Death Valley Days, 2

So another day we drove down to the Devil's Golf Course and then Badwater Basin, which is the lowest of the low.

Devil's Golf Course, 11th fairway; amazing how many things
here are named "Devil"

Closer up

Salts forming over baked and re-baked mud; in the basin there
is actually standing water here and there, and the re-baked mud
can be quite mushy

Thus, the Devil's Golf Course; we didn't play

Moving right along, we are now at the Badwater Basin site;
some bad rains recently closed a number of the roads in DVNP,
including this one, but only beyond the official deepest place

Thus

Standing water

You can walk as far as you like out into the Basin; the "road"
here is actually a pathway made by millions of boots and shoes
tramping over the salty mush

Great natural beauty (!)

Vicki, overcome by all the natural beauty

Salt formation: extreme close-up

Parthian shot

In the parking lot at Badwater Basin; look directly up from our
rig and you'll see...

The helpful sign, 270 feet above, showing where sea level
would be; there are many such helpful road signs throughout
the park

Death Valley Days, 1

In all our travels, we'd never been to Death Valley and Death Valley National Park. Just never quite on the way nor quite appealing enough to attract. But it's only a couple hours from Las Vegas, of which we had seen enough. And having been chased out of Utah by cold weather, we were ready for some 80 degree temperatures. We are into our 4th day here now. There is not a lot to do unless you're really into 19th century borax mining or some of the starkest landscape on the planet. It's the lowest elevation in the Americas and the hottest place on earth (and getting hotter). The palette of scenery runs through all 50 shades of brown and not much more. Bor- (as in Borax) is the root particle of such words as bore, boring, boredom, boringness, etc. But we're here, and we're doing it, and can now say, of La Vallee de la Mort, "J'y suis allé, je l'ai fait."

View from the mountains on the east side toward Badwater
basin; we were up here to do the ranger-led hike to the natural
bridge

And there it is; the canyon consists of really crumbly alluvial
conglomerate; one good downpour and the whole thing would
wash away

Same bridge, different view

Dry waterfall

Some bluish-green rock...chlorite?

Home of Mr. Tarantula

Another view of the bridge

Ditto

And the Valley

4 Nights And 5 Days In Las Vegas

One day was mostly getting there and the last day was mostly provisioning...Smiths', BB&B, Costco, plus some truck repairs and RV shopping...so maybe it was 4 nights and 3 days. Circus Circus still maintains a very affordable RV lot at the upper end of the Strip, and that is where we parked. We walked the Strip several times, did a show...Zumanities...a fun and interesting time-share presentation, for which we were amply rewarded, and also the outstanding buffet breakfast/lunch at Caesars (bottomless mimosas on our Groupon). Of course, we also gamed, losing a little but not so much as to be either poorer or wiser. We have been to Vegas enough times to be able to track its development, at least personally, and to have a variety of stories, the best of which are due to long-ago friends Michael and Lisa and also to the Smithsonian Institution and the Federation of State Humanities Councils (we stayed in a non-gaming hotel, if you can believe such a thing exists (believe!)). Anyhow, below are some nearly random pix from our visit.

It is of course the simulacra capital of the Known Universe

'

Zumanities was here; also lots of memories
from the piano bar of yesteryear

Not pictured: the surprising number of indigents
and homeless, everywhere

We got there at least in part because of my
confusing Cirque de Soleil with Blue Man
Group; but it was amusing and edifying,
especially at 1/2 price;  I also occasionally
confuse Frodo with Harry Poppins

Most of what you see is merely imitative of
other places in the world or imagined places
in the world...but there are occasional 
glimpses of architectural creativity; and
much appreciated

Did you know that Clark County is named for the Montana
Copper King William Clark? When the Montana legislature
elected him to the US Senate, the process was so openly
corrupt that the Senate refused to seat him; says much about
Las Vegas' springs and origins and nature...

Favorite places, as these things go

Walking neon billboard

Sad thoughts of Paris and France and the world, now

Thus

Exhibit A from the era when Las Vegas was trying to promote
itself--don't laugh--as a family vacation destination

Hans, Franz, and Tony; "we eat you up!"

Hail, Caesar ("hail, yes!")

Ceiling at Bellagio front desk; we always visit the Chihuly
store

Bellagio fountains at rest (we'd seen them at play the night
before but didn't take pix)

Elsa takes a time-out to check messages

You'd think a place like Las Vegas would be over the top in
the Xmas decorations department; at the giant Fashion Show
mall, however, this is the only sort of Xmas thing you see; is
Las Vegas anti-Christmas?! I leave you with that troubling
thought...

Zion's Narrows, 2

Continuing our very satisfying hikes up The Narrows, Zion National Park's upper Virgin River Canyon...

The House

Shots looking up are really difficult...but here you're looking up some hundreds
of feet, through a 10-20 foot slit in the canyon ceiling

And here we are at a side canyon that is a well- known
landmark on the hike; we'd just finished visiting with a
guided party that had stopped for mimosas on the way
and shared them and some stories with us...nice folks on
the trail

And now we are deep in The Narrows

And really narrow

Pausing for the Moment

Thus

Wall Street, so-called

Looking up again

Well beyond Wall Street now

And still quite narrow

Proceeding on

Miles of incredible erosion features, high and low

And the stream responsible

Ever onward

Another floor to ceiling shot that mostly worked

20 feet above the creek, caves scoured out aeons ago with
grapefruit- and watermelon-sized rocks left behind

Vicki and more Narrows

On the return

Petty incredible place...we'll be back