After picking up our traveling home from storage in Banning, we headed north up the east side of the Sierras along Highway 395. This is high desert territory, and dramatic in its austerity, and arid beauty. The wildflowers were starting their bloom, and we were treated with carpets of yellow, dotted with burnt orange and purple.
 |
| Carpets of little yellow flowers... |
We "landed" in Lone Pine, CA, a small community between the highest point in the continental USA (14,000 foot Mt. Whitney) to the west, and the lowest point in the continental USA (Death Valley, 279 feet below sea level) to the east. A land of contrasts.
 |
| Mt. Whitney, 14,505 feet |
 |
| Death Valley, 279 feet below sea level |
Coincidentally, Stacy's brother and sister-in-law, Jeff and Kristen, were also in Death Valley, just starting another RV trip of their own. If you recall, we met with Jeff and Kristen in Mount Rushmore, South Dakota last August. We both had plans to be in Stovepipe Wells yesterday. We actually passed them on the road into Death Valley, not realizing who it was. This is what happens when one has a family of nomads. We shared a beer and a great hamburger. Fun to see them again. (Forgot to get out the camera yet again. Sigh)
We took a hike up Mosaic Canyon, close to Stovepipe Wells. The geologic variety was amazing!
 |
| Yep, it's pretty darned BIG |
 |
| Swirling sandstone walls |
 |
| The walls are like polished marble... |
This part of Death Valley receives about 2 inches of rain per year, and gets well above 100 degrees Farenheit ...but some plants find areas of fertility...
 |
| Beautiful yellow flowers nestled inside a sandstone crevice |
 |
| Us....on top of the world |
No comments:
Post a Comment