RETURN TO DEATH VALLEY

MARCH 14, 2025

                 JUST AT THE ENTRANCE OF BADWATER BASIN, THERE IS ONLY A VERY SMALL POND OF "BAD WATER" (MUCH TOO SALTY FOR HUMANS OR ANIMALS) BEFORE THE VAST MILES OF SALT THAT COVER THIS PORTION OF THE VALLEY UNTIL THE DISTANT MOUNTAINS. YOU MUST CROSS THOSE MOUNTAINS BEFORE YOU GET TO THE OTHER PART OF DEATH VALLEY THAT STRETCHES UNTIL THE EVEN TALLER SIERRA MADRE. THERE IS NO WATER FOR ALMOST 80 MILES.

This week I would like to show some images from my return to Death Valley late last year. It was a delightful trip, in that I got to show Fran this extraordinary place which she had never seen before. In her love of geology and desolation, she finally met the ultimate landscape that she can place before all others. Death Valley lives up to its name in that you can kiss almost all vegetation goodbye. This is desert, salt flats and mountains - and literally almost nothing else. Visitors hopscotch from viewpoint to viewpoint along a small number of roads in a vast landscape, well aware (or they should be) that you do not lightly go off the beaten path. There is always the chance that you will not make it back.

                THE SAME VIEW IN BLACK AND WHITE, WHICH HIGHLIGHTS BOTH THE GRIM MOOD AND THE TEXTURES OF THE SALT.

I learned a few things on my return to Death Valley. I had visited the area on a road trip with Benjamin from Los Angeles back when he was in graduate school. I now realize how stupid I was to try to visit in the Summer. At the end of October Fran and I were certainly in the desert, but we were not in Hell on Earth. Benjamin and I endured temperatures that reached 121 degrees, and required a bottle of water for each us every time we left the car for what you might characterize as a little stroll. This time with Fran it barely exceeded 80 degrees and made life much more enjoyable if a little less memorable. Another realization was that a couple of days beyond a destination wedding was not nearly enough time to see most of the Valley. Benjamin and I had driven the nearly 100 miles across the park, traveling past vast fields of sand dunes and across a mountain range to see the Western side of the Valley. Fran and I barely got to spend time in only two areas of the park on its Eastern edge.

                A TURN TO THE LEFT AND A PANORAMIC CROP SHOWS THE FULL EXTENT OF THE MOUNTAIN RANGE THAT DEFINES THIS PART OF THE VALLEY. THE ONLY EVIDENCE OF HUMANITY IS THE SMALL THIN LINE OF THE ONLY ROAD OVER THE MOUNTAINS, WHICH IS BARELY VISIBLE TO THE NAKED EYE.

Yet these two areas were absolutely spectacular. Badwater Basin is one of the lowest points on Earth, more than 282 feet below sea level. In reality it was only a short drive from our motel, but  the heat had prevented Benjamin and I from visiting the area. Just like in the mountains where you lose a degree climbing every 100 feet in elevation, in Death Valley you gain a degree every 100 feet you descend into the lower reaches of the desert. Benjamin and I turned around when we reached 121 degrees with 200 feet to go and wisely never got to Badwater Basin.

                TURNING AROUND, YOU CAN SEE OTHER RIDGE THAT DEFINES THIS PART OF THE VALLEY. ABOUT THREE QUARTERS OF THE WAY UP IS SEA LEVEL.

                                                                  THERE ARE A PLENTY OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR PICKING OUT GEOLOGICAL DETAILS AND COLORS IN THESE RIDGES WHERE NO MAN HAS HOPEFULLY EVER GONE BEFORE.

This time Fran and I allowed ourselves to venture a good half of a mile into the salt flats beyond the information/warning signs in this vast a deadly landscape. We merely walked until the vast majority of the visitors had decided to turn around, and turned around ourselves. When sand turns to salt, you know that you have reached the ultimate in desolation. Only the distant mountain range, which is responsible for blocking any rain from getting anywhere near the valley, relieves the unrelenting landscape. You search in vain for for a rock, much less a tumbleweed.

               ZABRISKIE POINT IS ON THE EASTERN EDGE OF DEATH VALLEY. A VAST AND FORBIDDING JUMBLE OF MULTI-COLORED ROCK FORMATIONS THAT YOU CAN EXPLORE ON SEVERAL PATHS. I FOUND IT MORE ENJOYABLE TO USE MY ZOOM LENS FROM THE SAFETY OF THE RIDGE. THOSE PEAKS ARE MILES FROM WHERE I AM STANDING. THIS IMAGE IS STITCHED FROM ABOUT SIX SHOTS TO TAKE IN THE VAST AREA.

The other area we explored was Zabriskie Point, named for an executive of the borax company that mined the area before the formation of the national park. This area is a mountainous jumble of multi-colored rock formations that provide a virtual rainbow of geology as far as the eye can see. While there are multiple opportunities to hike in the wilderness, the first ridge is accessible from a paved path that almost anyone can handle. What you miss from walking along the desert path s below is more than made up by the amazing views in every direction from the ridge.

                A DETAIL OF ABOUT A THIRD OF THE VIEW  THAT SHOWS JUST PART OF THE MULTI-COLORED RIDGE.            

                I FOUND THAT THE FOLDS AND THE COLORS OF THIS INCREDIBLE LANDSCAPE WERE ENHANCED WHEN I JUST IGNORED THE SKY AND JUST CONCENTRATED ON A TINY PORTION OF THE SURROUNDINGS. YOU CAN REALLY FEEL THE TEXTURES AND SEE THE COLORS IN THESE DETAILED VIEWS, WHICH STILL TAKE IN DOZENS OF MILES.

                THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE IMAGES. THIS PORTION OF THE LANDSCAPE LACKED ANY REAL COLOR, SO I TURNED TO BLACK AND WHITE TO EMPHASIZE THE TEXTURES AND THE RANGE OF TONES AMONG THE FOLDS OF THESE HILLS. BLACK AND WHITE ALLOWS ME TO DODGE AND BURN THOSE FOLDS AND RETAIN A REALISM THAT WOULD NOT HOLD UP IN A COLOR RENDITION.THE LACK OF COLOR ALLOWS THE VIEWER TO0 SEE THE THIN PATHS IN THIS VAST WILDERNESS. I'M MORE THAN HAPPY TO USE MY CAMERA TO TAKE IN THE SCENE, THANK YOU.

I hope that these images give you a small taste of the wonders of Death Valley, and encourage you to take the opportunity to see it for yourselves. If possible, arrange flights that can arrive in Los Angeles and leave from Las Vegas so that you drive through the entire park. Death Valley is a long way from anywhere, so take your time visiting this remarkable place.