Blown Away!

 To say that we were blown away by Death Valley is to describe our experience both literally and figuratively. We arrived just in time for the wind advisory to go into effect- up to 60mph wind gusts expected and Mother Nature did not disappoint! Our camper was a rocking all night! The next day- our day to explore and hike the wind had calmed a bit- down to 40mph gusts. We still had fun and we’re able to take in many beautiful landscapes in the park starting with Devil’s golf course. 





I had to wear my winter hat (not a baseball cap- Rick nearly lost his!) to keep my hair from blowing in my face.


Next, we explored Badwater-a vast salt flat situated -280 ft below sea level, in the middle of the desert flanked by towering mountains 11,000ft above sea level. Incredible!





Next up, a drive through Artist’s Pallet. 


Finally, my favorite, Mosaic Canyon. A beautiful hike through narrows, over rock scrambles, and through wide washes. Four miles of ever changing desert landscape. 














The next morning we said goodbye to this beautiful, desolate, barren gem.











Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Glow Worms!

Image
 Who knew that New Zealand is home to these very unique glow worms- not actually worms at all! These short lived see through larvae, about the size of a matchstick, attach themselves to the walls and ceilings of caves. They make long sticky strings, about 30 of them. Their bright green tails glow and attract insects that get stuck in those long sticky strings. We took a boat to the caves and them walked through the cave along a roaring river and waterfalls until we reached the inner sanctum where we boarded a small 12 seater metal boat. Our guide navigated the boat in pitch darkness through a narrow waterway that eventually opened up to a bigger area where the walls and ceilings lit up with thousands of tiny glowing greed dots. It really is hard to describe. These pictures are from the journey to the caves. Cameras are not allowed in the caves for very obvious reasons!
Read more

Pack Rats??

Image
 So, how many people really know what a pack rat is? I always thought it was a term to describe someone who collects lots of “stuff”. Well boy was I wrong. We pulled into Karchner Caverns State Park late one afternoon and as we were trying to negotiate where and how to set up our camper on a very in- level site, we were visited by the camp host. He started with, “Hi folks. Have you ever camped her before?” “No,” we replied. Then he proceeded to tell us about the pack rats in the area asking us if we had lights for under the truck and camper. We didn’t. He said for 2 nights we might be okay. They come out at night and get into the engine compartment chewing the wires and make big nests. They can ruin your truck in no time. And with that he bid us a goodnight. For the next couple of hours we struggled to level our camper ultimately breaking the jack. Rick and I tried to fix it but darkness set in and we decided to leave and book a hotel for the night and getting a new jack in the morning
Read more

The Arrival

Image
 After 36 hours of travel with 22 of those in the air we entered New Zealand excited and bleary eyed. Owen and Kelsey greeted us with big smiles and hugs! So happy to see them.  Their van is amazing! Our view from our Chalet was unbelievable!
Read more