1300 mile vacation trip at Inyo County, California

After 1300 miles of driving, after 4 nights and 5 days of enjoying natural wonders, after centillion of fun, we are now back to reality, in San Diego.

Driving 1300 miles? We could have traveled half of the US already with that covering several states, yet, we were still in California, in Inyo County.

Inyo County? Probably not too many Americans, even Californians, know about Inyo County, the eastern part of the Sierra. This part of California is less known and less visited. Maybe, it is because when people think of desert, the picture they have in mind is simply a barren land. But for those who have experienced Inyo, they know this is a haven for those who seek peacefulness and nature’s beauty. And this is geologists’ natural disneyland. It is the land of the extremes, the land of the contrasts.

“Inyo” comes from an Indian word which means “resting place of the Great Spirit.” For 4 nights and 5 days in Inyo county, indeed, our spirits had rested wonderfully in many of Inyo’s natural wonders.

 

   

For 5 days in Inyo County, we experienced its contrasting diverse geography. We were at the lowest point in North America and in the Western Hemisphere, which is covered with white salt.

 

 Badwater Basin, Death Valley National Park, 282 feet below sea level

Then, we got to see the highest peak of contiguous US (does not include Alaska) up close, Mt. Whitney, which was partly covered with white snow. One of nature’s delightful twists, the highest point in contiguous US and the lowest point in North America and in the Western Hemisphere are situated close to each other, in Inyo County.   

 

Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in contiguous US (does not include Alaska) at 14, 494 ft

Still in Inyo County, we went up close to the Southermost Glacier in North America, where part of the trail we hiked was covered with white snow. 

 

The Palisade Glacier, the Southermost Glacier in North America as seen from Big Pine Canyon Trail

Amazing, that on the same 5 day trip in Inyo County, we got to step on white salt basin and white snow covered mountain slopes. Not only that, our feet hiked and climbed on hard marble stones, soft burrowing sand dunes, black volcanic lava surface, cracked mud, golden granite boulders, gray granite boulders, what a geological wonderland!

Sadly, we missed the ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest in White Mountains, about 36 miles off the small town of Big Pine, still in Inyo County. The Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest grows the world’s most ancient living tree, Methuselah, at 4777 years old. It exceeds the age of oldest Giant Sequoia by 1500 years. Another twist of nature, the oldest living tree lives in a desert mountain, with the most brutal environment. What does nature teach us here? That the oldest inhabitant of this planet is not the one who lives in the most pleasant environment, but is the one who is able to withstand all the challenges and all the harsh tests of time. 

Our first stop in Inyo County was at Lone Pine, the gateway to Death Valley National Park from the west. In Lone Pine was a colorful alkali flat, Owens Lake.

 

The color of the lake is among nature’s most remarkable biological phenomena which occurs in alkaline lakebed in arid regions throughout the world.

Our next stop was at Wildrose in Death Valley National Park. Death Valley National Park is considered to be one of the natural wonders of the West. It is a geological disneyland!  It is the largest US national park outside of Alaska, and is about 1.5 times larger than the state of Delaware. The distances between its major features requires a motor vehicle, and if one wishes to see most of the park, a 4WD high clearance vehicle is essential. Wildrose is about 100 miles drive from Lone Pine, with several miles on rough, unpaved and steep road.

 

 Charcoal Kilns, at Wildrose, Death Valley National Park, CA 

After the Charcoal Kilns in Wildrose, we drove more than 50 miles North. Seeing Racetrack was one of the goals of our trip. If ever you see a photo of the Racetrack in Death Valley, you will want to visit it!! However, we knew little about driving conditions in Death Valley. At the park’s fee entrance up north, the ranger advised us of the present driving conditions going to Racetrack. He explained that after the paved road ends, we will be driving about 30 miles one way on really rough unmaintained road. It will be 2 hours drive one way for 30 miles. The ranger added there were several high clearance vehicle ending up towed the previous day. He showed us really sharp stones that could possiblly tear the tire of a vehicle. He advised us to have 2 spare tires, and we only brought one. Thus, even though we were driving a 4WD SUV, but our faint hearts and the ranger’s warning made us decide not to continue our wish to see and experience one of the natural wonders of Death Valley, the Racetrack. At first, it felt frustrating we could not go there, but we did not let it spoil our trip. We accepted we were less prepared, having only one spare tire and going there in the afternoon. Before turning around to Stovepipe Wells, we made a stop and toured Scotty’s Castle. After Scotty’s Castle, we took a stop and hike to experience the Ubehebe Crater.

Ubehebe Crater, a large volcanic crater 3000 years old

Black Sand from volcanic lava against the painted Badlands, Death Valley National Park, CA 

After the Ubehebe Crater, we drove back to Stovepipe Wells, where our GPS led us to the historical Old Stovepipe Wells. We took sometime enjoying and hiking the flatter sand dunes in the area and experiencing the forms of life in the desert valley.

 

Desert Holly, one of the species of plants that survive in Death Valley

After the Old Stovepipe Wells, we went to enjoy the Mesquite Sand Dunes in the new Stovepipe Wells Village. We enjoyed watching the sunset in the sand dunes,

 

A boy calling his family to join him enjoying the beauty of the place, until he gave up calling them and later enjoyed the view by himself

and when it got dark, we drove 30 miles east to Beatty, Nevada. There are only few hotels in Death Valley NP, one at Stovepipe Wells, and 2 at Furnace Creek. There was no vacancy at the time we were there, but fortunately for us, there was no problem finding hotel in the small town of Beatty. Even though Death Valley is mostly within the boundary of California, but those are uninhabited. The closest inhabited region with hotel services is in Beatty, NV. Even though there are several camping sites in Death Valley NP and we also brought our tent and sleeping bags, but our faint spirits were too lazy to brave the strong desert winds.

Early morning of the next day, we drove back to Stovepipe Wells in Death Valley from Beatty. The drive was really pretty, something that we do not see often. Definitely a place that I encourage you to see even at least once in your life if you could. At Stovepipe Wells, we again took a stop at the Mesquite Sand Dunes even though we spent the sunset there the previous day. For me, it is not about seeing it and saying “I was there”, but it was more of experiencing the colors  of sand dunes at different daylights, thus, we stopped there again. The distances in Death Valley are deceiving. The moment we saw sand dunes, we just parked our car right away, and excitedly walked or hiked to the dunes. What was supposed to be a half mile or a mile to the dunes ended up about 2 miles or more for us.   

 

 Sand Dunes Hike

 The Obstacle: To see the view from the tallest sand dune, we had to climb a series of smaller sand dunes.

 

 The joy of hiking: Seeing the beauty from the top

After enjoying hiking the sand dunes, we proceeded west of Stovepipe Wells in Mosaic Canyon. Mosaic Canyon, is another natural wonder in Death Valley NP.

 

Marble Walls at Mosaic Canyon, Death Valley NP

The hike at Mosaic Canyon is short ( 3 to 4 miles round trip) and easy, yet is surrounded by pretty, shiny and multi-colored marble rocks. After Mosaic Canyon, we left the Stovepipe Wells area for Salt Lake and then to Furnace Creek for lunch. Our first decent food since they serve fresh vegetables there. When we were in Lone Pine and Beatty, the green french beans looked like just opened from the can. I guess, that’s what you get when you are in a remote area, we call it the land of the cows and potatoes since they mostly serve steaks and mashed potatoes, or fastfood burgers. Dining at Furnace Creek felt like a treat, when you are in the wilderness.

After late lunch, we drove to Zabriskie Point,

 

then went hiking at Golden Canyon and climbed up over one of the very narrow slots.

 

 Golden Cayon- one of the locations used in Star Wars. The left side: the colors of the rocks changes to polished yellow and gold at the top of one of the narrow slot canyon.

After Golden Canyon, we proceeded to Devil’s Golf Course,

and then to the Badwater Basin, the lowest point in North America and in the western hemisphere.

After the Badwater Basin, since it was almost sunset, we skipped the Natutal Bridge, to see the natural colors of the naturally painted buttes in Artist’s Palette.

 

We left the Artist’s Palatte when it got really dark, stopped by at Stovepipe Wells Village for some souvenir shopping, before saying goodbye to Death Valley NP and going back to Lone Pine.

The next day, we drove North from Lone Pine to Bishop. I was thinking of getting a wonderful golden arch formation from aspen trees against a blue sky and a reflecting lake, instead, we were greeted with a frozen North Lake.

 

I got a little cut when I fell hardly after slipping on the frozen lake, what you’ll get when you are crazy to get the nicest angle to capture the picture you have in mind. Sometimes, in your excitement to take the nicest picture, you forget to check what surface you are walking on. We did a short hike in the slopes around the North Lake, hoping to get a nice peak, but when I saw a large animal track, I got scared and decided to turn back.

After North Lake, we took a quick stop at Lake Sabrina, also at Bishop.  Then we headed down to downtown area of Bishop for lunch. I was surprised to get a very good carne asada burrito with rice and beans, one of the best burritos I ever had. And I live in San Diego, closer to the Mexican border.

After Bishop, we drove South to Big Pine, home of the Palisade Glaciers, the Southermost Glacier in North America. There is a hiking trail up to the Glacier but we did not do it because we do not have ice axe and crampons and it would be a very long hike and climb on icy slopes. Instead, we just hiked around the Big Pine Creek.

Before we ended the day, we went souvenir shopping again at Lone Pine’s visitor’s center, and proceeded to Alabama Hills for sunset. There are a lot of natural arches in Alabama hills which frame Mt. Whitney. The next day, we went back to Alabama Hills and had more fun scrambling up the unusual rocks. 

 Alabama Hills is the popular location for shooting science fiction and western movies, or when they needed a place that will look like India, or the Himalayas. Or when they needed location for the high Sierra, after all, it is facing the highest peak of the Sierra. Many of John Wayne’s movies were shot there. Also shot here were the movies “How the West was Won” and “Maverick” with Mel Gibson.  In “Gladiator”, Russell Crowe rides his horse across the Movie Flats with Mount Whitney in the background. Here is our own version of John Wayne probably?

 

The natural arch rock frames Mt. Whitney in the background. I may have not done justice to this movie re-enactment scenery, but we had too much fun! After leaving for San Diego, we drove closer to Mt. Whitney, to hopefully hike a little bit in the lake area, but unfortunately for us, the road was closed due to the recent snowstorm. Hiking up Mt. Whitney peak is so popular that just getting a hiking permit alone is a challenge already. Winter hiking requires the use of ice axe and crampons, summer hiking requires submission of application to hike at least 6 months (10000 applicants for only 540 permits) before to be included in the lottery. Otherwise, the wait for a permit for a summer hike could be years.

After a month of hibernation from hiking in San Diego because of the wildfire, this trip was very much a treat. So many geographical contrast enjoyed in 5 days, so many natural wonders experienced, something for me to write about in my next blogs. Excited to write about them, to share my simple chemical viewpoints about these natural wonders. And something for me to train harder physically, conquering Mt. Whitney and Telescope Peak, probably? Just dreaming……

A Hidden Treasure: Colorado National Monument

This was a trip we did not plan, but instead, fate brought us to this beautiful place. God has indeed wonderful ways of revealing to us His great creations, His genius work. We were on our way to Utah from Illinois where we took our needed stop-over at Nebraska, and then at Grand Junction, Colorado. The morning we were supposed to leave Grand Junction, the bridge at highway 70 that connects Colorado and Utah was suspected to collapse. The hotel’s front desk clerk gave us direction of the detour, where instead of taking highway 70, we would take highway 340 until it meets highway 70 again past the problematic bridge. Driving on highway 340 with the sunrise was a perfect treat for us, for the scenery was just magnificient. Then, we saw signs to Colorado National Monument,

we decided to follow the signs, or continue with the treat of scenic magnificence. It was a wonderful drive through the park, and wonderful little hikes as well to the different viewing points.

The Colorado National Monument preserves one of the great landscapes of the American West.   The park offers different natural treasure surprises such as sheer walled canyons, towering monoliths and colorful formations. There are various activities within the park, which includes biking, hiking, backpacking, camping, and horseback riding.

Having not enough time to fully explore the park, because of our hotel reservations in Utah, we chose to do the short hikes in the park instead, which were:

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