Death Valley National Park

The drive to Death Valley is long and it’s amazing how much of the land out here is desert.  We were careful to have plenty of gas and water…and we were glad!

The campground….well, it is a desert.  No shade or structures at all. 

There’s some vegetation, in some areas…

 

This is the lowest point in North America, 282 feet below sea level.

Here’s a close up of the salt on the valley floor…

The late afternoon light up the landscape beautifully.  Such an interesting area…unlike any place I’ve ever been.

Next up…LA and the Tonight Show tomorrow.

Red Rock Canyon

On our way out of Las Vegas we stopped at this National Conservation Area.  We didn’t really do much but go on the scenic drive.  Vegas can be draining, so we were actually just more eager to get to Death Valley and set up our camp.

   

The arid landscape really reminds you that Las Vegas truly is in the middle of the desert.  It’s easy to forget when you are in all the lavish casinos that the surrounding landscape is so barren.

Las Vegas

We lucked out on our room in Vegas.  It’s a beautiful big room at Circus Circus for only $25/night!  Last time we came to Vegas we ended up gambling here because of the low limits on the tables.  The same is true on this trip…we headed down to the other end of the strip, but we couldn’t do the $25 minimum bet tables. We’ve spent a lot time in our room doing work.  I’m taking two online classes, so I’ve done quite a bit of reading, writing, and test taking.  Here’s Jason at work. Yes, he’s got two laptops going…

A few more hours of work and then we’re off to Death Valley…

More Zion NP hiking

Our luck with the weather continued on our second day at Zion.  The leaves were beautiful. I absolutely love being outside in nature on days like this – makes me want to work at a National Park again or go a on quest to visit all national parks.  It’s just my favorite thing…

Some places the leaves were just starting to turn yellow.

And in other places there were bright red leaves.

Of course, being Zion NP, not everywhere has trees.

Zion National Park: Angel’s Landing Hike

Another absolutely beautiful day, this time in Zion National Park.  It was sunny, warm, and the leaves are changing.  Plus at this time of the year, the crowds are gone.

We attempted the Angel’s Landing hike.  It starts at the bottom of the canyon and quickly climbs.

(Yes, that’s the trail!)

We wimped out in the last half mile because of the steep ledges and precarious footing. We definitely weren’t the only ones too fearful to keep going.  Here’s our view from the “top” – at least as high as we got.

More Moab

Today Erika drove us up into the mountains near Moab.  It was another beautiful day and great views.  I loved having so much time to spent with Erika as it’s been years since we’ve had an extended visit. 

Corona Arch – Moab, UT

We’re staying in Moab with my friend Erika that I’ve known since summer of 1995 when we were camp counselors together.  It was a beautiful sunny day and we went on hike to Corona Arch –which is on BLM land, not in Arches NP.