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Once past Las Vegas we again feel very alone in the landscape. We enter California and pass through hellish sounding places like Mercury, Devil’s Hole, Badwater, Furnace Creek and, of course, Death Valley. Not the cheeriest of names! The temperature creeps up to 44° C (111° F). The landscape is low – at one point (Badwater) we are even below sea level. Phew. It is a good thing we have air conditioning in the car.
We seem to be the only people on the road. In the sky, it is another story. The US Air Force hangs out here. They break the silence and the sound barrier. We get out of the car to stretch our legs and take pictures. Perhaps the Air Force guys think we are in trouble; perhaps they just want to tease us. At any rate, they dip low and zoom close over us. We scurry back into the car like rabbits heading for their rabbit holes. Top Gun returns and whizzes directly towards us. He skims so close over our car we involuntarily – and uselessly – duck our heads. After he passes, we breathe a collective sigh of relief and disbelief. Could he see our thrilled and nervous faces? Did he get a good laugh? I hope so!
We stay in Furnace Creek. One of my friends spots a coyote skulking across the road. We also see a sizable scorpion. That puts an end to walking barefoot. The starry heavens look like a velvet cloth sprinkled with diamonds. Next morning, I creep out of bed before dawn and head out on my own to take a sunrise picture of the sand dunes. By seven am the temperature is already 28° C (83° F). A sign warns that it gets even worse – life threatening, actually. After the Furnace Creek pit stop we continue on the road through Death Valley before hanging a right and driving northwards. Ahead lie cooler and greener landscapes.
