in the air in one spot the longest. One wrong move and the wind would send them quickly flying off to one side.  I have no idea how they managed to stay in flight in one place and not flap their wings but they did.  Soon the wind moved them out of sight and we were in the middle of the storm.

About an hour and half later it began to die down and I went back to the camper.  Here are a couple of photos after the storm showing the brown dust still in the air.  It was higher by then and I was beginning to see the open blue sky again.

That evening I joined the park naturalist for a moonlight walk in the desert to learn about and to find wildlife.  Too dark for photos. Bummer.

Mosaic Canyon, Death Valley

Mosaic Canyon was one of the most beautiful places I hiked during my visit to Death Valley.  I love rocks, geological folds and layers even if I don’t always understand them.  I drove up to the entrance and had lunch in the parking lot while I waited for the rain to stop.  It was just a drizzle and the final effect was to make the rocks all wet and shinny, bringing out the colors.

As I started up the canyon a common raven called as though it beckoned me to enter. I’m sure it was just calling its mate but I followed the call non-the-less.

 

It was like walking into a geology lesson with real life examples and Mother Nature as my instructor. I could see the layers of deposition and how they slipped and changed shapes.

Mosaic Canyon was named for a rock formation known as the “Mosaic Brecca.” Breccia is the Italian word meaning “fragments”.  This formation is composed of angular fragments of many different kinds of parent rock. You can see it on the bottom right of this photo.

Below is a close up of the bracca which was beautiful especially since it was wet.

I didn’t walk the full 4 miles but I saw enough to really appreciate it.  The canyon narrows, where the surrounding rock walls are composed of smooth, water polished marble.  Originally these rocks cracked and then water from the surrounding mountain ran through them creating these curvy trails of marble.

 

There were a few places where the stone had been gouged out and to me it looked like bone marrow, creating the illusion that I was looking at the bones of Mother Earth,.

 

At about this point I turned back and as I left the canyon the raven called again and flew over my camper.

When I arrived at the camper I was in for a nice treat. There were two ravens and they gave me a demonstration of their grooming and bonding. Notice that white spot on the wing of the raven on the left, it is the same on the other side. There must be a name for that but I couldn't find it.

 

Here is a link to the YouTube video I made or you can click on the photo above to take you to the video. Like most of the ravens I have seen in Death Valley these are easily approachable. Here is a link to another Raven video that I made showing the one with the spot walking about and cleaning its bill.  I put them on YouTube rather than in my blog because it seemed easier to access them.

 

They were soon bored with me and first one flew to a higher section of the hills and called. Soon the other one flew the exact same route and landed on the same ledge. I felt privilaged to share those moments with these two ravens.

 

Driving back to Stovepipe Wells I noticed a brilliant spot on the valley floor that was lit up from the sun shining through an opening in the clouds.

 

There was another spot on the hills in the distance.

 

The whole experience was magical for me.  

 Please also enjoy another good birding blog at: http://id-rather-b-birdin.blogspot.com/

 

 

 

 

Artist Drive, Death Valley

 

Artist Drive was truly full of artist pastels enhanced by the evening light.  These colors come from the minerals in the in the volcanic remains.

As I descended I stopped at a place that looked like rubble but it was full of cinder from a volcanic explosion.  I touched one of the large ones which was hot to the touch. I imagined it was still cooling down after millions of years. Of course it was just still hot from the day’s sun.

Everywhere is so quiet and peaceful. The views are so expansive I feels like someone had implanted a wide angle lens in my eye balls.

One of the big cinders reminded me of a Henry Moore sculpture.

 Check out some other great places to visit at Outdoor Wednesday by clicking HERE.

 

Salt Creek Marsh, Death Valley

I asked the Park Ranger where was the best place to see wildlife and he said Salt Creek Marsh in the evening but the cold might affect how much I saw.  So off I went while I could still find it in the daylight. The main thing to look for were Pupfish but the ranger said it was too early for them to mate so I probably wouldn’t see any.  I have no idea where they would be in the mean time, if not somewhere in the stream but he was right I didn’t see any.

 

The board walk made a loop that the sights were beautiful at every turn. More than 10,000 years ago this stream and others like it flowed into a huge freshwater lake that filled the bottom of Death Valley, into a lake we now call Lake Manly. As the climate became more arid over time, the Ice Age lakes and rivers dried up to what I was seeing on my walk.

The dominant plant was Pickleweed (Salicornia rubra) and it was everywhere around the stream. It is one of the most salt-tolerant species in the U.S. and can endure up to 6% salinity.  I couldn’t find out why parts of the plants are red and other parts are green. UPDATE: a friend from work, Olivia wrote that the red part is the mature section and the green is the immature.  Check out her blog: Beasts in a Polulous City, it will make you laugh for sure.

Look at these tracks I found along the side of the board walk. Probably an insect track but I have no idea what. When I looked at this photo I noticed that the Pickleweed look like a bracelet of trade beads. 

Salt Grasss

I did see some scat on the boardwalk, probably Kit Fox scat and there was a ferocious ant guarding it. 

When I came to the top of the look there was a trail heading out into the desert so of course I took it.  I was determined to see fish.

The views out there were amazing.

 

It was mostly sand covered with a thin layer of salt.  Here is a chunk that I picked up.

 

 

Back on the board on the walk along the edge I began to see movement.

In the creek there was a Hermit Thrush working its way up and down the water’s edge looking for insects.

The other bird that kept eluding me was a Says Phoebe. They primarily eat insects like other flycatchers but they will also eat other foods, such as berries, during long spells of cold or when insects are unavailable. This one was darting out to catch insects.

Finally it stood still long enough for me to aim the camera but no focus. Still it was a nice site.

The sun was beginning to set as I was growing colder so I left and called it a day.