Let the Photos Speak…

Death Valley National Park. A BIGLY place with many wonders.

If you need them.

Here’s some written words.

https://jeffsambur.blogspot.com/2022/03/the-death-valley-x-files.html

https://jeffsambur.blogspot.com/2022/02/it-was-love-at-first.html

https://jeffsambur.blogspot.com/2022/02/my-fear-factors.html

The Death Valley X Files…

“I Want to Believe.” The X Files TV series.

Extraterrestrial, Out Worldly and Freaky is how many would describe Death Valley National Park. So it only makes sense, the region would attract the ultimate illegal aliens.

On my recent trip to DVNP, I was doing my usual Wandering and Wondering when I came upon this intergalactic phone booth. I picked up the phone and dialed ET and began speaking. 

“Hi Guys! I’m camped nearby. Why don’t you drop in for an IPA and some appetizers? My treat. We can schmooze about the state of the Earth and other galaxies. I’d enjoy hearing your Big View perspectives.” 

I heard a garbled response but my I Phone Translator app wasn’t set to “Out of this world” mode. Thus their answer was lost in space.

I returned to  camp at sunset doing my usual. That is drinking an IPA, reading and just looking around. When  I saw this!

After the Undocumented Dudes and Dudettes landed, (a Wall wasn’t going to stop them)  their were a few awkward moments of attempted communications between civilizations.  Fortunately  IPAs are the universal language of love and understanding.  I  was conscious, oriented and alert enough to capture the moment on film. 

So we laughed, kibitzed (told stories) and noshed on some appetizers. All in all, an enjoyable Happy Hour. (More so than drinking with boring humans.)

I limited my guests to two beers. I didn’t want them flying under the influence (FUI), especially at Warp Drive. 

Before they launched though they taught me how to move rocks without physical contact. It’s a cool bar trick called telekinesis. I was a quick learner.

Last photo: Before ET could phone home, he/she had to post a letter into an intergalactic mailbox. 

The galaxy was a lot easier to negotiate back then.

May the Force be with you,

Jeff 

It was Love at First…

Sight.

 Is what I experienced when I ventured below sea level into Death Valley National Park in the late 1990’s. I arrived there in a manly Ford Escort hatchback.  Stuffed inside was a bicycle, a box of maps, beer, camping gear, some clothes and food. Back in those pre-get-hit-by-too-many-cars days, I was more cyclist than hiker. 

I stopped by the Visitor Center for info on possible bike rides.  As usual I had lots of questions.

“Hi! I was thinking about riding from Furnace Creek to Scotty’s Castle. How long away is that?”

The young and polite National Park Service Ranger answered, “52 miles.”

“Oh, that’s not too far. I can ride there and back in a day.”

“No Sir. That distance is one-way only. Double that for a return trip.”

“What! But it’s only about an inch and a half on the map!”

“Sir. Death Valley is vast. It’s the largest National Park in the lower 48. There’s over 3,000,000 acres to roam around in. There’s lots to see here. I’d suggest you take a ride from Furnace Creek to Badwater. That’s about 52 miles round trip.”

So that’s what I did. 

Badwater is the lowest point in North America. (-282 feet. The height of a 20 story building). From those bleached salt flats, I looked up across the valley to Telescope Peak rising over two miles above me. 

“This is so wild! This is so crazy! I love this!”

That is how my DVNP quarter century love affair began. 

Recently, I was on a three week mission, “to boldly go where no Wondering Wandering Jew had gone before!” (My apologies to Captain Kirk for the paraphrase.) I’m here to say my love fest for DVNP is still present and accounted for.

Many people think Death Valley is desolate, stark and generally uninviting. To these folks I say, “It’s a subtle beauty that’s not for everyone.” 

Death Valley is a place you have to “Get.” I notice the zebra stripes on the mountains, the ebb and flow of the changing colors, the shadows and the extraterrestrial nature of it all. I “get” it.

On this past trip, I was offline for over a week. It gave me the opportunity to ponder the real important issues of our world. 

Such as:

Why did I see Little Brown Bats, Wild Burros and Kangaroo Rats in one valley but not the others? 

Why do people ignore the signs and drive across salt flats, playas and alluvial fans? Thus creating a long lasting  scar for all to see?

How is it, I’m capable of discovering pockets of solitude and silence in the most populated state in the country? 

When this trip was all said and done, it was my best visit to DVNP. (A close runner up was the 2016 Superbloom year). When the temperatures are pegging pleasant, when the wind is as mild as a fly’s fart, when Orion’s Belt felt so close I might have been able to measure his waist, there’s no where else I’d rather be in the winter months. It didn’t hurt that my campsites were so remote I showered as naked as the moment I was born. 

NOW THAT’S FREEDOM!

Death Valley isn’t for everyone, but it’s definitely the right place for me. 

If you go be super careful. In many places (where I go) no one will ever hear you scream. 

Cheers and Come on Summer!

Jeff

Last photos: I purchased an Airbnb for long and short term rentals. I priced it right too.