DEATH VALLEY AND JOSHUA TREE

Professional and Personal Trips

I love this area whether guiding or playing with my friends because desert landscapes increase people's imagination. The topography is bizarre, much different than what an average person experiences on a regular basis. Thus the mind conjures ideas of other worldly places, found in science fiction and their dreams. This environment invites you to unplug and get absorbed by the funky surroundings.

Below are pictures of my clients on a trail in front of Zabriskie point in Death Valley. We started hiking with about 1.5 hours before sunset, the rocks turning to richer colors as the sun set. Being in such a moonscape makes you feel like the Starship Enterprise is about to touchdown.  This trail is desolate, pickle weed is the only living organism, which can thrive in very salty soil.

Zabriske Point is on my list of the best places to watch a sunset! The panoramic allows you to see a large part of Death Valley. In the pictures below you can see Badwater Basin off in the distant left of the second pic and just beyond the foreground in the third. It is one of the largest salt flats in the world, covering close to 200 square miles. Views of snowcapped Telescope Peak were off to the left. This peak is over 11,000 feet in elevation.

Of course I can't visit this area an not post a picture of a Joshua Tree. A couple of my friends shared a story that when they first visited JT they kept trying to find out where the Joshua Tree was, not realizing that there are many. They had a point though, it isn't called Joshua Trees National Park!

It is rare that I get to travel to places I have loved guiding with my friends. Just a couple weeks ago I spent a few days tromping around Joshua Tree and the Death Valley area. I got to go on a couple of my favorite hikes and show my buddies this awesome landscape. 

Here are some pics of the places at which we had great fun:

Just outside of Joshua Tree is an old western movie set called Pioneer Town. Lots of old buildings to walk through, but the highlight were baby goats! They were just weeks old and frisky, jumping up on things and over each other. But they loved being held and would fall asleep in your arms. The furry creature in the other picture is the house cat at Pappy & Harriet's, the saloon in the town. This cat reigns over the patio, perching and lounging on the roof. He was kind enough to meet his minions half way down the tree for pets and photo ops!

These pictures are from an incredible outdoor art installation, created between 1989-2004 by artist Noah Purifoy. I would strongly suggest visiting it as it is enormous, 7.5 acres of the wildest art you can imagine. So much to look at and explore.

I stayed for the first time in the very funky, desolate desert landscape that is Tecopa, CA, at the Tecopa Hot Springs Resort. Tecopa is just outside of Death Valley National Park. The on site Bistro was inviting and delicious. A great place to bring a book, sit on a rocking chair on the porch, and sip your cup o' joe! Off the motel rooms there are four private mineral pools that are really good and hot! The perfect thing to do once the sun goes down!

The Crow Bar is another great haunt, in neighboring Shoshone Village. Fabulous patio!

No visit to Death Valley would be complete without a drink on the deck at The Furnace Creek Inn. What a lovely show to watch while enjoying your favorite cocktail!

To finish the trip in style my partner, and Administrative Assistant, Erin and I had celebratory Mai Tai's at The Golden Tiki, a very detailed and festive Tiki bar in Las Vegas. They said to take a "Shellfie" in this clam shell but I went ahead and did the honors. 

I'm thinking my hometown of Livingston, MT needs a tiki bar!