Blue
Blue skies, blue mountains, it was a beauty of a day!
It was a day of mixed but constant motion, some human-powered, much not. I started by driving north, driving, driving, My first destination was Ubehebe Crater, formed by a volcanic eruption some 2000 years ago. That's very young in the overall geologic history of Death Valley. Amazingly (to me, at least), there was water at the bottom of some of the craters. When I asked about yesterday's rainfall totals, I found that while only .02 inches were recorded at Furnace Creek, a half of an inch of water fell at Scotty's Castle which is about 8 miles from Ubehebe Crater. That's a lot of water for this very dry place.
Next was a wander out of the park, a repeat visit to the Goldwell Open Air Museum on the edge of Rhyolite, Nevada. I was so fascinated with the sculptures last year that I just had to go back. I even noticed a feature of the large mosaic sofa that I somehow missed last year. There is a section of tiles on the back side that are mirrored. It was fun seeing the sky and the landscape reflected in those tiles.
Back in the park there was time for a loop around Artist's Drive before the sun dropped behind the mountains. The strong colors there contrasted with the mountains in the distance wearing shades of blue. Blue mountains, blue skies...I thought these two shots were interesting. The first is Denise trying to catch a reflection of herself. Can you see her face? And this one? It's me posed on the arm of one of those wonderful ghosts. Fun!
--- Rover
It was warm enough to shed some layers while I was walking. It was warm enough to tempt me to take a dip in the pool at the end of my day. The pool here at Furnace Creek Ranch is fed from a warm spring, with a water temperature of 84 degrees fahrenheit. The air temperature was probably about 60 degrees when I headed for the pool. Ah, that felt good.
Another treat was in store as I walked back to my room from the evening ranger presentation at the visitor center. The sky is clear tonight, filled with glittering stars. The treat of the night was seeing the streaks of light from the Geminids meteor showers.
Another good day...
