Artist's Palette/Hole In the Wall

We had the most wonderful day yesterday.  We had in mind to do the Artist's Drive and then to find the Hole In the Wall trailhead (tried to find a link, but I could only find other people's blogs) and do the 2.8 mile loop hike there.  So off we went.  We've done the Artist's Drive before and so we knew there was a place where we could park and then walk back up the washes for a better view of the colorful scenery.  First, however, we stopped to take in the view of Telescope Peak across the valley in the Panamint Range. 

Mike wanted to send a picture of this back to a co-worker who hadn't realized California had such tall mountains.  Then we drove on to Artist's Drive and the Artist's Palette.  This is an easy hike.  Mike and I agreed that if you ever are in Death Valley and you can do only one thing, this is the one thing you shouldn't miss.  I imagine others would disagree since it would be hard to choose one favorite spot.  These colorful landscapes have always reminded me of something you might see in Disneyland.  This is what we were walking toward:



And this is what it looks like when you get out in the middle of it:

This image above gives you some scale.  If you look just to the left of center, you can see where Mike wussed out and wouldn't walk any higher with me.  You can also see the cars in the parking lot to the right and a little above center.  What a fantastic landscape!

It's a little hard to see in these tiny images, but I hope you are able to pick up on the greens, purples, reds, browns, golds, and pinks in these formations.  I was using a polarizing filter on my camera to saturate the colors a little more because we were out in the worst light of the day.  Otherwise, I have not photoshopped these beyond cropping them and darkening them a little.  The colors are true by my eye.

After that, we spent some time looking for the Hole in the Wall trailhead, which we have searched for before.  This time, however, we had our trusty GPS and were able to find it after realizing we were on the wrong road!  The only reason we haven't done this hike previously is because we haven't been able to find the trailhead.  It was really helpful to be on the right road for a change.

The Hole in the Wall is formed by water rushing through a wash, and in fact, the trail is in the wash.  The resulting landscape has not so much been pushed out of the ground, as much as the rest of the ground has been washed away.  These were very interesting formations formed by erosion, mainly.

This image gives you a sense of scale if you notice our truck parked at the bottom center of the image.  Mike and I love our solitude.  This hike required that we drive four miles on a bumpy, rocky, rutted road, and there were definitely no other people out here.  On the other hand, we were able to stay on the trail mainly by following the foot prints of others.  Here was an image that typifies what we saw out there. 

But here is what made the day so exciting!!  Just as we were getting out of the truck, and I was gathering up my camera equipment, Mike noticed movement on the top of the ridge.  I just happened to have my camera with its telephoto lense mounted when we both looked up and saw

big horn sheep!!  This is one of those things that every photographer hopes to see, but rarely gets a chance.  And, in my experience, I almost never have my camera ready to go.  These are not great images because I was a little too far away, and because I didn't set up my tripod.  Hand-holding a long lens is difficult to do without moving.  These are a little blurry, but I still think you can get an idea of how exciting it was to see them.  Regardless, I got a good look at them just using the telephoto as a telescope.

Here's another picture, and I'm assuming from their behavior that this is a mated pair:

They seemed a little wary of us, but they were far enough away that we were no threat to them.  In other wildlife we've seen close up (when I haven't had my camera in my hand) were a jackrabbit that ran across the road in front of us, and a coyote that strolled through the campground as if he owned the place (which, of course, he does).  Last night we heard lots of coyotes yipping and yapping.  We had George out for a walk earlier, and he had a really good time.  Later on, it was good to hear the coyotes reminding him that he can still be somebody's dinner even if he's attached to a leash.

Finally, I wanted to show you some of the "stuff" that grows here. 

This is desert holly.  Some of it has these pretty red berries, and some doesn't.  (Male vs. female plants, I'm thinking?)  In any case, it is one of the few species that can survive the flash floods and harsh conditions of this desert landscape.  I really like it.

So we're going to spend just one more day here at Furnace Creek.  Originally, our plan was to move over to Stovepipe Wells and spend another 4-5 days there, but we are too early for the wildflowers, which peak around mid March.  We've decided to move on tomorrow to Borrego Springs, where we got a tip there is a really nice RV park, and then return to Death Valley as we go back home in March.  We're still searching for a really terrific place to go in the winters where we might want to stay for months.  We haven't ruled out actually owning a space in one of these nice RV parks that could serve as a sort of winter home.  It's a relatively inexpensive and no-maintenance-worry way to have a permanent winter home.  We've never seriously considered buying a space in any of these parks, and so I don't know the ins and outs of ownership.  It's just something we keep in the backs of our minds (far back) when we're traveling.

For the rest of today, we want to go up to Zabriskie Point, which is one of the more scenic viewpoints of the park, do another drive on the 20 Mule Team Canyon, which is also very beautiful, and then go up to the historic Furnace Creek Inn.  We ate at the restaurant last night, as we have on previous visits.  It's such a delightful place--elegant, but like stepping back in time to a different way of life.  We've wandered around exploring it a little, but only at night.  I'd like to take some pictures of some of the things we like about it and I'll share it in my next blog entry.  Mike has been very patient with me while I write these blog entries and wait for the pictures to load.  I should go reward him for his efforts.  For now, thanks for reading, and take care.