Death Valley Days *dial up warning*

[seemunkee]

I spent part of last week hiking in a trailess area of Death Valley followed by a few days of culture shock in Vegas.
Hope you like these.



Sunset over the Owlshead mountains


Found this little fella out for a morning stroll


Taking advantage of some shade


The dry Owl lake in the background


Badlands of the Confidence Hills

[Lautremont]

1. Fantastic pics!

Beautiful. The spider is an excellent touch.

[bridgit]

2. great pics, death valley is a cool place to kick it...

:thumbsup:

[begin_within]

3. Those cholla cacti in the first picture are wicked and evil creatures.

I made the mistake of accidentally brushing my arm against one in the dark one time, in Arizona. About 100 of the little needles went into my arm, and each one has a little hook on the end that makes it lodge into your skin. Someone had to hold me down while someone else yanked them out, one by one - it was agony.

I think the one in your picture is called "Teddy-bear cholla" (Opuntia bigelovii)

And what's spooky is seeing a whole stand of them in the moonlight - they look like a silent army just standing there waiting to GIT you.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

4. These are terrific!

I've never been there.......

I especially love the colors in your sunset pic.....Wow!

Thanks for posting these......:bounce: :bounce:

[freethought]

5. A tarantula out in broad daylight! Hmmm!

Rather odd. Isn't it the breeding season for them now? Aren't all the males out hunting around for females?
Those are some fine photographs.
I do like that sunset photo. Some great color and it has a particular kind of mood.
Great Work!

[seemunkee]

6. It was early morning

My friend thought it might be a male out looking for a mate also.

[Haole Girl]

7. Very nice...very pretty!

I forgot how beautiful desert sunsets can be..thanks!

Were there a lot of stars out at night? :hi:

[seemunkee]

8. Very few most nights

It was a full moon. Before the glow from the sun faded in the west you could see a glow starting in the east from the moon. The last night there was enough of a time span between them that the stars were very bright and we could see the milky way.

[livetohike]

9. Beautiful! Looks like you had a nice time

:-). Doesn't look too hot, either. :hi:

[seemunkee]

10. 80-85 day temps

but the sun was brutal. We started our hike out at 4:30AM so we wouldn't be in the valley floor midday. Hiking in with 3.5 gallons of water was a drag but we were sure glad to have it.

[livetohike]

11. I have had heat exhaustion a few times out here

and that is even after drinking/carrying lots of water. The sun is brutal at 75 degrees too :-(.