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| c i i i c P h o t o l e t t e R # 13 A D e a t h V a l l e y X m a s |
| Hello and Welcome to the ciiic Photoletter # 13 - Death Valley This holiday season Rebecca and I left the sprawling metropolis of Los Angeles by driving 3 hours straight into the desert and up into the errily beautiful Death Valley. Death Valley Consists of over 3.3 million acres of land, making it the largest National Park in the continental United States. The park is a series of mountain peaks that surround the area known as Death Valley. The valley itself dips down to 282 feet below sea level at an area named Badwater, the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere. Death Valley is also know as having the hottest recorded temperature on earth: 134 F on July 10th, 1913. At this temperature, burds are said to have fallen dead out of the sky. This seemed to us to be a perfect place to spend christmas. |
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| As explorers and emigrants discovered Death Valley, many attempted to profit from its environment, yet few were successful. Those who did strike mineral riches fround the rush to run dry out quickly. It seems that this is the nature of Death Valley - everything exists there only temporarily. Except for the mining of Borax. The mining of Borax has been the only longevity in the area. Well actually, Borax, and Death Valley Scotty. Death Valley Scotty was a notorious boaster and con man who lived well off the hopes for gold from wealthy Easterners. |
| Death Valley received its ominous name during the California Gold Rush of 1849. Emigrants having arrived in Salt Lake City too late to make it across the snow covered Sierras, discovered the Old Spanish Trail which takes them far enough south to complete the journey, even in winter. The many wagons that attempted this route were eventually sucessful; however the extreme hardships they endured caused them to name the valley after their greatest fear, death. |
| As visitors to the Valley of Death, we had to comquer our own fears. This was not the first time we had visited the area. On our trip around the US in 1996, we were excited to go to Death Valley, but were quite frightened when the sun rose and the temperature climbed into triple digits. We thought of the birds dying in mid-flight and decided to flee the park as soon as we could, which takes forever in that enormous National Park. This time, our return trip was rewarding and we would recommend visiting Death Valley (in the winter or spring) to everyone! |
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