For my last day at Death Valley, I wanted to catch the sunrise at Zabriskie Point. I had visited this location on Day 1, but it was a bit cloudy and it was after the sun had come up. So, I rose a little after 4 am, got ready/packed up, said goodbye to Al, and headed to DV (Death Valley) in the dark...again.
The skies were clear and the winds had died down a bit, so it promised to be a good morning shoot. I set up at my "secret" spot and waited for the sun to rise. A couple other photographers were already there, and it was fun to watch other people show up. I was the only one at my spot, and while it may not be the "perfect" vantage point, I at least had a slightly different perspective.
After grabbing a bunch of images, I hiked down the trail into the badlands. I didn't go very far (maybe 1/2 mile?), but it was interesting seeing the badlands from a different perspective. I also found a couple spots that would be great to photograph the sunrise (on my "next visit" 😜).
By the way, I've mentioned these badlands in several posts, but what the heck are badlands? According to Wikipedia, "Badlands are a type of dry terrain where softer sedimentary rocks and clay-rich soils have been extensively eroded by wind and water. They are characterized by steep slopes, [and] minimal vegetation... Canyons, ravines, gullies, buttes, mesas, hoodoos and other such geologic forms are common in badlands. They are often difficult to navigate by foot. Badlands often have a spectacular color display that alternates
from dark black/blue coal stria to bright clays to red
scoria." Well, I would say this area of the park definitely meets the definition!
I then drove to the "other side" and hiked the Golden Canyon trail up to the Red Cathedral. The Golden Canyon trail is the most popular hiking trail in the park. It connects up with a couple other trail loops, including the Zabriskie trail I was just on. The entire hike can take a few hours and be strenuous in spots (see what definition above says about foot navigation in badlands). It was getting hotter and I was getting a little tired, so I decided to simply turn around once I got to the Red Cathedral. Getting to the Red Cathedral itself, though, was a little challenging and required some of my rock climbing "skills". I was comforted by the fact that kids and a 70+ year old woman were venturing through the tight, rocky passages. If they could do it, so could I! It actually wasn't too bad and well worth the effort.
I had one more stop before I left the park. I wanted to go back to Artist's Drive and stop at a few spots that I zoomed by when I cut the drive short on Day 1, plus retake a few shots. After that, I decided to head out of the park...I was tired and my creative juices had virtually run out. I had plenty of time to kill before my flight left out of Vegas, which was 2-hour drive, but I wasn't sure what to do. Then I remembered I had initially thought about staying at the
Amargosa Hotel in Death Valley Junction, Nevada (I nixed that idea because there is no gas stations or restaurants nearby), which has a beautiful, historic opera house that you can tour. So off I went to Death Valley Junction!
Despite the unassuming and decaying exterior. the hotel and opera house (which is on the National Register of Historic Places) is an extremely fascinating place. It has a long and interesting history, but in short, the hotel, the opera house (originally a multi-purpose hall), and associated buildings were established with the help of
Zane Gray (famous American author) to support the then-thriving borax mining industry in the area. After the mining company left and the buildings began to fall into disrepair, Marta Becket, an artist and dancer from New York City, accidentally discovered the place and turned the hall into a theater. In the early days, she didn't have much of an audience (except occasionally for the local "ladies of the evening"), so she painted murals on the walls depicting her "audience" (including the king and queen of Spain), each with it's own unique story. Eventually she garnered a following, and people would come from across the US, and even Europe and Asia, to watch her perform. Marta died in 2017 at 92-1/2 but performances still continue today, often at capacity. I was fortunate to get a personal tour of the opera house (for a mere $5) by a cute, yet somewhat chatty, woman named Leslie. An extremely delightful tour and a great way to end my trip! Well worth the 5!
So off to Vegas and my trip home, both of which were uneventful (though I don't handle red eye flights as well as I used to). I plan to make one more post with my reflective thoughts and a few more random pictures. Till then, below are photos from Day 5 (as a reminder, you can click on any of the photos and get a full-sized image).
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| Zabriskie Point at sunrise. The first light has yet to hit Manley Beacon (upper right) and the badlands, but the orange glow on the opposite mountain range is absolutely beautiful. |
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| Close-up of some of the badlands as the sunlight starts to touch the tops of the ridges. |
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| Manley Beacon with the rich red sunlight on the mountains in the background. |
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| From a technical perspective, there is nothing noteworthy about this images, but I have included here because of the story associated with it. I took this picture with no specific intent, just part of a random bunch of pictures I was taking while waiting for the to sun to rise. Later, after the sun had come up, a guy approached me at my "secret" spot and asked me if had taken a picture of him and his family at such and such time. At first I thought he was going to say something like "How dare you" and "please delete these pictures". Instead, he asked me for my e-mail and if I could send him a copy. Of course I said yes! I've yet to hear from him, but in retrospect, I now like like this picture a lot. It's all about the story! |
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| This is not as bad as the first day I was here, but this gives you a little idea of the popularity of this location by photographers. |
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| Now here you can see my more "engineered" approach to capturing the iconic sunrise at Zabriskie Point. First, the tripod is shortened and the tripod legs spread further apart to minimize wind impact and vibrartional effects on the tripod legs. My backpack is also hooked to the center post of the tripod, further helping to stabilize. This was especially important that morning since it was still quite windy with sudden wind gusts. Finally, images were being captured automatically every 15-30 seconds through use of an intervalometer (fancy name for a "timer"). Cool, huh? (OK, I had to get geeky with one thing!) |
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| One of the narrow paths along the Zabriske Trail. |
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| Yet another "self-protrait" (or in today's lingo, "selfie"), taken along the Zabriskie Trail |
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| The Golden Canyon Trail. |
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| Interesting rock outcropping on the Golden Canyon Trail. Note the green-colored rock. |
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| A rain "wash" along the Golden Canyon Trail. |
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| The path leading up to the Red Cathedral (it got even tighter and rockier!) |
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| The Red Cathedral (looks like a cathedral, doesn't it?) |
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| Green colored rocks along Artist's Drive |
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| Goodbye Daeth Valley! Hopefully I will return someday. |
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| Facade of the Amargosa Opera House in Death Valley Junction, NV |
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| Interior of he Opera House looking towards the stage. |
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| View towards entrance at the stage. |
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| The stage of the Opera House. Virtually everything, including the back-drop curtains, was hand-painted by Marta Beckett |
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| My personal tour guide Leslie (who reminds me of some famous person) telling me about how Marta would sit in this seat in her later years and watch dance recitals of young dancers. After she died in 2017, this was officially proclaimed as her permanent seat and is thusly adorned. |
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