Timing is Everything

Wild flowers, Red Rock State Park

Wild flowers, Red Rock State Park

Rock formation close up and personal at Red Rock State Park

We often hear the phrase that “timing is everything” and it is so true! We had arrived in Yosemite early in the season. Only one campground of many in the park was open. Temperatures were still quite cool at night and not as much water was running in the streams and waterfalls. And yes, there were roads through the passes that were closed too. Then we came south to Sequoia/King's Canyon and again, timing was everything. The campground in which we had hoped to stay, and which was listed as “open all year” was closed. In fact only one campground was open. Once again we were ahead of the park season with roads closed, campground facilities unavailable, and snow by the side of the road and in the woods! In Yosemite we had been at about 4000 ft for camping and in Sequoia we were at 6200 ft. The end result in both cases was that we didn't see all that we might have if we had been later in the season, not in the “winter.”

Taken from our campsite in Red Rock State Park

We left Sequoia two days earlier than we had anticipated and headed south to get closer to Death Valley, our next scheduled campground. We had found a California state park called Red Rock on the map and checking it out on the Internet were struck by the natural beauty of the rocks against which we would set up our camps. Driving from Sequoia first to Bakersfield and then across on CA 58 to 14, we were back in the desert with dryness. It is amazing to see the difference in just one day from mountains to desert. From snow, cooler temps and giant trees to the valley with row after row of orange, grapefruit, and lemon trees. There were also other fruits and vegetables being grown but we didn't immediately identify what they were. Needless to say, there is irrigation everywhere and with those fields of green also signs saying “ No Water, No Jobs.” We discussed this at dinner on Thursday...how are their minds working to post those signs where they are irrigating thousands of fields and no one is cutting back on the energy they are consuming, no effort to control greenhouse gases. Enough said.

Rock formation near the Red Rock Campground

Now we are here in Red Rock Canyon near Cantil, in a campground with rocks behind us thatremind us of both Canyonlands and Turkey! On a hike,we ran into a teacher's assistant from UNV-Reno who was more than glad to explain the geology behind the striking formations that we've been seeing here. We got in two relatively short hikes today, again at a park that is sort of open for camping, but with a visotors' center that is still closed for the season. Some of that is blamed on budget shortfalls – something that we at Maine can certainly appreciate. Tomorrow we are off to Death Valley National Park, where we expect temperatures in the upper 70s and 80s; we'll be in a campground called Furnace Creek. (Guess the name might say it all.)

We are reminded, constantly, that this is a huge, widely varied landscape in our country of the United States. We've been in the mountains with snow and the desert with sand and arid conditions. The people are as varied as the landscape and our multi-cultural country totally reflected in our grocery stores!

Panorama of the rock face on one of our Red Rock Canyon State Park hikes.

Sunday – March 23

We drove from Red Rock to Death Valley yesterday morning/early afternoon. The best we can say is that it is quite a drive. Dee and Marty wanted to do Wi-Fi and thought that there would surely be a spot along the way. Several hundred miles later after arriving in Death Valley they were still without Internet. There had also been no grocery store except for a mini mart at a gas station (a fascinating place run by an Indian (from India) with a fairly distinctive accent who was also the cook if you wanted a sandwich as well as the check-out clerk and gas attendant if you needed help. Boy, did that man hustle!

The drive started with the beautiful rocks; any geologist would love this place, and interesting formations that at one point looked as though it was lava thrown up on the ground. Miles and miles of open space with the mountains always making the horizon an pattern of lights and darks with ridges.

And then there was the 104 mile approach to the Valley. At first it was very flat, then we climbed to a pass and felt sure that we would be descending into Death Valley. At the bottom of that descent, though, we saw the road heading straight across the valley floor and heading up mountains on the other side. THAT was the range of mountains that we had to cross to get into Death Valley: through a pass at 5975 feet! Our campers wheezed there way to the top of the pass and headed down. On that descent we met about 15-20 bicyclists coming up the hill. Obviously they had started from the bottom; sea level or lower, and were going up to the top of the pass on a road distance of some 15-16 miles – quite a feat!

The sounds in a campground are interesting, particularly at night and in the early morning. During the night there are late arrivals dragging in, looking for their camp sites and maneuvering into position. As it begins to get light, we hear people moving about; some starting breakfast, and others getting their rigs ready to move on. It was a bit surprising to hear and meet the significant number of Asian campers, both here and at other California parks. We just hadn't realized how many foreign tourists come and rent campers to see the American west first-hand. Here at Death Valley, we are sitting next to a mesquite tree that is home to a group of great-tailed grackles, who seem (to us, at least) to be courting, with the most amazing whistles and clicks in their song.

Yesterday as we drove in it was interesting to see the temperature rise. Our (outside recorded temp was about 94) and at the Visitor Center it was 96. Our overnight low was 60! Pretty amazing change from just Red Rock with a high in the low 70's and in Sequoia where it was in the 50's.

We've just returned from two hikes. The first one was Golden Canyon which was spectacular followed by a trip to Badwater (lowest point in the US at -283' below sea level) where we walked on the salt flat. On our return was a drive through the Artist's Drive through the mountains where you are stunned by the colors of the rocks.

Here are the hiking photos from today.

David below sea level!

Near the entrance of Golden Canyon 

Having fun in the sun 

Just imagine that there was a road here once so folks could "access" the canyon more easily.  It washed out in 1976.

They look like dunes, but they are not.

Artist's palette.

Red Cathedral at the end of the canyon

Salt crystals forming

And there is “scale”. One feels very small in this open environment. Some of the photos were taken with people in them just to show the scale of where we are.

We are able to access Wi-Fi for $4.95/hour or $10.95/day. Who says we are a captive audience!