Road Trip Day 7, 8 - Death Valley

When we arrived in Death Valley I was surprised how hot it was (+30c). I realize this is the hottest place in the US, but it was November. I don't imagine it was as hot in nearby Las Vegas (judging by previous winter climbing trips to Red Rocks.)

From Tonopah we had planned to drive through the park on some new (to us) roads. But most of the roads in the park were closed from flood damage from a storm several months ago. We had the same problem leaving - we planned to drive south and go through Mojave next, but that road was also closed.

We ate our lunch in a pull off beside the road where there were picnic tables in the shade. Surprisingly, there was a stream of water in the ditch - from the resort I assume. But where there's water, there's life and Variegated Meadowhawk dragonflies were staking out their perches and chasing off intruders. (Their habit of returning to the same perch is very helpful for photography,)

I was also surprised how many grasshoppers were around. Even on our hike, with no vegetation in sight there would be grasshoppers jumping up from your feet. They were well camouflaged and just about impossible to spot until you disturbed them and they moved. The occasional bush was almost certain to contain multiple grasshoppers on the leaves.

Despite the heat we did a nice hike (Golden Canyon Loop). It helped that we went later in the day (slightly cooler and more shade), although the early winter sunset (4:30) meant we got back just as the sun went down. This loop goes up one drainage then across and back down a different drainage.

There wasn't much flora or fauna. I spotted one lizard but it disappeared before I could photograph it. In addition to the grasshoppers I spotted this Assassin bug in one of the rare bushes.

There was even some fun mild scrambling in the drainage that we descended by.

We camped at Texas Springs campground at Furnace Creek. Desert campgrounds can resemble parking lots, but this one at least had a few bushes and trees. And thankfully the dry desert and clear skies cool off quickly at night making camping quite pleasant.

The next morning, on our way out of the park we stopped at Zabriskie Point, one of the most visited (and photographed) viewpoints. I'm sure these photographs have been taken many times before.

The two tiny hikers in the photo below are on the trail we did the day before (starting from the flats in the background.

See also Shelley's post

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Road Trip Day 6 - Mono Lake

From Lake Tahoe we took a slight detour to Tonopah, Nevada to stay in a favorite historic hotel, Mizpah.

Depending on the altitude, latitude, and moisture, there were still remnants of fall colors around. (I don't think landscape photography is my strong point, but I still try to capture them occasionally.)

We stopped at Mono Lake to look at the "tufas". These are "rock" formations formed by mineral deposits. For some reason they are a common subject for photographers, although usually at sunrise or sunset, not midday like when we were there.

I actually liked the countryside around the lake as much as the lake itself - typical sagebrush and rabbitbrush. The first few times I drove south into the US, I was looking for the classic sand and cactus "desert" and I was a bit disappointed with the sagebrush and juniper. But now I quite like it.

See also Shelley's post

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Road Trip Day 5 to Tahoe

Our plan was to camp at one of the many campgrounds and go for one of the many hikes around Lake Tahoe. On the way we had lunch at the Moody Bistro in Truckee. Truckee reminded me of Banff, only bigger. Our plan didn't work too well. Almost all of the campgrounds were closed for the winter. We found one that was open for "winter" camping (which seemed odd considering it was +20c) but we assumed there would be more and passed it by. The hike we picked also failed because the parking was full to overflowing and people were parked on the highway. We managed to find a less busy trailhead and fit in a short hike. We thought the Lake Tahoe town campsite would be open for sure, but it was closed too. By now it was getting dark and we had nowhere to stay. We found (thanks to Google maps) a small dispersed camping area just south of Tahoe and luckily got a spot there (it filled up shortly after we arrived). Usually travelling off season means it's less busy, but that didn't seem to be the case here. We knew Lake Tahoe was a busy area, but it was preferable to the alternate route through Reno.

Not many photos from this day. We thought this was another cloudscape but later signs indicated it was probably smoke from controlled burns.

On our hike we spotted a few birds - a mountain chickadee and a Stellar's Jay

See also Shelley's post

Road Trip Day 5 - Klamath

Leaving Ashland we had some great views of the clouds swirling over the mountains.

Our destination was the Klamath and Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuges. When we arrived it was quite foggy. (Hard to capture in a photo.)

We did the short Sheepy Ridge walk behind the visitor center and saw a few things.

Next we did the auto tour. It was dry so there weren't many water birds. But there were lots of Red-tailed hawks - one on almost every power pole. This one was on a fence and let us get reasonably close.

We also stopped at the nearby Petroglyph Point. We didn't find the petroglyphs but it's also a favorite nesting area for cliff swallows and raptors.

That night we stopped at Willow Creek campground. I like the small forest service campgrounds, especially off season when they're mostly empty.

See also Shelley's post

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Road Trip Day 4 to Ashland

I noticed on Google maps that the Oregon Coast Trail connected with a corner of our campground (Sunset Bay) and we arrived early enough in the afternoon to go for a run. I got a little lost in the middle both going and returning. Up and down through the forest was slow, but I managed a faster couple of kilometers on the beach. At the start of the trail I noticed some colorful mushrooms and fungi so the next morning we went back to photograph them.

The next question was where to cross the mountains without risking snow but still avoiding the interstates. We decided to cut across to Ashland and then continue to Klamath. (We'd been around Ashland before for paragliding.) We stopped for coffee at Soco Coffee in Myrtle Creek where we crossed the I-5. On a bush in the parking lot I spotted this longhorn Sawyer beetle and got a few photos.

We arrived in Ashland early enough to go for a walk in Lithua Park and the Japanese Garden. The fall colors were wonderful.

We stayed at the historic Ashland Springs Hotel and ate at their Lure restaurant. After three nights of camping we were ready for a shower and a nice meal. (and to recharge all our devices and use the wifi)

See also Shelley's post

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