Death Valley National Park at sunrise

Gavin and I were up at 5am to see the sunrise at Zabriskie Point. We were the second car to arrive but by 6am there were 16 cars! The sunrise was not as impressive as I hoped it would be, but it was still a lovely way to start the day in that silent and beautiful spot.This is the view looking eastwards at Zabriskie Point and I have added an extra of the view looking westwards, as the ochre hues were quite lovely.

After breakfast we set off for Yosemite, driving through Death Valley for at least another 2 hours before we exited the park. The landscape was so varied, from sandy dunes to high peaks with corrugated mountain faces. We climbed from -192 feet to over 5000 feet and back down again to sea level. We saw a coyote, a roadrunner (remember the looney tunes cartoons?) and a desert rat which scurried across the road in front of the car.  At one view site we stopped to take in the scenery, and read about how the area is used for low level training for the airforce. A few minutes later a fighter jet came flying through the canyon, displaying impressive pilot skills. We saw Joshua trees, an ecological wonder and so named by the travelling Mormons who thought they looked like supplicating people.

We saw such beautiful scenery today. Lone Pine set against the Sierra Nevada mountains was a charming little town where we stopped for coffee - they even had soya and almond milk to suit my dairy-free needs! This little town has been used as a location by hundreds of movies, particularly the John Wayne cowboy movies.  There is even a movie museum there. The 12th highest mountain in the U.S., Mount Whitney is situated there . I am loving this part of America, I never realised just how beautiful it is.

When we left Death Valley this morning it was already 42C, but as we entered Yosemite National Park it started raining and then to our amazement it started sleeting! We were now at 8000 feet above sea level and the temperature had plummeted to 3C, only about 220 miles from those high temperatures of Death Valley. Some snow had settled sparsely on the ground. Yet by the time we reached Half Dome it was sunny and 26C. I have added an extra of the view from Olmsted Point in Yosemite.


It has been a long day with a journey of 7 hours, and after our early start we are now quite tired. Tomorrow we plan to hire bicycles and explore the sights of the park.


Thank you to those who have been following my journey and for your lovely comments. I apologise for my lack of comments but it has been rather busy with not much time for sitting at the computer.