Death Valley National Park

For some reason I thought a place called Death Valley would not be very pretty or fun to go to.  Boy was I wrong!  Death Valley National Park was a beautiful mix of sand dunes, mountains, and incredible landscapes that has extreme changes in temperature from snow at the higher elevations the night before I got there to having the record hottest temperature in the United States of 134 degrees in Badwater Basin.  Being here in January was nice because the temperatures were less extreme although my car thermometer went from 36 degrees in the morning up to 68 degrees in the afternoon and quickly dropping again as the sun began to set.  I visited several spots in the park including the Sand Dunes, Zabriskie Point- a must see if you are coming to the park, the Devil's Golf Course, Badwater Basin, and did some hiking through Golden Canyon.  Each place had it's own unique qualities to it even though they were only a few quick miles from each other.  I feel like this is a post where I don't need to write much because the pictures speak for themselves.  Amazing.

 Driving into the park

 Sand dunes

 Pretty scenery on the drive

 Zabriskie Point

 Zabriskie Point

 Zabriskie Point

 Golden Canyon hike

 Golden Canyon hike

 Devil's Golf Course

 Badwater Basin after the rain

 Badwater Basin

Driving towards Furnace Creek

Channel Islands National Park

When I start planning a trip there is usually one thing I have in mind that I really want to do and is a basis for what the trip is built around.  Coming out to California, visiting the Channel Islands was at the top of my list.  The islands that are a part of the National Park are made up of 5 uninhabited islands that are only accessible by boat or air with the one that is closest to the mainland being Anacapa Island, which was my ultimate destination.  The Channel Islands are known as the "Galapagos of North America" due to the multitude of flora and fauna that are only found on these islands and no where else in the world.  The islands are a relatively newer National Park as they did not become a park until 1980 but after becoming a protected area many of the living things on the island that were near extinction are once again doing well.  Each island is a different experience with different animals and plants inhabiting the island.

My first day around the islands was spent on a boat looking for dolphins and whales.  We were lucky and saw a few different species of dolphins including the common dolphin, offshore bottlenose dolphins, and another kind of bottlenose dolphin as well.  The common dolphin were much smaller than the dolphins I am used to from the east coast but they jumped and played around the boat.  The offshore bottlenose dolphins were more like the ones that I am use to seeing.  They were much larger and were in a pod of 10-12 and it was magical just listening to them come up and breath and make their natural noises all around the boat seeming to check us out as much as we were checking them out. 

Offshore bottlenose dolphin off of Anapaca Island

 Offshore bottlenose dolphin

 More offshore bottlenose dolphin

 Common dolphin jumping next to the boat

Common dolphins

The real stars of the day were the gray whales.  They travel through the Santa Barbara Channel and the near the islands every year while on their way to Mexico to either mate or give birth.  At this point in time they are simply on a mission to get where they are going so there is not a lot of jumping or even feeding along the way but just a slow steady progress forward to their destination.  We were lucky enough to see two sets of gray whales- both a mama and her baby.  The first one the guide thought the baby was maybe a year old and the second one was very young and probably did not make it to Mexico before giving birth (much like a mama giving birth on the side of the road because she didn't make it to the hospital in time).   The adult gray whales have a molten look to their skin from a build up of scar tissue where the babies have a much smoother appearance.

 Mama and her baby taking a breath

 Mama doing a little "spy hop" to check us out.

The back of the gray whale

It's a little hard to see but that is a whale tail in the middle

We also were able to see and hear some California sea lions that were hanging out along the rocks at the base of the island, basking in the warm sun.

California sea lions blend into the rocks they are lying on

My second day exploring I actually got to get off the boat and explore Anacapa Island.  For all of the islands, you are required to take everything with you both on and off the island including your own food and water and removing all of your trash.  There is camping available that is very primitive with no facilities or running water.  A day trip worked quite nice for me.  Anacapa Island is slightly larger than 1 square mile with a lighthouse that is still run by the Coast Guard at one end and an incredible view of Inspiration Point at the other end.  It is a haven for seagulls and hundreds were resting and calling out to one another.  The views all around the island were serene and peaceful and I was lucky to have a clear, sunshine filled day that helped to make it feel warmer than it really was.  My only regret of the trip is that I did not plan one more day to see another island as well.  I have said it before and I will say it again...there is so much beauty in this country that we are lucky to have the National Park system to protect and preserve it so it can be enjoyed by all who want to make the trip there.

Arch Rock

Inspiration Point

Inspiration Point

Inspiration Point

Birds

My lunch view- not too shabby

View from just below the lighthouse

Joshua Tree National Park

I had planned to journey to Joshua Tree National Park on Saturday but woke up to the sound of rain pattering against the window and after a quick consult with my Weather Channel app, I realized that I would have to journey through ice and rain for about 2 hours to get there so instead I went back to bed and watched the This is Us (LOVE that show!) marathon all day and now I am caught up and ready for the new shows to start.

After being a lazy bum all day on Saturday, it felt really good to get out and be active on Sunday.  The weather was a bit cloudy in the morning but cleared to beautiful sunny skies in the afternoon so I definitely made the right choice in waiting a day.  I chose to enter at the Oasis Visitors Center and grabbed a map there to plan my day.  I started my day at Split Rock and was amazed by a rock climber that was going up between the two rocks.  I'm pretty sure I ate too much during the holidays to even think about fitting between those rocks.  There were lots of people rock climbing in this area in particular but I just hiked around and up on some rocks to get a better look of the giant rocks around me.  I am not sure exactly what I was expecting when I entered the park, probably more sand and very flat with a few cacti and, of course, Joshua Trees scattered around but I was amazed by how much of a change in elevation the place had and changing from huge rocks and mountainous dry landscapes to flat planes with desert trees.

 Split Rock- if you look really closely you can see a guy climbing up the middle

My second stop (after a little backtracking) was at the Cholla Cactus gardens.  This is a spot to not miss if you make it out to Joshua Tree.  A pathway wanders through hundreds of cacti.  I imagine when they are in bloom it must be incredibly spectacular because just wandering around and seeing cactus after cactus was pretty amazing.  A short way down the road was the Ocotillo Patch.  These are trees that resemble dead branches during the dry season but after rain look a bit more like flowering cactus I am told.

 Cholla Cactus Garden

Ocotillo tree

I made a brief stop at Skull Rock because it is literally just off the road which makes it easily accessible but also crowded before moving on to Keys View that overlooks the San Andreas fault line and you can even see the town of Palm Springs out in the distance.  At 5185 ft it is one of the highest points in the park but is easily accessible with a 1/4 mile round trip paved but steep trail to the top and the view is incredible.  It is another must see if you are visiting the park.

 Skull Rock

 One of the many Joshua Trees that the park is named for.

 Overlooking the San Andreas fault and Palm Springs

My final stop for the day was a hike around Hidden Valley.  It was a relatively easy hike with many rock climbers working their way up the rocks around you.  It was busy enough that I felt safe being by myself but not so busy that it felt crowded.  There is a path to follow but it is all sand and was easy to get off the path without realizing it so I ended up following the guy in front of me and trying to not let him get so far that I couldn't see where he went.  He probably felt like I was stalking him but I made it out!  I had no cell phone reception for the entire time I was in the park so I definitely had to remember my old school map skills but at the same time it is nice to get away from technology for a day.