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| 6) Death Valley |
In more realistic terms we can assume that the valley got its name because of the few life that can be found in it. Almost nothing is able to survive in this ultra-dry landscape, 'though you may find some desert plants that can. In 1913 a record temperature of 133°F (56°C) was measured and summertemperature easily rises above 118°F (48°C). When you get out of your car, you'll feel a constant warm and dry wind blowing over your skin.
Some things you just HAVE to see in Death Valley:
* Badwater: This is the lowest point on the western hemisphere (292 feet
or 89 m below sealevel). It is
covered with a huge salt lake in summer, but if you come here at the end
of the summer, you'll
probably only see the salt; the water will be gone.
* Devil's Golf Course: Here you'll find strange salt forms and piles. As
if even the Devil would want to play golf
here...
* Artist's Drive: A sandy road leads you along the most colorful landscape
of Death Valley. Many minerals have
come out of the ground and show a beautiful spectacle of colors and light.
* Dante's View: From up here you've got a marvellous view over Death Valley!
You can see the whole landscape
begging for water... This point is called this way 'cause it looks much
like the way Dante
describes his 'Inferno' (hell).
* Scotty's Castle: At the northern edge of the Valley, a villain and gold
digger, nicknamed 'Death Valley Scotty',
convinced millionair Albert Johnson to build an extravagant house in Spanish
style. Scotty had
lured Johnson with wild stories about gold. But once arrived there, Johnson
noticed the climate
did him well, he forgave Scotty and they became friends for life. The house
has got 25 rooms
with a huge living room, a music room with an organ with 1600 pipes and
little waterfalls all over
the house; the airconditioning of those times.
* Ubehebe Crater: A vulcanic eruption caused this crater of 394 feet or
120 m deep and with a diameter of almost
0.6 mi or 1 km. When you walk to the edge of the crater, you'll get a dramatic
view.
* Zabriskie Point: From this point you've got a magnificent view over the
southern part of Death Valley. Surely a
point not to be missed!!!
The best
thing you can do after a day of driving in the Valley, is spending the
night in the Valley! There are only 2 villages: Furnace Creek and Stovepipe
Wells. If I were you, Stovepipe Wells would be it! It's a little village,
existing out of a shop, a motel, a restaurant and a gaz station. It's lovely
to stay in that motel, to get the feeling to be in the middle of nowhere
and to watch the most stars you'll ever see in this non-by-light-polluted
area. Enjoy!
| 7) Mono Lake + Bodie |
Mono Lake, once known as 'the Death Sea of California', is about 1 million
years old. Because of the salt water, even the worst swimmer wouldn't sink!
Little pillars of calciumcarbonate (limestone) were made under water. Then,
later, these 200-900 year old white pillars came above the water because
of the need of Los Angeles to get drinking water. LA took the water of
the rivers that flow into Mono Lake, and since 1941 the water level went
down 40 feet (13,5 m)! Luckily,
L.A. has found other rivers for its water supply and Mono Lake can start
to recover ... .
The best spot to visit the lake is South Tufa Area.
If you've always wanted to visit a ghost town, don't look any further. Once you've seen 1, you've seen them all, so why not going to the best one? Calico's fine, but quite commercial. If you really want to FEEL what it was like in those days, go to Bodie. The road up is miles away from any highway, and you'll surely get the feeling to be in the middle of nowhere as in front of you little wooden houses arise. Bodie really is worth the trip! Untill 1876 this was a flourishing miners' town, and people lived here untill the early 1940s.
Just walk between the houses where you get a good feeling how hard life
was in the 1800s. You can walk around in some houses, and you can buy a
little map with information of who lived in which house.
Bodie was called the 'Bad Town', 'cause there was a lot of crime, and it
was also difficult to survive up there. Temperatures go down 'till -15°F
or -40°C in winter! And even in summer it's not that good over there.
By day it's 75°F or 25°C, but at night temperatures go below the
freezing point! Pretty hard, especially when you have to live in wooden
houses.
I'm sorry, the pictures of Bodie were made little time before sunset. If you're going to Bodie and you're gonna take any pictures, I'd be very happy if you'd mail me some...
To visit Bodie properly, you should at least take half a day.