braindump

Most people think casinos and extravagent shows when they think of Las Vegas; however, I see it as a great place to begin a road trip. Three years ago I headed north to Utah (okay, via the Strip, where all the big casinos are), and returned via Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam. This time I’m skipping the Strip and heading straight to Death Valley.

Red Rock Canyon

But heading west from Vegas, the first thing you hit is Red Rock Canyon, just past the newest tacky suburb. Not so much a canyon as a bunch of interesting rock formations on one side, and mountains on the other, it’s a fairly short drive around the scenic route, and I’m surprised it’s not better known. Another feature that should make it more popular with the lazy and other exercise-averse people is that you can get a good view without having to step more than a few metres from your car.

My first stop in Death Valley after the nearly three hours drive was at Dante’s View, perched at the top of the mountains on the east side of the valley at an altitude of about 1700 metres. It’s hard to get a sense of scale from the photo, but the valley here is about 16 km wide. The park as a whole is the largest US National Park outside Alaska.

Death Valley from Dante's View

Descending from the mountain top brought a corresponding increase in temperature. This effect is well known, but I’ve never experienced it so vividly as at Death Valley.  The rough rule of thumb is an increase of about 6.5 C for each 1000 m altitude lost. Since it was about 25 C at Dante’s View, I expected it to be about 37 C at the lowest point in the valley, Badwater, which is about average for this time of year.

As well as the scale of the valley, the thing that really struck me was just how barren it was. That’s not to say that there isn’t any vegetation – there is – but is seems that everything is growing straight out of the rock, gravel, scree, sand, or anything other than what I’d call soil. The evidence of how erosion shapes the valley is everywhere, including alluvial fans and washes. This might seem strange for a place that receives so little rainfall; however when the rain does come, it’s usually in buckets, so it just runs off, causing the erosion.

A complimentary bug

Although it was getting late, I pressed on to visit Zabriskie Point, The Devil’s Golf Course, Badwater, Artist’s Palette, and finally the Stovepipe Wells Village, where I stayed, along with a bunch of bugs in my room. I don’t think they were dangerous, just annoying. I guess they were just getting out of the 37 degree heat like me.