Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Death Valley

     Death Valley is not called the valley of death for nothing. In summer you can feel the hand of death on your shoulder. With the summer temperatures, a mechanical breakdown is no inconvenience, it's a life or death crisis. In winter death may not be so close, just don't do anything stupid.
We stayed at Stovepipe Wells Inn, which is about at sea level. Furnace Creek is about thirty miles away and is 190 feet below sea level. From Stovepipe Wells we took side trips around the valley.

    Scotty's Castle is about forty five miles from Stovepipe Wells. Scotty's Castle was built by a Chicago millionaire named Albert Johnson. In winter you can see the full beauty that Johnson saw, I doubt he was there much in summer it's just too hot.  

















































 We also took a side trip to Ubehebe Crater. It's a volcanic crater and one of the windiest places I've been. It's near a place called The Race Track, where rocks move across a dry lake bed leaving tracks. No one has ever seen these rocks move or filmed them, so while there are theories, no one really knows. 















I think that Death Vally is most beautiful at dawn and sunset.