Near Death in Death Valley

“Cause your love, your love is 7 feet deep
It's 107 degrees
And I'm walking cause my life ain't free
Cause it's 107 degrees
And your pain is, is killing me
Cause it's 107 degrees
And I'm walking cause my life ain't free
Cause it's 107 degrees”  -Citizen Cope

It sure was hot in Death Valley.

I was really looking forward to getting there. We had heard it was beautiful and not frequented as much as some of the other national parks, perhaps because of its name and reputation as a place of dead things and extreme heat.

It was a remarkable place – we both loved it. It was hot, a whole 107° F, but a dry kind of heat that was bearable – especially with hats and Gatorade.

There is a great deal of life there, too, despite the name. Desert tortoise and mule deer are just a couple of animal species that thrive. A large diversity of plant life is able to live there too, including all kinds of desert bush, mesquite and Joshua tree.

It’s crazy to think that several million years ago there was a lake that filled Death Valley.

 

We tried to recreate U2’s The Joshua Tree  album cover (below), because their photo was taken at Zabriskie Point in Death Valley. I think we did pretty well.

Death Valley has the lowest point in North America – Badwater Basin.

 

These salt flats were created over time when the area’s climate became drier and the rainfall less frequent. Collected minerals dried up to make this salty land.

 

During the bright day, the sun was brilliant and made everything stunning. During the warm night, the moon was big and made everything glow.

We had our only hiccup with the car as we left  – the near death of our car window. Our automatic window on the driver’s side got stuck in the down position. Fortunately, we were on our way to Las Vegas where Niall’s cousin knew a guy who knew a guy who could fix it on the cheap. Whew.