Index:
About the Trip:
My first stop was the little town of
Lone Pine, CA
where I arrived late and crashed for the night. Lone Pine is just east of
the eastern-most slopes of the Sierra Nevadas and in particular Mt. Whitney, the
highest point in the lower 48 states.
The next morning I got up early and drove up an access road towards Mt. Whitney
into the Alabama Hills (which is where many early westerns, including
the Lone Ranger, were filmed). Unfortunately, I could only go about half way
up the portal road due to snow, but the views I got from there were still well
worth the effort.
The rest of the day was dedicated to driving to and all over
Death Valley
(which was expanded and upgraded to a national park just last year). I must
admit that I didn't really know what to expect at the park, and was pleasantly
surprised. The park is mostly mountainous, which I didn't expect, and covers a
number of different climates. I chose the pictures displayed here to try to
show some of the different sights at the park, even though some of the
pictures are not the most spectacular due to worsening weather during the
afternoon. The day ended on an ironic note as I got caught in a rain shower
in the valley - a rare occasion indeed as it is the driest spot in the country
(about 2 inches/year). Overall Death Valley N.P. is well worth the trip.
The park is huge (the largest in the states outside of Alaska) and there is lots
to see. If you plan to go, leave plenty of time - at least a FULL day.
I unfortunately did not know this and ended up skipping a few of the major
attractions and rushing through others. Oh well.
I spent the next couple of days investigating Las Vegas and cruising the Strip.
Las Vegas is pretty wild and lived up to all the advanced billing, but for the
most part it's not particularly photogenic (in my humble opinion). I did
escape the big city for part of one afternoon by going to
Hoover Dam.
Pretty amazing technological marvel. Took the tour, drove over it - all the
standard tourist fare.
Next stop:
Grand Canyon.
I had seen the canyon once before from the North Rim, and frankly wasn't
overly impressed (you have to factor in that I had just seen every form of
geological hole known to man after visiting the Utah national parks - see my
Utah trip in August of 94). I decided to give the canyon another shot. All
I can say is WOW! The day was perfect, there was still snow lingering on the
upper slopes, and it was simply breathtaking. I think the weather and the angle
of the sun made all the difference. I ventured into the canyon for the first
time, going down the South Kaibab trail which was bit treacherous at the top
due to the snow. I started with about 5 layers of clothing at the top, and ended
up wearing only a T-shirt by the time I hit my turnaround spot (about 3 miles
and 2200 feet vertical). My appetite is definitely whetted to go all the way
to the river on another trip.
For the final day of my journey, I went to
Sunset Crater National Monument and Wupatki National Monument,
both within a half hour or so of Flagstaff, AZ.
Like everything else on this trip, I was pleasantly surprised by both places.
Sunset Crater is the remaining cone from an old volcano (the entire Flagstaff
area is littered with volcanic remains, the most prominent being the rather
lofty San Francisco Peaks). Wupatki houses several remains of old Native
American habitations. These were nice, but what I liked most were the great
views of the high desert. I only have a few pictures developed (and none of
Wupatki) so you will have to wait for the rest of the visual story.
Overall this particular trip was short but sweet. It was one of those
rare trips where everything exceeds your expectations. I hope you enjoy the
pix as much as I did taking them.
About the Trip
San Diego - Cabrillo National Monument
Lone Pine Area/Eastern Sierras
Death Valley
Hoover Dam/Lake Mead
Grand Canyon
Sunset Crater/Wupatki National Monuments
San Diego - Cabrillo National Monument
Lone Pine Area/Sierra Nevadas
Death Valley
Hoover Dam/Lake Mead
Grand Canyon
Sunset Crater/Wupatki National Monuments
A research trip to San Diego with my advisor gave me the perfect excuse to take
a mini vacation in Southern California and whereever I could drive to. San Diego
wasn't all business as I got to spend some time at
Cabrillo National Monument
which we just happened to stumble upon one afternoon after work (I had never
heard of the place). I decided that I wanted to go to Nevada since I had never
been there before and along the way I would hit Death Valley
while the weather was cool enough. So I packed up my things, said goodbye to
my advisor, rented a car and headed into the desert.
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