Before we got there, all we knew about Death valley was that it is below sea level and gets very hot.
The first fact was confirmed by a roadside sign displaying the elevation with a minus sign. We passed it before we thought to grab a camera and, alas, we forgot the number. So we looked it up on the National Park web site. It is -282 feet (-86 metres).
At the visitor center there was a whiteboard with weather information. The temperature that day was expected to reach “mid 90s”; that's mid 30s Celsius. The forecast for the next day was 100°F (37.8°C). So our background knowledge was confirmed.
The first thing we noticed as we approached the valley was a change in the vegetation. The most eye-catching plant was one that looked like orange candyfloss or, if you are American, cotton candy.
A complete plant.
There are twiggy, green stems amongst the orange threads.
It wasn't described on any of the information boards and, indeed, it seemed to be absent from the park itself. We asked a ranger what it was. She didn't know its name, but it is an invasive pest, not found in the area naturally.
More conventional flowering plants included:
A large caterpillar making a meal of a large leaf.
It was warm for walking, but we are very glad we took the time to hike the Salt Creek Interpretive Trail. Well, it's only half a mile.
The creek is not deep where it flows alongside the trail.
This stretch of the creek is supplied with aquatic plants, bacteria, etc.
What was remarkable was that the creek is well populated with small fish called pupfish. They are attractive little fish, but how do they exist in a salty creek that gets very hot and mostly dries up every year? You can read about their difficult lives here.
Two pupfish
A close up of a single pupfish.
And another one.
It was not so surprising to find lizards near the creek.
We are getting used to the idea that American national parks will contain colourful rocks. These are at or near Zabriskie Point:
The area was once the site of borax mining, so we are lucky there are any natural features left.
We're not certain, but this is probably Furnace Creek.
The Devil's Cornfield.
Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes.
More geology. A canyon beside the road in the North of the park.
The low-growing plants make this hillside seem to be rocks that have been stained green.
Our destination was another Boondockers Welcome site. At this one the hosts invited us to have a drink by the campfire – they called it “Cowboy TV” - and swap travel tales. Eve and Vicki got on well and also swapped cookery ideas. Eve presented Vicki with some sourdough starter and we received some lovely jam in return.
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