Mosaic Canyon and Golden Canyon were two wonderful hikes, both easy but totaling about 5 miles. The colors in the formations are absolutely unbelievable even in rocks that are yards apart. They do a regular Geology presentation which we just missed as it was before we got here and sadly won't be here for the next one. For any chemists out there there is manganese, iron, uranium, chlorite and an entire rainbow of elements and minerals in the mountains here. Another must see in the Park is Scotty's Castle. I won't give the details of the story away, but let's just say that Scotty never owned it and the money for it didn't come from a hidden gold mine like Walter Scott would like people to believe. The docent said it best...."There is history and there is fiction and which one is which here?" We'll probably never know with this place. Well worth the price of admission of $15 for the house tour. My third C revolves around craters, the Ubehebe Crater to be exact. It's 1/2 mile across and 600 ft. deep, formed by a volcanic steam vent that exploded. You can hike the rim, or to the bottom which Jim did. The sand is soft and the climb steep so I stayed at the top and was pummeled by the winds swirling around. It was freezing there today! Last but not least is my favorite - the coyote. This guy was strolling across the road and came to a stop on the other side. He stayed there for almost 10 minutes checking us out while we checked him out. He looked and he sniffed and wasn't the least bit afraid. Our first day here Jim saw one walking by with a dead raven in its mouth. Hmmm, some species are thriving here. That closes our visit, it's been a gem. On to Lake Mead. | |
Canyons, castles, craters.....and coyotes. What do these words have in common? They're all here in Death Valley. You can't say that this place is subtle in any way - it's big at 3.4 million acres, it's hot, it's colorful to the extreme on the surface, but it's been much more than that. You peel back the layers and you find an entire other place and it is stunning.
6 Comments
Dave Leibow
11/20/2014 11:30:09 am
Great post and beautiful pictures!! Didn't find any ACME rockets laying around did you? Great seeing you when you were here. Next time a more upscale restaurant :-). Continued safe travels!!
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Kim Rice
11/20/2014 12:32:38 pm
Very interesting... I look forward to going there one of these days... Preferably not in the summer.
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Deb
11/20/2014 12:49:44 pm
Such a good picture of that cayote. Your blog makes me want to go there.
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Geni
11/20/2014 08:21:07 pm
I never knew the geology of Death Valley or what made it Death Valley. Great info Denise.
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MAR
11/20/2014 09:44:15 pm
Ziggy and I visited the valley several times and have fond memories of coyotes and Scotties Castle. Wish we could have hiked to the places you did but we get to see them thru your eyes. Thanks
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Ray
11/21/2014 02:13:47 am
Have visited there 3 times and look forward to going back again! Something new each time.
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November 2015
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