Death Valley

Death Valley struck me as a place that was devoid of any life, a hot and barren wasteland. The name kind of brought me to those conclusions, but I didn’t give this park a chance at first. Being a class that studies desert biodiversity I was wondering why this was a stop on our trip. How could there be anything around here that’s diverse?
As we entered the park, I was blown away. It was nothing like I had expected and I had to clear my head of all of my preconceived notions. The landscape was what really got me. Rock formations bordered the valley as far as the eye can see, sand dunes rolled on for miles, the valley was low and the salt flats made it appear to be coated with a thin layer of snow, and the mountains were painted pastel colors in an abstract from of art that I never knew was possible in nature.
I was right about one thing, however, we didn’t find much in the sense of life. I think this was important to see though, as this valley was a desert too and during different times of the year, the environment can change drastically. It was a dry winter and so what usually would have been a valley full of blooming wildflowers of varying shapes and sizes, the land was instead lacking much greenery. But what it was lacking in life, it surely made up for in awe inspiring views.
It was the first stop on our trip and already the bar was set so high. I had never thought of California as a place where you could stumble upon rolling sand dunes that look like they’re straight out of the Middle East. And wandering the nooks and crannies of the painted mountains was a true highlight. I climbed to a little peak and from there I could see all the colors I never imagined a mountain could be. It was beautiful.
And I saw my first chuckwalla!

Posted on March 24, 2018 12:49 AM by torihanley