DEATH VALLEY DAYS #1:

We've spent the past couple weekends in Death Valley National Park. When we visit one of our incredible national parks, we try to absorb as much of the place as possible, often exploring areas most tourists don't make it to. Late Sunday afternoon we drove through 'Twenty-Mule-Team Canyon', for the good lighting & late-day shadows -- it was well worth the time & effort; the scenery is spectacular. This canyon celebrates the twenty-mule-team ore wagons that were used to transport Borax from mines in the Park. If you're interested in the history, check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-mule_team

Shoshone California: an Oasis in the Desert

Shoshone California: an Oasis in the Desert. We stumbled upon this tiny village on the SE edge of Death Valley National Park, and decided to stay here several weeks to explore the area. We're in a funky little RV park, which had it's beginnings as a trailer park in the '50s; we have trees & welcome shade (we would have had full sun at the Death Valley RV parks), the temperature is about 12-15 degrees cooler than Death Valley, the place is clean and quiet, and there's a delightful bonus of a warm mineral water swimming pool large enough to swim laps. We have great access to the surrounding areas, including Death Valley. The geology is fascinating, and there's a rich mining and railroad history; the area attracts researchers in most of the natural sciences -- geology students recently camped nearby. While Death Valley & the lower canyons have yukky air pollution from both southern California coast and LasVegas, we're a bit above it most of the time.

Another 'Common Raven'

A fellow RVer, Betty Jean, fancied my painting of 3 Ravens and tried to con me into selling it to her; she has a special fondness of these incredible birds. I couldn't part with my 'memory' painting, so I did this one for her -- kinda knocked her socks off & she's framing it with barn wood, which should be perfect!  It made me happy to make her happy as she's a very special lady.