Day V: big rocks and Death Valley

The incredibly bright moon lit the horizon. The air held a shocking snap and it sure smelled like morning; I would have mistaken the bright walls of my tent for the start of a sunrise if I had not fallen for that multiple times over the coarse of the night. I checked the clock on my phone- excited to get on my feet for another day. Only another hour or so until a sunrise, but I could wait no longer. I slipped the sleeping bag to one side of my tent and sat up. The tent was dry and after a brief moment of waiting for the cold to hit me, I had to reconsider the temperature of wherever I was.

Sharp shadows were cast across the ground and an involuntary squint was had when I glanced at the bright thing that neared the opposite side of the planet. Like a complex negative, the rugged landscape above and around my tiny camp was lit up and white against a very black, though equally vivid sky.

Things seemed glossier in the moon's grey scale. The leaves on those trees and shrubs that stood opposite the moon appeared as if they were wet.

I cruised the county's campground- It was me and a silent RV. The campgrounds aren't too nice here, but you get what you pay for, and that worked for me. My wandering around landed me in a field and near a small, rushing creek. My hands grew cold and my fingers were numb, but the place was so beautiful. I spent most of the sunrise with my gold-pan- the creek yielded a few flat pieces of some grey metal and some black sand, but nothing worth much to me. No garnets. no gold.

It wasn't until I returned to the car that I noticed the wonderful scene that had gone unnoticed by me for the time that I spent by the frozen, clear water. I snatched the camera from the tent and made a sad attempt at capturing the visual. A couple of snowy, rounded mountains, golden foothills and a handful of scattered trees. I wish that I had the ability to make somethin of it!

It took only a few minutes to pack camp into the trunk of the new, tiny car and I was off. I was sure that I was soon going to find myself in the Famed Death Valley- I was only a few miles from he town of Big Pine. The area seemed nice- more foothill-type terrain with a lot of agriculture.
'waited, and waited... more than three hours for the library to open... Even then I had to wait for THE computer to become available. Both memory cards are full and I HAD to off-load before I hit DEATH VALLEY!

Mt Whitney, 14505ft, and Whitney Portal road- Lone Pine, CA

The sierras got even more beautiful! The tiny town here sits below 4000ft in elevation.. I feel like an ant just a few miles from the summit of the lower 48's tallest peak!
.. Seriously, couldn't have chosen a better place to be stuck waiting for a computer!

I snagged a meal at a small grocery across from the few other buildings in town- A postcard at the register caught my attention and I tossed it into the purchase. It was the ALABAMA HILLS.- I knew little of the place, but the small photo made it look worthwhile- it wasnt on the map.

I found the Alabama Hills, and indeed, they were beautiful! Whitney Portal road and the eroded remains of the Sierra's came together to offer what I found to be one of the most magnificent, beautiful places Ive ever been. Mt Whitney itself towered over all communities, human and natural, in a grand, almost intimidating manner. I imagine that if were not for those close peaks which accompanied it so many THOUSANDS of feet above the hills and I, Mt Whitney would appear huge, sharp and terrifying . As she was, the Mountain was spectacular; I would love to have the opportunity to climb it- the shortest route, from the end of Whitney Portal Rd, makes for a twenty-two mile r/t!

The remains of the warm morning were well-spent exploring the back roads, arches and weathered boulders of the awesome crumbled mountains. In order to see what I came for, though, I had to manage the time I spent. I really cant say enough for this gem!

IF THERE HAD TO BE GRAFFITI, this wasn't bad stuff! The rock was painted many years ago with green eyes, long eyelashes and big red lips (even had a black bow above right eye!). The rock-thing has had significant makeover since then; you can still see evidence of the small bow, lips and eyelashes under the Godzilla-Kong thing that exists now. Its still just as GIGANTIC!

I settled the wheels on hwy136- 'must have blinked or sneezed when I drove through the 'town' of Dolomite, but I caught the pair of shacks known as Swansea, CA. The area here is extraordinarily flat and arid-looking. No obvious wildlife (nor people-life!) and the plants are limited to dry, woody shrubs and an occasional cacti. It is very cool and even beautiful, but a far cry from the divinity in which I had found myself surrounded by only a short while ago.

Keeler was a sizable place, (relatively)-- I even found a graveyard here- a short hike from the side of the road. Many of the grave-markers were things like crosses of plywood and chicken-wire, or larger foreign rocks covered and surrounded by ancient dried flowers. There was a pair of polished black ones with dates from the 21st century- these were fenced off, kinda.

It seemed a little silly to fence the headstones, but I guess that if there was no rickety wooden/wire fence standing, it would make the graves much more difficult to locate. The graveyard hosted a mere dozen recognisable headstones; the piles of rocks and erected planks of wood were a mile or so out of the tiny village and maybe a few hundred yards from the road- I discovered it by accident when cutting across the vast dry openness to reach a large crumbling stone structure (never got there: distracted!). I came upon some finch-type birds and a speedy reptilian of some sort too.

From Keeler I did not stop until I spotted a ridge, about an hour from Lone Pine. The land is just as dry as the desert-type land I mentioned finding before, but there was topography. Shallow hills and even some deeper ones-

There are no more patches of white salt or small villages- hasn't been for miles! Here, it is just coarse sand, dark rocks, cacti, and the reason I stopped: Joshua trees!

It was after only a few minutes climbing to the crest of the small cactus-hill that I spotted a tiny jet in the distance- He appeared to be coming strait towards me! I flashed on the state road map I'd been using and all of those nuclear testing grounds just to the east...

It's sound came a few seconds later. a faint Roar.

I watched the plane- it neared quick! The jet's noise grew loud and the thing was definitely going to fly right over me! I thought for a second and decided that it would need to gain a bit of altitude pretty fast to avoid hitting me- he looked to be only a few hundred feet from the flat plains where the road- so was I. At some unimaginable speed, the fighter-jet was suddenly only a few car-lengths away... It happened faster than I care to remember. The thing was right above me! I wonder if he ever saw me!??

I slapped my hands to my ears and ducted to the ground in reflex- I know that he was above me, but it sure looked and felt as if he were going to hit me! There was no wind, but the sound of the engines-which hit almost a full second after he'd passed me- was incredible! The blast was surely muffled by my hands and still it deafened me- I felt it in every bone. It was by this feeling or sound or the combination that some overwhelming feeling of insecurity, maybe instability or simply danger drove me to my knees, though the whole thing was still too awesome to deem unpleasant.

The plane circled back towards the direction from which he/she came almost as quickly as I popped up and found myself wishing for another flyover, thought it took several moments to overcome the amazement that the thing hit me with!

The sound dimmed as he blasted over the flat, low spot between me and the faint mountains and became tiny again. Everything that far was just slightly obscured by the flowing, liquid appearance of the hot air rising from the desert... HOW COOL!!!

I played around with the Boring cacti and all of the metallic-looking rocks around. I drove towards death valley and found myself at its edge before too long...

A fascinating pink-bodied snake was dead in the road at the edge of the high spot above the valley. Here, the first thing I noticed was that the ground was covered in those dark, metallic-lookin' stones that were so scarce only like 20 miles back. This is desert bedrock- volcanic and sedimentary stones polished by the wind, painted with a gorgeous varnish of iron, manganese and other metals and then left to sink as lighter sediments eroded into the valley or blew over the highlands- the area here at the edge obviously has a history of high-winds.

The snake, though a bit squished, was like nothing I'd ever seen. Very slender; it had a coach whip-like head marked and coloured like our own gopher snakes, but a pinkish body with similar patters of dark and light. The snakes tail was short- only six or eight inches compared to a pink section of almost two feet. The tail was banded- sharp bands of white and black similar to a young diamondback's. He looked like some mutant- like one of those engineered corn snakes gone wrong.

It wasn't until after I described the beast to several folks and some Internet research that I discovered the snake's identity: an extraordinarily colourful RED RACER (RED COACHWHIP, Masticophis flagellum) -

Death Valley was a bit disappointing- The campground was only a gravel parking lot for R.V.'s and the enormous crowd that visited on this wonderful November day took replaced the 'natural' feeling that I expected to find with something of a theme-park one.

I drove along the road to some of the less crowded areas and took a few nice, short hikes. The land is beautiful, though the valley area is still much smaller than I expected it to be. I would love to find the place empty some time.. IT is peaceful even in a traffic jam!

I walked around a big patch of sand dunes- it was hard to find any good scenes without people or footprints. Sun was setting quick, though and I drove to the Nevada border as the last light disappeared. A man tending the gas station in an interstate town- far south of the Valley expressed disappointment in our sunset. He told me that they were usually much more colourful. I was happy with it !

HE went on to tell some stories about the local tarantulas- I bought a postcard showing one- They are huge here. He told me that once in a great while a lucky person could find one basking on the road this time of year. Would I be lucky enough?

It was almost ten when I left the town- I think it started with a B. The map of the Mojave National Preserve I had showed a road entering the property from Halloran springs- only a few miles up the road from my town. I was still in California. ..

There I took a small gravel road into another section of black desert. It was almost an hour before I decided to stop driving around on the dirt roads- I pulled into a bald sandy spot off the side of the road and began setting up the tent. IT was windy! Gusts were Strong enough to make me reconsider any step I tried- they made the prickly vegetation sound as creep as their silhouettes! There was suddenly a glow on the horizon. It grew brighter by the second- the moon!

THE MOON took its time getting over the hills to illuminate the desert around me, but what a moon! I was not going to have to wait until morning to see what the Mojave was all about- the moon lit it up like a dim sunrise. I wandered around for a few miles... found nothing but cacti. There did not appear to be any kind of mountains in the opposite direction of the moonrise.. I couldn't wait for a real desert adventure!