(10) Death Valley, California

(S) Reaching Death Valley. Located below the sea level east of the Sierra Nevada mountains, on the border of California and Nevada, Death Valley is famous for record high temperatures in the summer. When I visited it, the temperature there reached 50 C, and the car's air conditioning system was on the brink of breaking down. The first glimpses of Death Valley's unearthly landscape visible in the picture above made me feel as if I was descending into a mysterious and dangerous world.
Below are dry desert hills that we are leaving behind on our way down the Valley. Pay attention to the sky, it's quite unique:

Death Valley is actually a long low desert, with rain falling only in the winter and scorching heat beating down in the summer. However, American deserts are nothing like sand deserts in Africa: I could always see plants growing here and there. Although the picture below was taken at midday, the view isn't clear - it's all because of the heat and the distance. The area is very flat and one can see the mountains which are very far away but the illusion is that they are quite close. In fact Death Valley covers the area of almost 8 thousand square kilometers!

Stovepipe Wells Village is a place where you can spend a night, have a swim in the swimming pool and have something to eat. Naturally, you can also buy petrol for your further journey along and across the Valley. The carts here are museum exhibits and they are a nice addition to the otherwise monotonous view;)

Below are sand dunes near Stovepipe Wells - it is a desert after all:
We decided to take a one-way drive down Titus Canyon, which is 40 km long. It took us over 2 hours. Hopefully, the picture gives you an idea of the type of rock in which waters have carved the canyon:

Below is a panorama of the Canyon. The car is slowly descending 1.5 km down to the bottom of the picturesque Canyon. Click on it to see the colors and forms (S):

Here is a beautiful contrast of the color of the rocks and the sky. It is amazing how many shades of red nature has to offer (S):
On the way down the Canyon we pass a ghost-town: the sign explains everything:
It must have been quite a journey for postmen to reach Leadfield, which had a very inconvenient location. No wonder they gave up on it after a year or so. This is what has remained of the once populated area (I actually went up there to peep inside the buildings, scary though the walk was because of scorpions and snakes which live there):

We are already almost at the bottom of the Canyon - the scree here indicates the route of the water that changes the shapes of the soft rocks:

We are now on the floor of Titus Canyon, admiring its fabulous geology (S):
The road is quite narrow and now it becomes obvious why it has to be a one-way drive:
Can you spot cacti growing from the rock? I could hardly believe my eyes (S):

The serpentine drive along the Canyon was full of surprises. Here is a huge cave carved by the water - a nice shelter from the sun, and we are the only guests there (S):

The picture below shows you how high the walls of the Canyon were and how very small and actually lonely we were there. A strange experience it was, as if one could see the earth's entrails:

Standing outside the Canyon, I could hardly believe that I had actually been inside it;) Considering the type of car that we traveled in, the ride was very exciting indeed.

Below is the famous landscape of Zabriskie Point - formed from sediments of a lake that dried up millions of years ago:

Zabriskie Point is an arid terrain, 50 meters below the sea level, called badlands. However, I would call it wonderlands: there is something romantic about this sand turned into stone; you also somehow feel that this geological formation is primeval:

Below is the view from Zabriskie Point - in the distance you can see the car park. Though it wasn't very far away from the car park to the vantage points on Zabriskie Point, I got dizzy in the hot dry wind burning my skin. Luckily, I didn't have to spend the night in Death Valley, as the temperature fell from 50 C only to 30 C and I don't know how I would have survived the harsh climate for longer than the few minutes that I spent at each stop outside the car.

From Zabriskie Point we traveled to a totally different place: Devil's Golf Course. It was created of salt crystals after a lake dried here (S):

The area in close-up - it's dangerous to walk on the ragged surface. It is true that only the devil can play golf there;)

Our next stop is Badwater. It is the lowest area in Death Valley and second lowest elevation on the western hemisphere (86m). Its vast white area is made of pure table salt. The difference between Devil's Golf Course and Badwater is that the latter is flat, and walking on the white plain is not dangerous to your feet - tourist friendly, one might say;)

The other difference is that Badwater is flooded during rainstorms. Because of this there is still water under the surface of the salty layer - it will probably evaporate soon.

I took this picture standing in Badwater Basin - to give you an idea how vast the area is:

Death Valley is amazing because on a relatively limited area you can see such a variety of geological formations. On the horizon you can see the Panamint Range with Telescope Peak, which is the highest mountain in Death Valley. Its height is almost 3,500 m straight above the floor of the Valley, which makes is comparable to Mount Everest (when you measure the peak from its base, not from the sea level). Visible in the sky is the moon - already;)

Death Valley may be a desert, but it is a civilized one;) The buildings here resemble a public toilet and a bus stop. Well, in this area you can make a stop and have a snack. However, I doubt if anyone leaves the air-conditioned car to get some fresh air in Death valley;)

There is even a castle in Death Valley - beautifully located in an area which might be called an oasis;)
Again, look at the beautiful sky. The sky in Death Valley is cloudless - the heat between the two mountain ranges which surround the Valley is such that any cloud daring to float over the mountains into Death Valley's sky evaporates immediately. I actually saw a cloud melt away - it was amazing;) (S):

Below is a picture taken already outside Death Valley - we passed Shoshone, which has 100 inhabitants and which is situated 84 miles away from Las Vegas - our next destination. One evident sign indicating that it's no longer Death Valley is the cloud visible in the sky;)
The Nopah Range mountains here are unbelievably colorful, they look like layers of paint. I am wondering how rich the colors of the earth are.

I can't resist noticing the similarity of the colors and patterns visible on the mountain ranges with those characteristic of native American art - nature does inspire (another bright thought from my diary;)
I am now thinking of the famous final page of Fitzgerald's Great Gatsby (for a transitory enchanted moment man must have held his breath in the presence of this continent, compelled into an aesthetic contemplation) and I'm looking for an equivalent description of the wonder that Death Valley and the majestic mountains inspire. Any tips?

(9) On the way to Death Valley: Lone Pine and Mount Whitney

The straight and empty road took us to the east along route 120 towards Lee Vining. The view reminded me of western movies, and this association never changed till the end of my peregrinations in the American West. On the left you can see the waters of Mono Lake (S).

The picture below hopefully gives you an idea of how free (and lonely) one may feel on an American road - an easy ride, no speeding, a vast undulating area around and the mountains on the horizon. I began to realize then how huge the Sierra Nevada Mountains must be:

This journey in the American West was a constant surprise for me. The view captured in the picture below was very eye-opening: this is also America. This may have been a local shop; now it only marks a dead center of a non-existent settlement. (S):

Western American roads take you across territories which are inhabited by Native Americans. The majority of native settlements that I passed by were in Navajo territories. It was there that I finally understood the idea of an Indian reservation and what living in a ghetto must feel like. The building in the picture might be a God-forsaken tourist attraction, why else would it be standing there decorated like this? (S):

Seeing the view below, I tried to come up with the most appropriate caption for the picture. Here are some ideas that I jotted down in my notebook: "America - a land of contrasts"; "Man's failed attempt to subdue Nature";-). When I look at my notes now, they do not seem such brilliant ideas at all. But since they are a genuine reflection of my reactions and emotions to what I saw then - bright or not bright - I will sometimes quote entries from the diary. This can mean only one thing: more fun to come;) Or maybe the Readers of this blog can come up with ideas as to what caption would be best for the picture below?:

Another remnant of a settlement - those ghost towns are solid evidence of American people's mobility and the country's economic progress;)

On highway 395 near Bishop - you'll always know where you are: the first is the flag of California.

Finally, Lone Pine - this is where we will spend the night before visiting Death Valley. The town itself is a surprise - spectacularly located at the foot of the highest mountain in continental America, beautifully designed, Lone Pine looks like a town from a western movie. No wonder that many films were shot here.

Walking along the fabulous streets of Lone Pine (S):
The beautiful mountains seen in the setting sun - what an end of the day (S):

And here is Mount Whitney - 4,421 m high, hiding in the afternoon mist. Clicking on the picture is heartily recommended (S):

Driving to Mount Whitney: on the way to the highest mountain we drove through Alabama Hills, which we recognized from westerns: the area is a popular location for movie production.

Looks familiar? - click on it, you'll surely recognize the spot from tv:

Someone has given the rock a face: a dog? a dragon? a crocodile?

Here is a spectacular view on the beautiful Owens Valley from the mountain. From then on this was for me a typical "American vista". Standing there I felt like shouting after Bridget Jones's Daniel Cleaver: "I am the king of the world". Well, I didn't know then that there would be so many more occasions for such an exclamation;). From here it was only 122 kilometers to Death Valley, which will come next on the blog.

(8) My Trip to Yosemite National Park, CA

If you want to see America, you have no choice but rent a car - the automobile is an American invention, after all. Paradoxically, I am going to travel through the West in a Japanese car - not a Ford, but a Mazda; the vehicle is not very suitable for driving in canyons, either, but we're giving it the benefit of the doubt. It is quite new (only 11,000 miles on the clock), spacious and comfortable. Later it turns out to be quite economical as well.
Finally, on Thursday, August 7 I'm leaving San Francisco and heading for Yosemite National Park, situated about 330 km away from the city of winds and fog. I am bracing myself for a dramatic change of temperature, which I feel already at the first stop about 25 miles west of SF. That's what I call summer - I'm loving the heat, especially that the air inside the car is cool because I'm not the only passenger and my traveling companions prefer lower temperatures.

Now, the GPS device: it makes traveling easy and safe - there's no danger of getting lost or driving off the intended route, plus you know your timing perfectly well. However, I belong to the older (traditional?) generation of tourists, totally dependent on maps. Before leaving the city I bought myself maps of all the states that we were planning to visit and I studied them carefully during my peregrination. A funny thing those maps are - you travel through a country, look around, absorb the views, and yet it would all mean nothing without a map. I remembered a situation from Paul Auster's book in which a detective following a man around New York had to draw the route in his notebook to see where he was and decipher the meaning of it all;)
Below is a map of the Park (it grows if you click on it): we arrived along Highway 120 and spent the night in Curry Village in Yosemite Valley, centrally located between Glacier Point and Half Dome:

Yosemite is located in the High Sierra, whose landscape was shaped by glaciers. The most characteristic features of Yosemite, apart from the gigantic size of course (over 3,000 square km), are massive granite cliffs and valleys which look like canyons between huge walls. Here is one of my first pictures taken on the way to Curry Village.

The bunk is our hotel for the night. We have to be careful not to attract the attention of bears which like visiting tourists' cars and bunks, if they forget to lock the door and hide everything that resembles food. (S)

Yosemite became a national park in 1890 thanks to John Muir, who can be called a follower of America's best known environmentalist - Henry David Thoreau. Muir was younger than Thoreau and lived on the other side of the U.S. Actually, I read somewhere that Emerson himself traveled to the American West and, invited by John Muir, spent a night in the High Sierra. As the story goes, he predicted that America would soon hear about young Muir. This makes Muir another prodigy that Emerson, with his great intuition, recognized - the first and most famous being Walt Whitman, of course;) (S):

Meadows are another feature of Yosemite's landscape - they must have been formed by glacier millions of years ago:

Here's a picture taken at the feet of the most famous granite rock in Yosemite - El Capitan. Its height (910 meters) invites rock climbers and parachutists - I did not see any, but the scene was spectacular anyway;)

Driving along the route leading to the most popular vantage point in Yosemite - Glacier Point - I could admire the park's panorama and get an idea of the park's size (that's at least what I thought then;): (S)

The picture below (click on it) was taken from Glacier Point which offers breathtaking views of Yosemite. In the center is Half Dome - the most famous view in the Park. Standing there I felt I could become a follower of Transcendentalism;) (S)

Half Dome in close-up - there are people on top of the crest but you could only see them through binoculars (S).

Looking south from Glacier Point - Yosemite's waterfalls. If you click on the picture, you'll see a lake from which the water is falling. The picture shows one third of the terrace and the biggest of the three waterfalls. (S)

Here is a view from Glacier Point on Curry Village, in which I spent the previous night. Glacier Point is 980m above the village, but can you tell the distance? Not really... (S):

Coming back from Glacier Point - a wonderful view of El Capitan from a distance. (S)

Below is a picture taken from Tioga Road, which runs across the Park a bit north of the Valley and which took us to the exit from the Park. I wondered how soft the rock must be for trees to grow out of it like that. I am looking up now:

Tioga Road leads you through very diverse landscape - here is a forest whose trees grow from small rocks;)

And here is WOW! Tioga Pass Road 120 and a car (the little red thing). This gives you an idea how high the Park is in the Sierra Mountains. (S)

Below is Tioga Lake - just before the exit from the Park - a nice view for goodbye;) The water in the lake was very clear but rather cold for a swim. (S)

This is what the Park looks like from the "outside" - the flat area between me and the Park's mountains will now be a common feature of the landscape until Mount Whitney, on the way to Death Valley, which will come next.