Monday, April 30, 2012

Death Valley, Part II

After Zabriskie Point was the infamous Badwater Basin – the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere.

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It was SO hot down here. Nearly 100 degrees. My skin just felt like it was roasting.  If this had not been a pleasure trip, it would have been miserable.  It definitely gets over 100 degrees in Alabama, but for some reason the humidity adds a thickness to the air that seems to cut the burning of the sun – if that makes sense.  The moist heat is definitely miserable and heavy, but the dry desert heat is scorching!

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My next stop was at a spot called the Devil’s Golf Course.  You can see in the pictures below that it looks like dried mud, but it is actually very hard with spikes! There is a dirt/gravel road leading down to a parking lot in the middle of it.  You can walk down into it, but there are signs saying that if you fall down you can break bones.  I decided to risk it anyway, against my better judgment. 

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I took advantage of the solitude by taking a self-portrait. 

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The next stop was Artist’s Drive. I’m not sure if it will be apparent in the pictures, but the rocks and sand that are a part of these cliffs are pastel colors – there was green, pink , blue, etc. It was beautiful!

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During this part, I was on a one-lane road curving around through these cliffs and there were impatient people behind me making me really nervous!  So unfortunately I didn’t get to take as many pictures as I wanted.  I actually got out of the car at the first overlook and got mildly nauseated/dizzy from the heat, so I was afraid to get out too many more times.  What a whimp!  But the desert is no joke!

More to come, stay tuned!!!!

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