I Slept in Death Valley...

...and didn't die! 

Death Valley was (as everything else on this trip) amazing!  I arrived right at sunset and saw the most beautiful sky.  The weather was perfect and I was excited to be camping in weather warmer than in Canyonlands.  The first thing I did was go to Zabriskie Point for sunset which overlooked this amazing formation of rocks that looked like marble rye.  The mountains out west are different than back home - these are folded layers of earth created by plate movement - not the rocky glacially formed mountains that I'm used to.  They look like petrified dunes (which I saw in Arches!) and are really other worldly.  I wonder if minions of the west think our New England mountains are surreal too. 

When I was planning this trip I knew that the week following Kansas was going to be one of the best - and it was. I was especially excited for camping in Death Valley because it's a "winter park" so I knew there would be more people camping.  As much as I love, love, love being alone by a campfire there is something really nice about seeing other people around theirs.  I have also found that when I am in a National Park everyone is basically best friends.  I think everyone is just in a good mood because they are surrounded by amazing beauty.  I have met a lot of really interesting people a long the way and have really enjoyed sharing love for these parks with them. 

For those of you who may want to visit Death Valley I would recommend camping in Furnace Creek Campground.  It's location is great as it is right in the middle of the park.  I woke up with the sun and then drove south in the park and worked my way up north as the day went on. My schedule worked out perfectly.  I began the day with an easy hike through Golden Canyon which came with a trail map pointing out geological formations and evidence of the fact that Death Valley used to be an ocean. The hottest and driest place in the country used to be an ocean. An ocean. AN OCEAN. The National Park & Forest Service do a really good job of talking about past, present and future of the parks. Arches really spoke about the fact that erosion created those arches, and it will also be the force that destroys them. 

After Golden Canyon I went to Badwater Basin and the salt flats.  This was incredible. The flats are five miles across and I walked about three miles in before turning back.  Since most people don't have the time/energy to do the whole thing the further out you get the more pristine the condition of the flats. These flats are also the lowest spot in North America at two hundred and eighty two feet below sea level.  I've been to a lot of highest and lowest points on this trip, and also passed over a lot of imaginary borders. (I'm going to do a recap post when I'm home from my journey which will list all of these.)

After Badwater I went on a hike to Natural Bridge and I think, after Arches, I'm an arch snob.  This was a beautiful spot though - and different than arches since the formation is carved out of a rocky mountain rather than smooth, red sandstone.  When I arrived there was a school group of about fifty students which was irritating. They were all sitting under the arch and one of them said I looked like a boy.  So I waited up the trail for about twenty minutes for them to leave so I could have some time alone.  I like meeting people on the trail and talking with them, but fifty teenagers was a bit much. Further up the trail is a dried up waterfall which is pretty spectacular. On this dry, dusty trail you come to a very smooth, vertical area of rock that is more evidence of that damn ocean! If you are going to Death Valley be prepared to change at least one tire. A lot of the roads (like the one to Natural Bridge) are unpaved to get to trailheads - I just drove three miles an hour and annoyed anyone behind me but hey, I didn't have to change a tire. So there. 

North of Natural Bridge was Artist's Drive which takes you through amazing, colored rock formations that look like giant globs of paint. 

At this point I got on the other main road in Death Valley and drove about thirty miles south to Dante's View. This was absolutely stunning. A spot that I spent a lot of time at. After spending the whole day exploring the park this was a perfect (second to) last stop because it overlooks the entire park and I could see everywhere I had been. Amazing. Go. GO! 

Arches National Park...

...was archrageous!

I loved this National Park...everything about it was amazing.  I arrived around three o'clock after the beautiful, beautiful drive from Colorado and pitched my tent.  There was only one other person when I arrived so I got the most incredible site.

The drive from Colorado was one of the best yet.  I took scenic Route Six out of Boulder which offered me plenty of views of big horned sheep and more elk.  I have seen so much wildlife on this trip that I've never seen before - last on my list is a Buffalo - I'm hoping I see one from the Zephyr. The drive also took me over the continental divide, through a snowstorm and through surreal red rock scenery.  Anyone making this drive should take Route 6 and go through Grand Junction, Colorado. 

The first thing I did when I got to Arches was to scout out a good hike for sunset. I set out to find Landscape Arch the longest known arch at two hundred and ninety feet and ended up going further than I expected. At one point I was happy to have my In Case of Emergency card in my back pocket. Red Rock is really easy to climb, not as easy to get down. 

That middle section that looks like an accordion is where I had my bit of panic. Usually it wouldn't have been a big deal but it was after sunset, and I was the only one on the trail...so there.  The next day I hiked out to Delicate Arch.  I am pretty much on a sun schedule during this trip.  I get up for the sunrise, watch the sunset, and then go to bed. There is a lot of hiking, eating and fire building in between those steps. Anyway, I hiked out to Delicate Arch and was happy to find myself all alone with my thoughts. I sat for a good thirty minutes before a group of people came up.  While I had found a rock outcropping to sit on they were walking all around the bowl the arch is set upon and taking photos under the arch. It's a somewhat steep incline and because my issue on the hike last night I felt perfectly content to just sit and stare at this beautiful formation.  After about an hour total of sitting, staring and loving, I hiked back down to find my next destination. I had been in my car for about five minutes when I started wondering why I didn't stand under the arch.  If someone asks me "Did you stand under it!?" I'd have to say no, and I'd have to say it was because I was scared. I don't ever want to say I didn't do something because I was scared. I never want to have to say " I wish I had done such and such." So I hiked my butt back up to Delicate Arch and had my damn picture taken under it (and it was no where near scary).

I spent another hour with the arch and realized that it holds the answer to every painting I've ever had trouble with (all of them). Everything I could ask of a painting is embodied in this natural formation. Really. Spending time with Delicate Arch has been one of the highlights of this trip. 

 

I have taken nine hundred photos so far on this trip. Some of them are for blogging, some are to show my parents, some are to frame for myself and others are inspiration for paintings.  I've been obsessed with cairns and have enjoyed photographing them for inspiration when I get home. Sometimes though I need to remind myself to put my camera away and just enjoy the scenery and the hike and soak everything in. The alone time I am able to have on this trip is really helping me shape my own thoughts and goals - and being surrounded by some of the most beautiful things in this country, and seeing some of the ugly, really puts things in perspective.

I love ending the evening writing in my journal by a fire.