The Dunes

Of course, there’s always a downside to there being a bunch of sand in one spot. I got some grains into my camera and it broke, so this is the last shot you’re going to get. I wish I had been able to keep taking picture, but such is life. In any event, one of the neat things about a mound of sand is that if you knock out a small chunk of it, the sand above will flow down to fill in the space, forming a neat little shelf that moves up the dune until it gets to the top.

Falling Sands

Mercantile Decay

I believe that this one was the old jail, viewed between the columns of some ancient building that I simply can’t recall. I’m pretty sure that the columns were the only part of it still standing, at any rate.

An Escape Proof Prison

This was some sort of hotel, I believe.

Four Star Accomodations

Of course the reason the city was built in the first place was for the mining. Unlike the small holes in Golden Canyon, these were fully dug shafts that would have been quite dangerous to enter. There were grates over the entrances to the most easily accessible ones, forcing me to shove the camera between the bars to get this shot.

Mining Done Right

This final shot is evidence of something a lot older than a ghost town. These are petroglyphs; etchings in the rocks made by the Timbisha Shoshone many years ago. There is no one currently alive who actually knows what they mean. The knowledge has been lost, even among the Timbisha Shoshone people still living in the valley.

Mysterious Petroglyphs

The Great Plain

The reason we were told not to slip and fall was because the ground was made of nothing but salt. Many years ago, the entirety of Death Valley was a vast body of water called Lake Manly. Over time, the climate changed and the air in the are got dry and hot. The lake slowly evaporated, leaving behind vast deposits of evaporites, such as salt and borax. This plain was one of the larger chunks of salt that got left over.

Fragile Crystalline Growths

Of course, this wasn’t the craziest thing about the whole place. The absolute craziest thing was that the salt was actually just a giant crust on top of an underground lake. Turned out that the depositing salts had layered over top of the bottom most layer of water, which allowed the lake to remain in this section of the valley, protected by its salt shield. In the heyday of the Valley, people would use dynamite to blast into the mineral rich water below and advertise it as a healthy soak for tourists. Several of the holes have closed up since then, but this one remained for us to marvel at.

The Underground Lake

We eventually left the salt flats, and I was struck once more by just how ridiculously flat the valley could be. There was just nothing there at times.

Stay Flat, Death Valley

This Is Probably Unsafe

I can’t really think of anything for this one. I like the shot though. Again, people for perspective.

Canyon Walls

We exited the canyon and saw what looked like was a large chunk of missing ground. Turns out that that’s what happens when the flash floods come through the valley. In the basin of the flooded area out you can see the debris that came with it.

Wash Out

There wasn’t a whole lot of life in the valley, but there were quite a few ravens flying around. This was the only one I was able to get a good shot of, and it luckily happened on the second day of the trip.

Quoth The Raven...

The Valley Floor

We arrived early in the morning, which worked out perfectly because the canyon is named for its color. Sunrise is just the right time for the golden hues to be brought out, according to people in the know. For a hint at the scale, look near the bottom of the picture. There’s a person there.

Golden Canyon

As so often happens in the desert, the sky overhead was the clearest blue I think I’ve ever seen in my life. Any clouds were a luxury that were to be savored. The plane didn’t exactly provide any shade.

The Wild Blue Yonder

This next shot speaks for itself. This time there’s two people in frame.

Climbing the Canyon

After hiking up through the main drag, we were able to see this large tower. I’m sure it has a name, I just can’t quite remember what it was. Sure was tall, either way.

The Nameless Tower

We rounded the corner and saw this path. I promise that it wasn’t as terrifying as it looked.

Acrophobia Says Hello

This was the first thing we saw upon entering the Valley proper. The Timbisha Shoshone are the Native American tribe that has been living on this land for generations. It’s a rather dry and hot place, but whatever works for you I suppose.

Death Valley

We drove a little way in before turning off at a vantage point and getting out first real look at the Valley. I think it speaks for itself.

Hills In The Valley

Of course, it would have been far too easy to simply gaze out over the vista. We scampered down the hills and saw flat. Lots and lots of flat. Mostly it was just dirt; there were some bushes here and there.

Flatter Than Flat