The closest I ever got to Death Valley was driving through Barstow on our way in California is 1971.
My son spend time at the army training fort nearby where they replicate life in Iraq / Afghanistan prior to deployment. He was there in June. It's so realistic, one soldier committed suicide because he didn't want to go back. Someone else died from dehydration due to running / marching.
I love your experience of it as a cosmic connection with nature. The lesson seems to be that beauty isn't always found where you look for it, and this planet is far more complex that we typically realize.
Omg that’s crazy! And sad. The army part I mean. Yet another novel waiting to happen. I bet it’s hotter than those places in the middle east in June!
Since going I’ve met several more “characters” who spent time in the valley or did some of the more wild activities there, like motorcycle races and even a marathon where they follow the runners with refrigerator trucks so people can cool off.
Also encountered a guy who meditated alone on a rock off in dunes somewhere for days, which sounds SO scary to me because it’s incredibly dark and there are snakes and coyotes.
And yes on the complexity and beauty! Nature remains a mystery; as much as we’d like to think we fully understand it, we don’t.
I think I passed through Death Valley on the way to Vegas as a kid. Your fascination with the area is understandable, especially as you learn more about it. My parents lived in Oroville, CA, out in the countryside and got excellent views of the milky way. I fondly remember the starry sky and appreciating the less light pollution. Do you have anything to say about noise pollution? I'd love to find a spot where there is neither and have that experience. Hard to find a place not under some flight path.
And what an opportunity to get to wade in an ancient lake! I thought at first it was a different lake that appeared earlier in the year with all the rain - Lake Tulare in the San Joaquin Valley, now a bunch of farmland started filling the basin. So that's interesting that CA got enough rain to start filling 2 ancient lake beds! Here's more info on Lake Tulare:
That’s so cool that you grew up with views of the Milky Way! On noise pollution, I actually grew up near “the quiet zone” in West Virginia, which I should write about! A unique place, with the upside of being very quiet and the downside of having internet and cell service banned… so whenever you drive through, you best have a paper map.
Worth visiting if you’ve never been.
And thanks for sharing lake Tulare! Didn’t know about that one.
Fascinating post.
The closest I ever got to Death Valley was driving through Barstow on our way in California is 1971.
My son spend time at the army training fort nearby where they replicate life in Iraq / Afghanistan prior to deployment. He was there in June. It's so realistic, one soldier committed suicide because he didn't want to go back. Someone else died from dehydration due to running / marching.
I love your experience of it as a cosmic connection with nature. The lesson seems to be that beauty isn't always found where you look for it, and this planet is far more complex that we typically realize.
Omg that’s crazy! And sad. The army part I mean. Yet another novel waiting to happen. I bet it’s hotter than those places in the middle east in June!
Since going I’ve met several more “characters” who spent time in the valley or did some of the more wild activities there, like motorcycle races and even a marathon where they follow the runners with refrigerator trucks so people can cool off.
Also encountered a guy who meditated alone on a rock off in dunes somewhere for days, which sounds SO scary to me because it’s incredibly dark and there are snakes and coyotes.
And yes on the complexity and beauty! Nature remains a mystery; as much as we’d like to think we fully understand it, we don’t.
I think I passed through Death Valley on the way to Vegas as a kid. Your fascination with the area is understandable, especially as you learn more about it. My parents lived in Oroville, CA, out in the countryside and got excellent views of the milky way. I fondly remember the starry sky and appreciating the less light pollution. Do you have anything to say about noise pollution? I'd love to find a spot where there is neither and have that experience. Hard to find a place not under some flight path.
And what an opportunity to get to wade in an ancient lake! I thought at first it was a different lake that appeared earlier in the year with all the rain - Lake Tulare in the San Joaquin Valley, now a bunch of farmland started filling the basin. So that's interesting that CA got enough rain to start filling 2 ancient lake beds! Here's more info on Lake Tulare:
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/151174/return-of-tulare-lake
That’s so cool that you grew up with views of the Milky Way! On noise pollution, I actually grew up near “the quiet zone” in West Virginia, which I should write about! A unique place, with the upside of being very quiet and the downside of having internet and cell service banned… so whenever you drive through, you best have a paper map.
Worth visiting if you’ve never been.
And thanks for sharing lake Tulare! Didn’t know about that one.
Those thumbnails are really dope! Do you make those yourself?
I do! Thank you. I use Canva to make collages.