Goodbye, Death Valley.

So I wrote this about two weeks ago, but I wanted to add pictures and I loaned my camera to my sister, so I had to wait.

I just got back from a fantastic field trip to Death Valley in California.  We left early Friday morning and got back late Sunday night.  Through a series of events, I wasn't able to bring a tent.  But it was ok because the weather was perfect for sleeping outside.  The sky was clear, the stars were beautiful, the moon was just past full.  There was a bit of chill, but after the heat of the day, that was welcome.

We walked on sand dunes as high as two hundred feet.  We examined the sands, looking at their grain sizes and compositions, and guessed where we thought they came from.  Then trudged back to the vans in the scorching heat.

It was so hot! I thought I was going to die.

We ate lunch on a crater, where our bread toasted itself in the heat.  Then drove on a bumpy dirt road for nearly an hour at speeds that almost rattled my teeth out.  I seriously thought the vans were going to fall apart with us in them.  Then we saw the tracks that rocks make as they travel across playas.  I still think aliens are involved somehow.

Do you see the rock at the end of the trail?

We walked below sea level and tasted the rocks there.  Nice and salty.  Then we came home.

We are about 280 ft (85m) below sea level.

Yum ^_^

As glad as I was to come home, I wish that the field trip could have continued.  Reality is so difficult to navigate, it's always nice to have a break.