ubehebe crater - death valley

at the furnace creek ranger station i purchased my year-long pass.  when i quit my job in october, my coworkers from STV gifted me with some cash that i saved to put toward this pass.  thanks STV!  : )

the park ranger gave me tips on where to drive my van to sleep and explained some "off the map" kind of sites.  he pulled out their backroad version of the park map and drew a few more things as he described the current road conditions and gave me some you-didn't-hear-it-from-me hints and advise. very informative.

i drove to explore.  i passed some dunes similar the ones in the mojave dessert (cool!).

and continued up and over the pass to the western limit of the park near some flats.

then, since it was late, i turned around to find one of the places i was allowed to sleep in my van.  unless you are camping in one of the established (and user fee) campsites, you have to drive at least two miles away from any paved roadway.  so basically i turned north and headed all the way to the northern end of the roadway to find where it ends. this park is the largest in the us besides alaska and has lots of steep grades.  my van started to make a slightly unsettling sound as i climbed the 30+ miles through the valley on the windy dark road.  there's nothing like a bad engine noise when you are by yourself at dusk and heading _toward_ the middle of nowhere.  it had been working so hard and i think it just needed a break because it was sounding better in the morning. anyway, i pulled off near the ubehebe crater hoping i was in an OK spot to sleep.

when in the middle of nowhere, ordinary complications could become life threatening. like things you may not be able to let others know about because no one else may find you in time: twisting an ankle, choking on food, dehydration, fainting, etc. or like things that need timely medical care: serious cuts or bleeding, animal bites, head wounds, etc.  naturally, because of the remote location where i parked to sleep, i was forced to think about my frailty, and then I realized how blessed I was at that very moment with everything I needed, even if just for that moment. it made me realize how much I trust my surroundings for security instead of trusting god who knows the future and thanking him for the shelter and lack of hunger that I was currently experiencing. I did not need to worry about the next morning- whether my van would start or anything.  only one car passed by that night. it got down to the 20s.  there was plenty of moon light.

moon rise.

in the morning i wanted a dark and early start to make the most of daylight.  i discovered that i had actually gone around a loop at the end of the road that i didn't know was a loop and so technically wasn't allowed to pull off there.  oops.  the detailed map didn't show any loop!  snooping around in the dark i identified the dirt road i meant to take the night before.  oh well, blame it on them map.

i looked into the ubehebe crater.  it was eerie in the moonlight.  heebeegeebees?