Heya everyone. Just got back from my week-long trip to Las Vegas. The airline tix themselves were paid for with Delta Skymiles, so I didn't have much of a choice with regards to WHEN to travel. (Honestly I would've done it earlier, when flowers were in full bloom in Death Valley, but what are ya gonna do?) Once I turn 60, and have my whole retirement to look forward to, I will probably spend a few weeks in both of these parks, waiting for that perfect sunset, with perfect clouds, and perfect light... In the meantime I've gotta do what I can... with what I've got.
My departure was actually, a big pain in the arse. Apparently, you now have to arrive AT LEAST one hour prior to departure (domestic) in order for your bags to be checked. I arrived at (ding ding) 2 minutes past the hour-prior. So the kind lady at the check-in told me I cannot travel. Long story (full of complaints) made short.. I ended up on the 5pm flight. I even managed to squeeze-in a short nap (back home).
Vegas wasn't as hot as I remember it. 70s, with chilly nights. And it was almost June. I had spent the first night at Ray's place (a friend of mine). The guy was kind enough to remember my pet allergies, and vacuumed the room I'd be staying in. Still, I popped in a Benadryl, which, (with the aid of some single malt) made me sleep like a bear cub after honey.
The next day I drove to Pahrump, Nevada (what a dump of a town). The city has a population of around 25,000, but ya gotta wonder, where the hell are they? It's one of the most spread-out towns you'll find. I checked-in at Best Western (got a suite for the price of a room), put some of the healthy food I got at Whole Foods-Vegas into the fridge, and started going through what gear I'd need in Death Valley.
Topped out in the rental car at 108mph. Shot a video of it too, and I'd share it with you all, except that I worry that some law enforcement official, somewhere down the line, who knows when and why, would come across it and mail me a speeding ticket (stranger things have happened)... so you'll just have to take my word for it.
So ta-daaa! Arrived at Death Valley (from the south), and headed right for the Badwater Basin. My new watch (Casio Pathfinder) keeps me updated with regards to sunset and sunrise times (which, for a landscape photographer are as essential as a wasp repellant). The parking lot at Badwater Basin was half-full. Most folk were just getting ready to leave. One 60-something year old was actually jogging in the 102 degree weather. I headed out, walking directly west (or bearing 270 as my watch-with-compass would say). After about 35 minutes, the path was no longer beaten to death by visitors, and salt crystals were beginning to cover the ground.
After some fiddling around, here's the money shot from that moment:
Here's a geeky video shot on-location: SHOOTING BADWATER BASIN: VIDEO
Done deal. Once the sun set over the Panamint Range (that dark silhouette that resembles mountains sitting in the distance), it got dark fairly quick. By the time I got back to the car, I could see Venus rising (no, seriously). By the way, I'm aware of the flowers blooming in Death Valley around this time of year, but what on Earth were honeybees doing in Badwater? A mile out from the road, not a sound to be heard. No hum of a breeze, no distant yelling. Deadly silent. Except for honeybees that continued to distract me (I'm somewhat of a wasp-phobic in case that hasn't been made clear).
My plans to stay the night and shoot star trails over Badwater were therefore quickly smashed to pieces. That and the fact that I would have gone mad from doing absolutely nothing for four hours in the desert. I mean, aside from sitting in rock-hard salt that the ground was, there was nothing else to do. Next time I've gotta plan this better. Maybe bring some music, or a friend (yeah, a person to talk to!). There's always NEXT TIME.
I got back to Pahrump about 90 minutes later, exhausted like a honeybee in Badwater. After a quick shower and, after watching the second half of Robots on AMC, I passed out.
