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The Lady had the Thanksgiving week off. Traditional family events were scheduled for Thanksgiving Day, translated means I'm cooking, so that gave us the days prior to make a Death Valley trip.
Blast off
from here was scheduled for 5 am Saturday the 20th. The predicted storm came in
Friday night and with chain controls along a majority of 395, it looked like 95
in Nevada was the best choice. First we had to get there. We awoke to 8 inches
of snow, ran the big snowblower to get out, couldn't get on the highway -
closed with a tree across it, went back home for breakfast, power went out as
we were locking up, and began the slow trip in the snow before breaking out in
Gardnerville, NV. We were three hours behind making a planned meeting in Beatty
with friends to join us on a couple of our planned adventures.
With our
delay that put us into the park right at dark, we decided to camp for the night
at one of the Furnace Creek campgrounds even if it meant the Sunset parking
lot. We were surprised to find Texas Springs Campground almost empty on this
Saturday night.
We are early
risers and were delighted with the predawn light with the passing storm Sunday.
We had plans
for today, archeology, and ancient rock art sites. We enjoy research and then
taking it to the field and trying to locate hard to reach backcountry
treasures.
Lots of
driving, figuring out unmarked road intersections, and a long walk put us here.
This site
was interesting with its varied figures and differences in ages in the
petroglyphs.
This was a cold
and windy day at around 4000 feet. What stuck us was the glyphs were in the
sunny areas, right where we wanted to be. This one is for Stew as it is a
depiction of a spacecraft blasting off.
There was a
second site we were also looking for, we were so close we could taste it, but
with our searching we fudged on our turnaround time as much as we could and had
to head back. Looks like we will continue this search next spring.
We were far
off the beaten path and completely alone this long day in just wonderful big
country. What a joy.
We found a
nice pull off along the road for a dispersed campsite. Armed with a great cup
of coffee the next morning was clear and cold and great to watch the world wake
up.
Since our
friends are birders, they suggested visiting Saratoga Springs. We had to exit the
south end of the park and make our way to the Amargosa River.
At an
unmarked intersection there was a sign for travelers coming from that
direction. I got curious as to what it said.
To get to
Saratoga Springs from the south is via the Harry Wade Road.
Saratoga
Springs is a place of striking contrasts. If you have the time, interest, it is worth the visit. We were the only ones here. We wandered, we
circled the ponds, we sat and ate a long lunch just listening to the birds and
the wind through the reeds. An amazing place.
The Ibex
Dunes are near the Springs and our plan was to find a suitable dispersed
campsite and then enjoy the afternoon light exploring the dunes. There are two
or three pull off sites along the road large enough to serve as campsites which
put you within about a mile and a half hike to reach the dunes.
Late
afternoon is a great time to explore dunes.
On the
opposite side of the dunes are the remains of a talc mine.
The light,
the solitude, and beauty were astounding as we wandered back to camp at sunset.
Dinner was
prepared after dark but the weather was warm enough to allow us to sit outside
and eat and watch the day change to night.
And of
course, a great cup of coffee and sunrise over the dunes the next morning.
Well it was
Tuesday morning, that turkey needed to be cooked, and the storm had lingered at
home. Our friends never travel without Digonnet's hiking guide and suggested a
couple of hour’s exploration up Desolation Canyon before heading toward home.
This was a fun canyon to stretch your legs in.
Exploring
one of the many side canyons.
You can
actually top out in Desolation Canyon on a divide between it and the Artist's
Drive area. Really nice vistas. Here's a view back down the canyon into Death
Valley.
We made one
last stop in the valley.
We reached
one of our favorite camping spots in the Alabama Hills just after sunset on
Tuesday night. The wind blew, it was cold, the clouds lifted off of the Sierra
escarpment as the moon rose. We put on all our clothes and took a long walk. It
was incredible.
We arrived
home Wednesday late afternoon and had to dig out from snow before taking care
of last minute shopping.
Thanksgiving
was great, we picked the bird down to bones, and the Lady dug off all our
neighbor's decks.