13th January 2007
Death Valley
For several years now the BMWSportTouring.com group has been meeting over the MLK weekend in Death Valley, this used to be a bigger
BMW event but the founders moved off MLK weekend due to overcrowding. We remainders have been searching for the perfect place to stay
because prices in the valley itself are outrageous over the holiday weekend, and we are cheap. The best place, in my and many others opinion, was
the Exchange Club in Beatty but it closed down after we left, there is no truth to the rumour that we ruined it! The next year we stayed at the Longstreet
Resort in Amargosa Valley which I liked a lot other than the fact it was incredibly cold and windy and I was trying to camp out back. However, many
people were not happy there, "the food wasn't good enough", "the owners weren't friendly" etc. (Neither of which I care about). So this year
we decided to try a casino in Pahrump, I didn't like it as much because there was no communal area where we could gather but the weekend seemed
to be a success. It was cold again but I had the sense to get a room this time, in fact I didn't even ride my BMW down there because it was snowing at home.
Dante's View - it was cold up here - 24F. The view point is 5,475 feet above the lowest point in North America which is at the base of the cliff
from where this picture was taken.
On the far range of mountains just to the left of the edge of the picture is Telescope Peak at 11,049ft, the drop from the peak to the valley is twice the depth of the Grand Canyon.
The white surface is salt beds.
© Bob Palin 2007
Death Valley is of course very very dry, there is little pesky vegetation to get in the way of the geology (though over 1000 species of plant do grow in the park).
This is a view from the back side of Zabriskie Point.
© Bob Palin 2007
Up in those hills is the Artist's Palette
© Bob Palin 2007
The Artist's Palette is an exposed area of volcanic ashfalls that have been weathered by hot groundwater to bring out the colourful minerals
in the clay and mudstone. (Linda, I'm not making this up!)
© Bob Palin 2007
It was late in the day when I took these pictures, the low sun really brings out the colours which can be a bit washed out in the harsh desert midday sun.
© Bob Palin 2007
Badwater, at 282 feet below sea level, is the lowest place in North America.
You can just see a white sign up on the cliff at the right side which marks sea level.
© Bob Palin 2007
The amount of bad water varies quite a lot depending on how wet the winter has been.
© Bob Palin 2007
This article continues here >> January 14th
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