Death Valley National Park's Telescope Peak is reflected in the temporary Lake Manley

 

California's Death Valley is America's lowest, driest, and hottest place. But this past winter season had unusually high amounts of precipitation. This caused the lowest point in Death Valley, Badwater Basin, to fill with water and form a temporary lake. Geologists know that this basin used to have a lake around the time of the last ice age and is called Lake Manley. So, this temporary lake is given that name, as well. 

This picture shows the lowest and highest points in Death Valley National Park, the lowest being Badwater Basin (with Lake Manley in it) and Telescope Peak (left of center). The lake beautifully reflects the ridge which culminates in Telescope Peak. The lake also shows salt crystals floating in it because it is totally saturated with salt and can't hold anymore. 

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

The real Zabriskie Point, a pet peeve

It's a pet peeve of ours that we often see photos of the Zabriskie Badlands and Manly Beacon labeled as Zabriskie Point, which is the viewpoint that the photographer is standing on, not what the viewer is seeing in the photo.  In a way, we can understand why it happens.  You look out across the maze of ridges and gullies of these badlands with no apparent named peak and it can be hard to name what you're seeing.  Also, the general store in Furnace Creek sells souvenirs with images of Manly Beacon on them and they're labeled "Zabriskie Point," so, again, it's understandable.

But consider this.  As a photographer, would you go to Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park, take a photo of Half Dome and label that photo "Glacier Point."  You would likely name it Half Dome after the distinctive feature in the picture.  The Zabriskie Badlands have a distinctive feature, though admittedly not as distinctive as Half Dome, and it's Manly Beacon.  But if your photo from Zabriskie Point doesn't include Manly Beacon, then it's probably of Gower Gulch and the Zabriskie Badlands and should say so.

The above two photos show the actual Zabriskie Point.  Zabriskie Point is in the upper left atop a steeply sloped hill.  And then Gower Gulch and part of the Zabriskie Badlands make up the rest of the photos.

The panorama below is of the Zabriskie Badlands taken from Zabriskie Point.

 The final photo is a 30 second nighttime exposure showing Manly Beacon, the only widely-known named feature in the Zabriskie Badlands.  Many photos labeled Zabriskie Point feature Manly Beacon, named after William Manly, an early Death Valley guide.  This feature is the high point just left of center.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story.

A female Great tailed Grackle at Boulder Beach Campground, Lake Mead National Recreation Area

 

Bob was on a trip through the southwestern desert when he stayed at the Boulder Beach Campground of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Nevada.  Every morning and evening the great tailed grackles would fly through the campground foraging or looking for a place to roost or whatever.  They are very noisy, boisterous birds with a variety of calls.  He eventually managed to photograph this female as it perched on a creosote bush branch.

This was shot with a 400mm zoom lens and then heavily cropped to bring out the details of this bird.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story.

Titus Canyon Road in Death Valley, panorama leading to the pass

This is Rick's old Kia Sportage, during a December 2007 trip to Death Valley. The road is the one-way road that leads to Titus Canyon. It was taken as a panorama to show the road that leads up to the pass. On the other side, the road drops steeply down to the abandoned mining town of Leadville, then on to Titus Canyon. Passenger cars can make the trip when the road is in good condition, but other times make 4-wheel drive and high ground clearance much more desirable. We have seen people back out of this drive and go against the one-way designation of the road in order to get out.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

Desert bighorn sheep on red sandstone, Valley of Fire, Nevada

During a camping trip to Valley of Fire State Park, in Nevada, a desert bighorn sheep strolled by the campground where we staying. After we followed it for a while, it joined a herd of about 20 consisting of a mix of females and yearlings. At one point, the male scrambled effortlessly up a red sandstone outcrop to get a better view of the terrain and might have checked for predators in the area, before continuing.

Canon EOS 70D, 250 mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/350 sec., f/11. This image has been cropped a little tighter to improve composition.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

Chuckwalla and rocky textures in Death Valley

This chuckwalla lizard was hanging out near the Dante's View scenic area in Death Valley National Park. It's interesting how the texture of the lizard's skin so closely blends with the textures in the rocks. Chuckwalla's are very comfortable moving around rocks and wedging themselves into the crevices between rocks. One method that chuckwallas use to keep away from predators is to flee into a crevice, then inflate their bodies to create enough pressure that they cannot be dislodged. This one, though, was out in the open for quite a while when people were walking past and looking at the view of Death Valley and the Badwater Basin and also noticing this large lizard sunning itself.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

Butler Wash Cliff Dwelling in the Bears Ears National Monument

This is an area within the Bears Ears National Monument. You reach by parking at a turnout off of Road 95, west of Blanding, Utah, and then taking a short hike, about 1/2 mile or 1 km) to reach this viewpoint. It's called Butler Wash and has an Anasazi cliff dwelling at the upper end. The end of the trail has a steep dropoff, so there is railing there, which also makes it easy to know where to stop. There's no developed trail in to the ruins, but it is possible to get to the bottom of the wash and work your way there. We were on our way to Natural Bridges National Monument and couldn't spend as much time here as we would've liked. We definitely intend to go back.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

Owachomo Natural Bridge from near Zeke's Bathtub

This is Owachomo Bridge in Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah.  This monument was set aside in 1908 to protect three magnificent natural bridges and they can be viewed along a one-way scenic loop road.  Owachomo is the third bridge along the road and is the most photogenic and thinnest of the three.  It's also the easiest one to hike to, both because it's the shortest distance from the road and because it has the least amount of elevation change to get to and from.

The pool in the foreground is called Zeke's Bathtub after Ezekiel "Zeke" Johnson, the national monument's first superintendent.

Owachomo spans 180 feet, is 106 feet high, 27 feet wide, and is only 9 feet thick.  Because of its thinness, it's considered to be a very old natural bridge.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story.

Chuck-walla you lookin' at?

A chuckwalla lizard checking out the people along the trail to the feature called the Fire Wave, at Valley of Fire State Park, in Nevada. The Fire Wave was actually right behind me as I took this lizard's picture. There was a family up the slope looking down on it and they let us know about its presence. It seemed quite content to stay where it was and allow time for us to take plenty of pictures.  Chuckwalla lizards store fat on their sides so it makes them look "chubby". Other lizards, like the Gila monster, stores fat in its tail. Chuckwallas also can inflate their bodies with air to wedge themselves into a crack in the rock so that predators can't dislodge them.

The Valley of Fire State Park, in Nevada, is also famous with Star Trek fans. It served as the setting for the planet Veridian III in "Star Trek Generations", the one in which Captain Kirk dies and Captain Picard buries him.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

Lexington Arch in the south end of Great Basin National Park in Nevada

Lexington Arch is a limestone arch in the southern part of Great Basin National Park in Nevada.  To get here you have to drive on dirt roads and then hike about a mile and a half on a rugged trail.  The fact that this arch is composed of limestone is very noteworthy, since most of the arches in the West occur in sandstone.  The fact that this rock span occurs in limestone may mean that it was once part of a cave that has eroded away.  Or it may be that the stream that carved Lexington Canyon carved this span when the canyon was much shallower, in which case this arch would actually be a natural bridge.

Remember it's not just a picture, it's a story!

Manly Beacon at the upper end of Golden Canyon, Death Valley National Park, March 2016

This feature in Death Valley National Park is called Manly Beacon. An early explorer in this area was a man named Horace Manly, after whom this feature is named. It's often confused with a feature called Zabriskie Point, which is actually a hilltop from which you can view Manly Beacon, but people think they're looking "at" Zabriskie Point from that hilltop when they're actually looking "from" that hilltop.

The trail we were on for this photo eventually leads to the south side of this huge feature where you traverse across a steep slope to reach the upper end of Golden Canyon. The last few times we've hiked this trail, we've had the impression that the Beacon is a very imposing feature up close and it should be more famous as an iconic figure of Death Valley.

This photo was taken with a camcorder that can also take 20 megapixel still images. The settings were f/4, 1/180 sec, the ISO is not recorded.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

Telephone Arch in Telephone Canyon, Death Valley National Park

In one of Death Valley's many canyons is a natural arch. This canyon requires some driving on a dirt road to get to its mouth, then you can hike about 1/3 of a mile to see the arch. The canyon itself once had a telephone line and a road running through it, but time has obliterated most signs of them. This line gave the canyon its name of Telephone Canyon.  To us, this arch, appropriately enough, looks like an old style telephone.

The feature runs roughly north-south, so the western face is lit up during the afternoon, when this image was taken. The opening is roughly 15 feet tall (about 4.5 meters). There is a spring uphill of the arch but it appears to have dried up. The image was taken with ISO 50, 1/200 sec., f8, 6mm (35 mm equivalent).

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes in Death Valley National Park wind-caused rippling pattern

Death Valley National Park has 5 different sand dunes within its borders, including California's largest in Eureka Valley. The easiest dunes to reach are the Mesquite Flats Sand Dunes because they're right next to the main road through the park. These dunes were made famous by the 1970's TV series called Kung Fu, with David Carradine.

We got up early in the morning to get to the dunes before the crowds starting traipsing across it so that we could get undisturbed ripples in the sand. The wind blowing across the sand causes some grains to collide with other grains and knocking into the next crest.

Image taken at ISO 50, 1/40 sec., f8, 8mm (48 mm equivalent).

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

Mono Lake tufa tower pointing at the moon

It's all a matter of perspective! While returning to Sacramento from a trip to Death Valley, we stayed for one night in the Mono Lake area so that we could get early morning images in the Mono Lake basin. From the south shore, at what used to be the state park, we hiked out to the shore to look at the features and set up our tripods for photos of the lake and the tufa towers. Along the way, Rick noticed that the moon would be setting as the morning progressed and wanted to include it in some of his pictures. He lined up this image to include a tufa tower and the moon so that the tower appears to point to the moon. The early morning sun was lighting one side of the tower and the moon appears to be immediately above it.  In this shot, the moon appears to be the yin yang symbol.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

Road Runner searching for a morning meal in Death Valley

While we were waiting at the entrance station for the Furnace Creek campground in Death Valley National Park, hoping to get a campsite for the night, 2 road runners came trotting by looking to have a breakfast. The first one just kept going, but the second one stopped and posed sometimes, before scurrying on. Rick managed to get this full framed image of the bird during one of his stops. Road runners eat lizards and snakes and aren't usually chased by coyotes. They are in the same bird family as cuckoos.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

Sagebrush Lizard, Death Valley; America's Next Top Lizard's Closeup

This is the same lizard as the previous post.  Bob had his camera set to do closeup shots of the wildflowers in bloom, so he tried to get a closeup of this lizard, since he seemed to be very cooperative about letting us take photos of him.  Bob was able to get within an inch of his face to get this shot.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story.

Chuckwalla lizard in a rock crevice at Dante's View, Death Valley National Park

While visiting Death Valley to enjoy their "superbloom", we saw a chuckwalla lizard out in the open, near the Dante's View parking area. Then it moved into a rock crevice when it felt threatened. Some of the other visitors thought it was a pregnant lizard, but that's just how they look normally. This species is the largest lizard in Death Valley. It stores fat in its tail and along its sides. When threatened by a predator, a chuckwalla can work itself into a flat crevice and inflate itself in order to be completely wedged into the space such that the predator has no chance at pulling it out. You can also see that it blends in very well with the rock.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

Mesquite Flats Sand Dunes, Death Valley National Park, California

A view of the Mesquite Flats Sand Dunes near Stovepipe Wells in Death Valley National Park.  These are the most visited of Death Valley's sand dunes since they're right next to the highway connecting Stovepipe Wells Village with the park's headquarters at Furnace Creek.

Death Valley is the lowest, hottest, and driest place in America.  These sand dunes are right about at sea level.  Two people are standing on the highest peak of the dunes in the upper right.

Remember.  It's not just a picture, it's a story.

Salt Creek pupfish, an endangered species in Death Valley National Park, Spring 2012

During the spring, the endangered Salt Creek pupfish males set up territories in Salt Creek as if flows from a spring south to the below sea level section of Death Valley National Park. The pupfish are considered the remnants of fish that once inhabited Lake Manly which filled what is now Death Valley during the last ice age. As the water level receded as the ice age ended, the water became saltier and now only a few springs persist and provide the only habitat for this species. Besides the saltiness, this creek experiences flash floods, nearly drying out, and temperatures from near freezing to over 40°C. (104°F.)

This image was taken by hiking along the boardwalk of the Salt Creek Interpretive Trail, a short turnoff from Highway 190, between Stovepipe Wells and Furnace Creek, the two main developed areas within Death Valley. Rick got down on his belly and waited for a male to swim near the shore to get this shot. You can tell it's a male because of how colorful the front is and by the bluish dorsal fin. Females are better camoflouged and blend in with the grainy creek bottom.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

Wind Caves at Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California

Looking almost like housing from The Jetsons, the Wind Caves in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California, are found above the Fish Creek Wash where wind-blown sands hit exposed sandstone and create alcoves and arches. To get this image, we drove into the wash from a primitive campsite we stayed at the night before, then hiked up the slope to get a closer like at this feature. This image was created by merging three overlapping images together. It is best printed at a 2 to 1 ratio, such as 8x16 or 10x20. This drive doesn't require a 4-wheel drive or high-ground clearance vehicle to get to it, but going any farther up into the wash does.

Remeber, it's not just a photo, it's a story!