Death Valley Super Bloom

"16 hours 23 minutes to see flowers". Roger reminded me of his phone's prediction multiple times on the drive to Death Valley to see the "Super Bloom". I must admit he had a point, especially since we usually have our own super bloom in April on the slope behind our house. But Death Valley had been on our list of places to see so the "Super Bloom" put our butts in the truck for the long drive. 

The anticipated two day drive turned into four, not because of problems but because of distractions. We turned onto Highway 31 at La Pine, Oregon and the route from there to Death Valley was all new to us. Roger is Geography Man so he had a good time in that 16 hours and 23 minutes.

First distraction was Fort Rock - which was not a human fort but a geologic one - the remnants of an old volcano rim.

Fort Rock

Continuing on we thought of Malheur Wildlife Refuge, east of Fort Rock, which was the site of the occupation by the Bundy brothers and their followers. We followed the occupation closely since Malheur during the bird migration has long been on our list of places to see. Unfortunately, the end of the occupation turned tragic, but a couple of Portland comedians wrote a satirical song about the craziness before then. Sample lyrics:

"Patrioooooots, Patriooooooots, Stormin' a building surrounded by ducks" 

http://www.oregonlive.com/geek/2016/02/oregon_standoff_ballad_portlan.html 

The third day of our trip we didn't get far, beginning in Reno and ending at Mono Lake. Our route took us up through the snowy mountains and down along the eastern shore of Lake Tahoe. We did more stopping than driving. There is a reason Californians come to play here. 

Great spot for snow shoeing, skiing and snow play along HWY 431

Roger navigating the granite along Lake Tahoe shoreline

Public beach at Lake Tahoe

Day four brought even greater distractions. We explored magical Mono Lake with its other-worldy tufas and Panum Crater with its large, gleaming blocks of obsidium. Both are facinating. Tufas are formed when the calcium of freshwater springs combine with the carbonates of the lake water and form limestone. Panum Crater is one of the Mono Craters, the youngest mountain range in North America. 

Dwarfed by the tufa at Mono Lake.

South Tufa Area at Mono Lake

My he-man holding up Panum pumice.

Mt. Whitney on right.

The next morning we admired Mt. Whitney and then finally headed into Death Valley. First point of interest was Father Crowley Vista Point overlooking Rainbow Canyon. Lots of people were hanging out, but not so much for the scenery. They were waiting for F-18's to fly through the canyon, giving the crowd an eye-level view. The F-18's had flown over us on the drive into the park so we didn't wait around for the "show".

The more fertile areas of Death Valley were carpeted with flowers, especially Desert Gold. A less common, but elegant flower that I thought stood out was the Desert Five-spot.

Desert Gold in Death Valley

Desert Five-spot

We were blessed that Death Valley had come to life with blooms but the flowers were just a bonus to an interesting and often beautiful landscape.  Zabriskie Point with its chocolate/vanilla hues was a favorite spot of ours - and of a myriad of photographers.

Waiting for the sun at Zabriskie Point

From Zabriskie Point

Salt flat at Badwater Basin, lowest spot in North America 

Roger walking down wash on Gower Gulch Loop

Artist's Palette

Titus Canyon drive

Entering Titus Canyon Narrows

Good way to begin last full day in Death Valley NP.

A bit east of Death Valley is Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, home of tiny pupfish. I'm thankful we took the time to stop at this oasis.  The facilities are very nice but the beautiful blue pupfish is the star. They live in the Crystal Spring pool near the Visitor Center and Kings Pool at Point of the Rocks. Pupfish are a "relic" species that has existed since mammoths drank from the same springs so they've adapted to a dramatically different environment than that of their ancestors. These amazing survivors are most easily seen in Kings Pool.

Pupfish in King Pool

16 hours and 23 minutes? Yah betcha!