I am now in danger of being “Tortoised”. This is a phenomenon which affects people staying at The Green Tortoise hostels – I suffered it in Seattle. (Well sufferance isn’t really true as it was enjoyable.) One gets comfortable in these places and it is very easy to stay. I have, however, “broken the cycle” because I will be leaving San Francisco tomorrow.
After yesterday’s “interruptions” I decided to set up office in my dorm straightaway and not even attempt the ballroom. Having eaten and armed myself with coffee that is exactly what I did. I resolved not to come out, or play games, until I had got somewhere to stay over the holiday period!
This I managed to do, although it did take several hours to work out where I wanted to stay in order to get to see the things I want and the availability of my first choices. Knowing where I would be staying took the pressure off my troubled brain and I could relax. I intend to spend Humbug Day in Big Sur National Park, surrounded by nature and untortured by commercial exploitation – I was looking forward to it!
I arranged my car hire and having now finalised everything for my onward travel I rewarded myself with something to eat.
I selected a little Italian restaurant just off of Broadway and had a rather excellent meal served to me by a stunning looking waitress – I think that enhanced the flavour.
After my meal I collected a coffee and headed back to the hostel where I set about getting packed and re-checked it again – just in case.
The rest of the day was spent at leisure and rounded off with a nice relaxing sauna and an early-ish night as I wanted to be all refreshed and alert for my departure tomorrow.
Friday, 21 November 2008
Thursday, 12 June 2008
In the words of Kurt Cobain
All Apologies!
Many apologies to my devoted readers (I will change my underwear later) who have been deprived of my deranged ramblings whilst I travel the world.
Having got to Mexico this was where I noticed decent Internet connections getting scarcer and then non-existant. I had problems uploading photographs on the last couple of entries so I gave up.
The "good" news is: I have kept an electronic diary (well a series of Word documents) of my travels which are pretty well complete and up to date, so I will post these up when I get the chance to.
In the meantime; I am alive and well and currently in Australia - a truly wonderful country. If anyone out there can translate "No worries mate" into Latin then perhaps the Aussie Government can incorporate it into their coat of arms.
Once again, apologies for the break in service. Normality will not be resumed as it is an abstract concept - and entirely subjective!
My best wishes and appreciation to any and all who bother to click the buttons in order to read this.
Phil
Many apologies to my devoted readers (I will change my underwear later) who have been deprived of my deranged ramblings whilst I travel the world.
Having got to Mexico this was where I noticed decent Internet connections getting scarcer and then non-existant. I had problems uploading photographs on the last couple of entries so I gave up.
The "good" news is: I have kept an electronic diary (well a series of Word documents) of my travels which are pretty well complete and up to date, so I will post these up when I get the chance to.
In the meantime; I am alive and well and currently in Australia - a truly wonderful country. If anyone out there can translate "No worries mate" into Latin then perhaps the Aussie Government can incorporate it into their coat of arms.
Once again, apologies for the break in service. Normality will not be resumed as it is an abstract concept - and entirely subjective!
My best wishes and appreciation to any and all who bother to click the buttons in order to read this.
Phil
Wednesday, 2 April 2008
San Francisco - Day 10
I decided today was “a day of action”, but didn’t wake up until 11:00. The head wasn’t very delicate and so I pressed on!
I visited Cafe Roma for my usual large latte – this and two cigarettes = breakfast! Having returned to the hostel I then set up workstation in the ballroom. I got a nice corner spot out of the direct sunshine. (This makes one hot and you can’t see the screen half the time due to the glare – and superior strength - of the Sun!)
First to come and chat was John. He was waxing lyrical about our fun last night, we both agreed it was good to exchange a bit of English irony (like plastic, but made out of iron for the Yanks) and wet ourselves laughing waiting for the “locals” to get the joke – they usually had to work it out “out loud” before the quarter dropped! John is here for the next eight months working in the hostel, so it has literally become his home.
John disappeared to tend to some chores and Stephanie & Jolie came into the ballroom. They came over and had a chat. They had been shopping in fine girlie fashion and with the Canadian $ outstripping the US$ it was cheap shopping for them. They leave the same day as I – Saturday – but they know where they are going. All I have is a car rented and nowhere specific to drive it to! I attempted to make some progress.
Eleanor came in then and so I stopped to have a chat with her. She is leaving Saturday, by Greyhound to LA where she then flies back to Leeds. We waxed lyrical about Death Valley and the geological formations on show, and she admitted that it had fired her interest in knowing more about the way the valley was formed. She left to meet a guy she met travelling in China two years ago. He has since married and is in San Francisco with his wife, so they were all going to get together for a few drinks and a chat.
Marcos came in next. He came and asked if I had seen his “Constructing the Universe” book. “No” I said, “I gave them back to you after taking all the details.” “I know,” he said, “I remember you put them in my hand”. He had loaned it to an American guy who was about when we were discussing them after I had returned the books. We formulated a suitable punishment for all book thieves; they were all excruciatingly painful and resulted in death, and then he went off in search of this American guy. I know how he feels – books are precious things! (Both in the “Local Shop” and the Gollum sense.)
I eventually gave up on getting anywhere as:
1. The wireless network seem to be incapable of connecting to the Internet
2. I had finished my coffee
3. I was hungry and it was 15:00
I packed up my laptop, took it up to my locker, and went out for something to eat. I decided to take JD’s recommendation and went to Yii’s (a Chinese restaurant) for duck over rice. This was a superb recommendation as the meal was delicious and cost less than $5. I headed back to the hostel feeling quite stuffed.
Having re-established office back in the ballroom I set about trying to get some things booked up for Humbug. (Humbug is the great commercial fest and book-balancing exercise which used to be the winter solstice before religions ruined it and corporations made shit loads of money out of it convincing idiots and morons that they must take out loans, or get new credit cards, for in order to buy overpriced crap they wouldn’t normally buy. It is also an excuse for restaurants, pubs, clubs, diners, etc. to serve up warmed up plastic, cardboard or reprocessed food with a sprig of holly on top and charge ten times the price for. Call me cynical but that is exactly what this time of year is – a cynical rip-off and exploitation of the gullible!)
My success was rather thwarted by a small procession of people who kept stopping by to chat to me: John, Neil, JD, Eleanor, Marcos, and “the Canadian girls” were all guilty (well as much as one can call people guilty for being friendly) of delaying my plans.
After a few hours of this I gave up, packed up and just settled for sitting in the ballroom and chatting to everyone who wanted to.
Later on – after dark – it was suggested we go out for pizza so a bunch of us took a stroll up the road to a pizza place and indulged in some very fine pizza.
After this we went back to the hostel, collecting some beers as we went, and proceeded to drink the beers and chat about many things.
When all the beers were gone I decided it would be a very good idea to go to bed, especially as it was now tomorrow! I returned to my dorm and succeeded in getting to bed without waking any of my roommates up and was instantly asleep!
I will do some serious planning later today...
I visited Cafe Roma for my usual large latte – this and two cigarettes = breakfast! Having returned to the hostel I then set up workstation in the ballroom. I got a nice corner spot out of the direct sunshine. (This makes one hot and you can’t see the screen half the time due to the glare – and superior strength - of the Sun!)
First to come and chat was John. He was waxing lyrical about our fun last night, we both agreed it was good to exchange a bit of English irony (like plastic, but made out of iron for the Yanks) and wet ourselves laughing waiting for the “locals” to get the joke – they usually had to work it out “out loud” before the quarter dropped! John is here for the next eight months working in the hostel, so it has literally become his home.
John disappeared to tend to some chores and Stephanie & Jolie came into the ballroom. They came over and had a chat. They had been shopping in fine girlie fashion and with the Canadian $ outstripping the US$ it was cheap shopping for them. They leave the same day as I – Saturday – but they know where they are going. All I have is a car rented and nowhere specific to drive it to! I attempted to make some progress.
Eleanor came in then and so I stopped to have a chat with her. She is leaving Saturday, by Greyhound to LA where she then flies back to Leeds. We waxed lyrical about Death Valley and the geological formations on show, and she admitted that it had fired her interest in knowing more about the way the valley was formed. She left to meet a guy she met travelling in China two years ago. He has since married and is in San Francisco with his wife, so they were all going to get together for a few drinks and a chat.
Marcos came in next. He came and asked if I had seen his “Constructing the Universe” book. “No” I said, “I gave them back to you after taking all the details.” “I know,” he said, “I remember you put them in my hand”. He had loaned it to an American guy who was about when we were discussing them after I had returned the books. We formulated a suitable punishment for all book thieves; they were all excruciatingly painful and resulted in death, and then he went off in search of this American guy. I know how he feels – books are precious things! (Both in the “Local Shop” and the Gollum sense.)
I eventually gave up on getting anywhere as:
1. The wireless network seem to be incapable of connecting to the Internet
2. I had finished my coffee
3. I was hungry and it was 15:00
I packed up my laptop, took it up to my locker, and went out for something to eat. I decided to take JD’s recommendation and went to Yii’s (a Chinese restaurant) for duck over rice. This was a superb recommendation as the meal was delicious and cost less than $5. I headed back to the hostel feeling quite stuffed.
Having re-established office back in the ballroom I set about trying to get some things booked up for Humbug. (Humbug is the great commercial fest and book-balancing exercise which used to be the winter solstice before religions ruined it and corporations made shit loads of money out of it convincing idiots and morons that they must take out loans, or get new credit cards, for in order to buy overpriced crap they wouldn’t normally buy. It is also an excuse for restaurants, pubs, clubs, diners, etc. to serve up warmed up plastic, cardboard or reprocessed food with a sprig of holly on top and charge ten times the price for. Call me cynical but that is exactly what this time of year is – a cynical rip-off and exploitation of the gullible!)
My success was rather thwarted by a small procession of people who kept stopping by to chat to me: John, Neil, JD, Eleanor, Marcos, and “the Canadian girls” were all guilty (well as much as one can call people guilty for being friendly) of delaying my plans.
After a few hours of this I gave up, packed up and just settled for sitting in the ballroom and chatting to everyone who wanted to.
Later on – after dark – it was suggested we go out for pizza so a bunch of us took a stroll up the road to a pizza place and indulged in some very fine pizza.
After this we went back to the hostel, collecting some beers as we went, and proceeded to drink the beers and chat about many things.
When all the beers were gone I decided it would be a very good idea to go to bed, especially as it was now tomorrow! I returned to my dorm and succeeded in getting to bed without waking any of my roommates up and was instantly asleep!
I will do some serious planning later today...
San Francisco - Day 9
I had another slow and gentle day today as I felt I deserved it.
After breakfast I went out in search of the usual coffee and then took it back to the ballroom. Some of the Death Valley crew were sitting about and we all sat there chatting and reminiscing over the trip. We all agreed that it was a wonderful trip and the group of people we had made it ultra-enjoyable. We all decided to re-convene in the ballroom this evening after dinner (tonight was a free dinner night) and have a little re-union party. That agreed we all split up to attend to various things we had to do. Mine was; go out and find some lunch!
When I returned after lunch I was sitting about uploading my latest photographs when I encountered Neil an Everton supporter from Liverpool. He started chatting to me about the locality and any points of interest. We chatted about places visited for a while and as Neil had come from Las Vegas we exchanged notes on that. He had been there for the Hatton Mayweather fight but had to watch it on a big screen – which they charged for, of course – as it was sold out. We both agreed it was a “totally over the top” place and there could only be one Vegas because the world has no need for another! (One could argue there is no need for the first one as it is so obscenely wasteful.)
About 19:00 – dinner time in the ballroom – the old “Death Valley Club” re-convened for a social gathering. Having got food we all colonised a long table, beer and wine were produced and a thoroughly good time was had by all. After the food was finished we all cleared up and then more drinks were procured.
The whole thing developed into an impromptu party and I eventually crawled off to bed at about 2:00 to sleep very soundly.
After breakfast I went out in search of the usual coffee and then took it back to the ballroom. Some of the Death Valley crew were sitting about and we all sat there chatting and reminiscing over the trip. We all agreed that it was a wonderful trip and the group of people we had made it ultra-enjoyable. We all decided to re-convene in the ballroom this evening after dinner (tonight was a free dinner night) and have a little re-union party. That agreed we all split up to attend to various things we had to do. Mine was; go out and find some lunch!
When I returned after lunch I was sitting about uploading my latest photographs when I encountered Neil an Everton supporter from Liverpool. He started chatting to me about the locality and any points of interest. We chatted about places visited for a while and as Neil had come from Las Vegas we exchanged notes on that. He had been there for the Hatton Mayweather fight but had to watch it on a big screen – which they charged for, of course – as it was sold out. We both agreed it was a “totally over the top” place and there could only be one Vegas because the world has no need for another! (One could argue there is no need for the first one as it is so obscenely wasteful.)
About 19:00 – dinner time in the ballroom – the old “Death Valley Club” re-convened for a social gathering. Having got food we all colonised a long table, beer and wine were produced and a thoroughly good time was had by all. After the food was finished we all cleared up and then more drinks were procured.
The whole thing developed into an impromptu party and I eventually crawled off to bed at about 2:00 to sleep very soundly.
San Francisco - Day 8
We arrived back in pouring rain at about 7:15 am.
It was a bit strange waking up heading into a city – all the open view had gone! It might sound rather silly, but I was missing the desert.
The group of people, the majority, were staying at The Green Tortoise hostel, so some of the guys headed off from the bus station and the remainder all piled out at the hostel. I bid Seena and Paul farewell, and thanked them for making the trip such fun and a memorable experience.
We all formed a forlorn looking huddle in the reception area of the hostel whilst we got sorted out with rooms. During this time most of us grabbed the available breakfast of toasted bagels, coffee and juice.
When I had my room allocation I retrieved my bag from the storage room and proceeded to empty it onto the floor and sort out all my stuff. The first thing I generated was a large laundry pile and then repacked my main bag with rather pleasing efficiency.
As it was now mid-morning I decided to go in search of lunch and coffee. When I returned, mission accomplished, I decided to get my laundry out of the way. The laundry room is available after 14:00 as the hostel staff uses it for the hostel laundry during the morning.
As I was about to actually do my laundry I met a couple of my new roommates: Magnus, a Swiss guy who was travelling through the States and Andrew a guy from Bradford. Andrew was a bit of a giveaway as he was wearing an England football shirt. He could wear this with a modicum of pride as they had actually won a Euro qualifier game but we both agreed the lovely little prima donnas had to win ALL their remaining games to be sure of qualifying – this ridiculous “24 points from 30 should be enough” mentality is totally stupid, we want 30 points from 30 and then there is no doubt or waiting for other results to help you out! We shall see. Magnus could afford to be snug as Switzerland had already qualified through being joint host-nation with Austria. He very kindly did not rub it in though. As we were chatting our last roommate entered the dorm: JD (John by name) an American yoga instructor. He was en route to China to live where he will be teaching English (he speaks fluent Mandarin) and studying Chinese meditation techniques. I wished him the best of luck.
After chatting to these guys for a while I actually started my laundry off. I had a read whilst the wash cycle was going and then slung it all in the dryer. I had a small result with this as it already had credit on it and I didn’t need to feed it money – yippee!
After it was all done, folded up and put away (I was obviously feeling very domesticated at the time) I then had a sauna, shower and lay on my bed listening to some sounds. I did the usual wake up, get into bed and go back to sleep later – and dreamed of deserts.
It was a bit strange waking up heading into a city – all the open view had gone! It might sound rather silly, but I was missing the desert.
The group of people, the majority, were staying at The Green Tortoise hostel, so some of the guys headed off from the bus station and the remainder all piled out at the hostel. I bid Seena and Paul farewell, and thanked them for making the trip such fun and a memorable experience.
We all formed a forlorn looking huddle in the reception area of the hostel whilst we got sorted out with rooms. During this time most of us grabbed the available breakfast of toasted bagels, coffee and juice.
When I had my room allocation I retrieved my bag from the storage room and proceeded to empty it onto the floor and sort out all my stuff. The first thing I generated was a large laundry pile and then repacked my main bag with rather pleasing efficiency.
As it was now mid-morning I decided to go in search of lunch and coffee. When I returned, mission accomplished, I decided to get my laundry out of the way. The laundry room is available after 14:00 as the hostel staff uses it for the hostel laundry during the morning.
As I was about to actually do my laundry I met a couple of my new roommates: Magnus, a Swiss guy who was travelling through the States and Andrew a guy from Bradford. Andrew was a bit of a giveaway as he was wearing an England football shirt. He could wear this with a modicum of pride as they had actually won a Euro qualifier game but we both agreed the lovely little prima donnas had to win ALL their remaining games to be sure of qualifying – this ridiculous “24 points from 30 should be enough” mentality is totally stupid, we want 30 points from 30 and then there is no doubt or waiting for other results to help you out! We shall see. Magnus could afford to be snug as Switzerland had already qualified through being joint host-nation with Austria. He very kindly did not rub it in though. As we were chatting our last roommate entered the dorm: JD (John by name) an American yoga instructor. He was en route to China to live where he will be teaching English (he speaks fluent Mandarin) and studying Chinese meditation techniques. I wished him the best of luck.
After chatting to these guys for a while I actually started my laundry off. I had a read whilst the wash cycle was going and then slung it all in the dryer. I had a small result with this as it already had credit on it and I didn’t need to feed it money – yippee!
After it was all done, folded up and put away (I was obviously feeling very domesticated at the time) I then had a sauna, shower and lay on my bed listening to some sounds. I did the usual wake up, get into bed and go back to sleep later – and dreamed of deserts.
Saturday, 16 February 2008
Death Valley - Day 4
Happy Birthday Christy.
I gazed out over the desert scene around us taking in as much of it as I could before we departed. I took some photographs knowing that they wouldn’t do the view full justice but might look impressive all the same.
After creating, devouring and clearing up breakfast we boarded the Green tortoise for our journey back to San Francisco. On the way we would have a couple of stops. The first of these was; Mosaic Canyon.
Mosaic Canyon is just outside Stovepipe Wells Village and one has a wonderful little “mini-hike” to get to the canyon proper. The whole place is made up of marble deposits in all hues and colours with some of the rock surfaces rough and others polished and very smooth. Imagine trying to climb up a marble table tipped on its side and you will get an idea of how slippery polished marble is.
Having got into the canyon there is another 2-3 Km hike through it before one can scale the sides. In order to do this one has to traverse a few very narrow ridges. This is where I discovered that I suffer from natural vertigo. I am fine on tall buildings especially ones which have been there for many years as I know they won’t fall down and they usually have hand and/or safety rails. Out here one has a sheer drop either side or if not a sheer drop then a drop down a shale slope which would remove copious amounts of flesh and/or break bones and then be bloody hard to bordering on the impossible to climb back up again! I made several attempts at crossing this particular ridge before giving in to the inevitable – I was not meant to cross it. No matter; having accepted this fact I could just sit down and take in the view which sadly the photographs do not do proper justice to.
As everyone else started coming back I retraced my steps out of the canyon and felt no shame at still being able to walk and having full control over all my limbs for the hike back. This was fun in itself as it required climbing up (or down) mini-chimneys, ducking or crawling under natural bridges or arches and generally completing an “It’s a Knockout” course without the crazy foam or having to burst balloons! (The natural equivalent of the “greasy pole” or “slippery slope” was provided by the polished marble.)
Having got back to the starting point I was once again grateful to my trusty hiking boots for their sterling performance.
Our last stop in Death Valley National Park was for a group photo and after this we were all exchanging email addresses as we trundled on to our last stop – a hot pool!
Having parked up at the end of a huge lot which catered for RVs we set about preparing our last supper. Once again the communal camp kitchen performed admirably and we all ate our fill. There was an added incentive to this as after clearing up we were at liberty to visit the hot pool. This is a large swimming pool geothermally heated from the nearby hot springs.
Before entering the pool visitors are requested to take a shower – a wonderful request for those of us who hadn’t seen one for three days! Having enjoyed a lovely hot shower, with soap, I felt clean enough to plunge into the small pool located next to the main large pool. This is the “hot pool” and being only a metre deep and 10x5 metres in area was like jumping into a hot bath – it was lovely!
Having played about in the pools for a while it was a treat to get dried and into some clean clothes, after which it was back on the bus – now in sleeper mode – for the final leg of the journey back to San Francisco.
I settled down on the padded area at the back of the bus wrapped in my sleeping bag and feeling warm and clean fell into a peaceful sleep.
I gazed out over the desert scene around us taking in as much of it as I could before we departed. I took some photographs knowing that they wouldn’t do the view full justice but might look impressive all the same.
After creating, devouring and clearing up breakfast we boarded the Green tortoise for our journey back to San Francisco. On the way we would have a couple of stops. The first of these was; Mosaic Canyon.
Mosaic Canyon is just outside Stovepipe Wells Village and one has a wonderful little “mini-hike” to get to the canyon proper. The whole place is made up of marble deposits in all hues and colours with some of the rock surfaces rough and others polished and very smooth. Imagine trying to climb up a marble table tipped on its side and you will get an idea of how slippery polished marble is.
Having got into the canyon there is another 2-3 Km hike through it before one can scale the sides. In order to do this one has to traverse a few very narrow ridges. This is where I discovered that I suffer from natural vertigo. I am fine on tall buildings especially ones which have been there for many years as I know they won’t fall down and they usually have hand and/or safety rails. Out here one has a sheer drop either side or if not a sheer drop then a drop down a shale slope which would remove copious amounts of flesh and/or break bones and then be bloody hard to bordering on the impossible to climb back up again! I made several attempts at crossing this particular ridge before giving in to the inevitable – I was not meant to cross it. No matter; having accepted this fact I could just sit down and take in the view which sadly the photographs do not do proper justice to.
As everyone else started coming back I retraced my steps out of the canyon and felt no shame at still being able to walk and having full control over all my limbs for the hike back. This was fun in itself as it required climbing up (or down) mini-chimneys, ducking or crawling under natural bridges or arches and generally completing an “It’s a Knockout” course without the crazy foam or having to burst balloons! (The natural equivalent of the “greasy pole” or “slippery slope” was provided by the polished marble.)
Having got back to the starting point I was once again grateful to my trusty hiking boots for their sterling performance.
Our last stop in Death Valley National Park was for a group photo and after this we were all exchanging email addresses as we trundled on to our last stop – a hot pool!
Having parked up at the end of a huge lot which catered for RVs we set about preparing our last supper. Once again the communal camp kitchen performed admirably and we all ate our fill. There was an added incentive to this as after clearing up we were at liberty to visit the hot pool. This is a large swimming pool geothermally heated from the nearby hot springs.
Before entering the pool visitors are requested to take a shower – a wonderful request for those of us who hadn’t seen one for three days! Having enjoyed a lovely hot shower, with soap, I felt clean enough to plunge into the small pool located next to the main large pool. This is the “hot pool” and being only a metre deep and 10x5 metres in area was like jumping into a hot bath – it was lovely!
Having played about in the pools for a while it was a treat to get dried and into some clean clothes, after which it was back on the bus – now in sleeper mode – for the final leg of the journey back to San Francisco.
I settled down on the padded area at the back of the bus wrapped in my sleeping bag and feeling warm and clean fell into a peaceful sleep.
Death Valley - Day 3
Today most people were reflecting on the depth of temperature the previous night. The general consensus was “bloody freezing”, especially from the people who were in tents.
After breakfast we all climbed aboard the “magic bus” and headed for Ubehebe Crater. In fact there are two craters – Greater and Lesser Ubehebe – no prizes for guessing that one is bigger than the other. From where the bus dropped us off there is a short hike up to the top of the rim of Greater Ubebhebe and when one gets there it is most impressive. These craters were actually caused by an eruption of rock, as opposed to impact from meteors, and when one looks down into the larger one it does induce a feeling of vertigo. If one desires it is possible to hike down to the bottom of the crater and back again but I rejected this as the surface is loose sand and scree and getting back out again is a rather demanding challenge so I settled for walking around the rim.
On my rim walk I had Marcos as a companion. This guy was the life and soul of the party on our trip. He is a Spaniard with a typical dark Mediterranean look and was a great hit with the ladies and was travelling with Rea – a young lady from Cornwall who was great fun – as far as San Francisco before she headed off to LA. We got chatting about all sorts of things and got deeply into things spiritual and natural – not that silly made up religious stuff but things in line with the true spiritual races like the Native American Indians and Australian Aborigines. Walking around this huge crater makes one realise the true insignificance of man when compared to nature especially when one is surrounded by it! The views all around were stunning and big, i.e. where the sky meets the land is a long way away and one can have an uninterrupted view to the horizon. If this doesn’t make sense; go there and see for yourself it will become much clearer then. As one walks around the crater one gets wonderful views of the Last Chance Range and the Grapevine Mountains and if these don’t make you feel humble then you are an arsehole earning too much money, driving a large 16 and in severe need of ego deflation therapy! (You also probably think designer rip-off articles are worth the money! Get help before it is too late!)
After completing our circuit we boarded the bus and headed for our next destination; the Stovepipe Wells Sand Dunes.
When we got to our stopping point the dunes were clearly visible about 2-3 kilometres away and looked like a sea modelled in sand. The dunes form the waves – and do constantly shift – and the troughs in between are deeper than they look. In fact the whole thing about Death Valley, and the desert in general, is that it throws up a whole host of illusions and distance is very hard to judge unless one is experienced in desert-craft.
After the initial trek over rough ground between scattered scrub bushes one gets to the sand proper. This is fine and densely packed where it lies on a level. When it rears up into a dune it becomes soft and yielding, hence small dunes are just as hard to climb as a large one. The large dunes are of course firm and hard at the bottom where the sand is compressed but as one gets to the top the sand is loose and prone to slide very easily so the trick is to get some momentum running up the lower slope and then keep it going to the top finishing up with big wading steps. Warning; if you stop near the top, dig in and, if necessary, throw yourself flat against the dune because if you start sliding you’ll end up very near the bottom again! This is not only rather annoying it is also very exhausting and will consume a lot of your water.
Having gained the top of a very large dune I was quite content to walk along its crest and just look out over the rest of the dunes rolling into the distance. Some of the “youngsters” were playing Frisbee in one of the troughs and hurling the thing huge distances to each other.
Most of us gathered on a couple of crests to watch the sunset which was quite spectacular and then we started heading back to the bus. Apart from our appointed time to return we were all aware of how quickly the light would fade and how quickly the temperature would drop once the sun had set.
Another wonderful experience I will remember for the rest of my life was “sand surfing or skiing”. It is possible to just throw yourself off the top of a sand dune and roll down it or body surf down it. I didn’t want to do this as I didn’t want to eat a kilo of sand so I opted for the skiing method. I had removed my footwear as soon as I had got onto the proper sand as one just has to be barefoot to appreciate the temperature difference in the sand itself. On top it is hot to bloody hot, depending on how exposed it is and how baked it has been. Beneath the surface it is cool and one can bury ones feet in it and they will be quite comfortable. Dune skiing, in my opinion, has to be done barefoot. It is really exhilarating to be able to “ski” in giant strides down the side of a sand dune and makes the effort of climbing one worthwhile.
Having “skied” down all the sand dunes on the way back I replaced my footwear for the last stretch back to the bus. By this time it was heavy dusk and I could easily appreciate how people could get lost very easily without a light as a point of reference as the dunes and scrub bushes just intensified the dusk with their shadows. No one got lost or injured and we all returned safely and eager for dinner.
Once back at the campsite we set about food preparation in earnest and soon had dinner prepared with the aid of some cleverly mounted lights on the bus as it was fully dark by now.
After dinner was cleared away some people, not many, were going to make the hike to a nearby hotel where they could shower and use the pool. Along with the majority – especially when we found out the pool was of the outdoor variety - I declined this offer as I didn’t want to get chilled or cold. I could still remember how bloody cold it was last night and I was comfortably encased in my hoodie and coat and quite warm enough thank you very much (still wished I’d brought my gloves though) and didn’t want to disturb this delicate equilibrium.
The people remaining all congregated around the fire, once we’d got it going, and the laugh of the night became Rea. She had wandered round the camp asking if anyone wanted anything from the local store – about a 20 minute walk away – as she was going to it. About two hours later she came and asked me again if I wanted anything from the store. I along with everyone else nearby all exclaimed that she asked us that two hours ago and questioned why she hadn’t gone yet! It was all done good naturedly as it was very easy to get chatting to various people as they moved about the campsite and to and from the fire. Eventually she went and when she returned we all asked her if she was going to the store and/or could she get... when she went to the store. It was one of those things where it was funnier to be there and Rea was a great laugh with a wicked sense of humour. The star of the show this night was John, an English guy who worked at the hostel. He was dispensing wonderful dry English humour which had me in stitches and passed over the heads of some of the more retarded Yanks. Paul, one of our drivers was pretty in tune with this and we had a great laugh whilst we sat about toasting marshmallows.
When the fire eventually died and we had nothing more to feed it with we all turned in for the night which was a damn sight less cold than last night. I could easily tell it wasn’t as cold because I didn’t need to put my coat hood up – in fact I actually took my coat off just before I slid into my sleeping bag. I slept soundly that night.
After breakfast we all climbed aboard the “magic bus” and headed for Ubehebe Crater. In fact there are two craters – Greater and Lesser Ubehebe – no prizes for guessing that one is bigger than the other. From where the bus dropped us off there is a short hike up to the top of the rim of Greater Ubebhebe and when one gets there it is most impressive. These craters were actually caused by an eruption of rock, as opposed to impact from meteors, and when one looks down into the larger one it does induce a feeling of vertigo. If one desires it is possible to hike down to the bottom of the crater and back again but I rejected this as the surface is loose sand and scree and getting back out again is a rather demanding challenge so I settled for walking around the rim.
On my rim walk I had Marcos as a companion. This guy was the life and soul of the party on our trip. He is a Spaniard with a typical dark Mediterranean look and was a great hit with the ladies and was travelling with Rea – a young lady from Cornwall who was great fun – as far as San Francisco before she headed off to LA. We got chatting about all sorts of things and got deeply into things spiritual and natural – not that silly made up religious stuff but things in line with the true spiritual races like the Native American Indians and Australian Aborigines. Walking around this huge crater makes one realise the true insignificance of man when compared to nature especially when one is surrounded by it! The views all around were stunning and big, i.e. where the sky meets the land is a long way away and one can have an uninterrupted view to the horizon. If this doesn’t make sense; go there and see for yourself it will become much clearer then. As one walks around the crater one gets wonderful views of the Last Chance Range and the Grapevine Mountains and if these don’t make you feel humble then you are an arsehole earning too much money, driving a large 16 and in severe need of ego deflation therapy! (You also probably think designer rip-off articles are worth the money! Get help before it is too late!)
After completing our circuit we boarded the bus and headed for our next destination; the Stovepipe Wells Sand Dunes.
When we got to our stopping point the dunes were clearly visible about 2-3 kilometres away and looked like a sea modelled in sand. The dunes form the waves – and do constantly shift – and the troughs in between are deeper than they look. In fact the whole thing about Death Valley, and the desert in general, is that it throws up a whole host of illusions and distance is very hard to judge unless one is experienced in desert-craft.
After the initial trek over rough ground between scattered scrub bushes one gets to the sand proper. This is fine and densely packed where it lies on a level. When it rears up into a dune it becomes soft and yielding, hence small dunes are just as hard to climb as a large one. The large dunes are of course firm and hard at the bottom where the sand is compressed but as one gets to the top the sand is loose and prone to slide very easily so the trick is to get some momentum running up the lower slope and then keep it going to the top finishing up with big wading steps. Warning; if you stop near the top, dig in and, if necessary, throw yourself flat against the dune because if you start sliding you’ll end up very near the bottom again! This is not only rather annoying it is also very exhausting and will consume a lot of your water.
Having gained the top of a very large dune I was quite content to walk along its crest and just look out over the rest of the dunes rolling into the distance. Some of the “youngsters” were playing Frisbee in one of the troughs and hurling the thing huge distances to each other.
Most of us gathered on a couple of crests to watch the sunset which was quite spectacular and then we started heading back to the bus. Apart from our appointed time to return we were all aware of how quickly the light would fade and how quickly the temperature would drop once the sun had set.
Another wonderful experience I will remember for the rest of my life was “sand surfing or skiing”. It is possible to just throw yourself off the top of a sand dune and roll down it or body surf down it. I didn’t want to do this as I didn’t want to eat a kilo of sand so I opted for the skiing method. I had removed my footwear as soon as I had got onto the proper sand as one just has to be barefoot to appreciate the temperature difference in the sand itself. On top it is hot to bloody hot, depending on how exposed it is and how baked it has been. Beneath the surface it is cool and one can bury ones feet in it and they will be quite comfortable. Dune skiing, in my opinion, has to be done barefoot. It is really exhilarating to be able to “ski” in giant strides down the side of a sand dune and makes the effort of climbing one worthwhile.
Having “skied” down all the sand dunes on the way back I replaced my footwear for the last stretch back to the bus. By this time it was heavy dusk and I could easily appreciate how people could get lost very easily without a light as a point of reference as the dunes and scrub bushes just intensified the dusk with their shadows. No one got lost or injured and we all returned safely and eager for dinner.
Once back at the campsite we set about food preparation in earnest and soon had dinner prepared with the aid of some cleverly mounted lights on the bus as it was fully dark by now.
After dinner was cleared away some people, not many, were going to make the hike to a nearby hotel where they could shower and use the pool. Along with the majority – especially when we found out the pool was of the outdoor variety - I declined this offer as I didn’t want to get chilled or cold. I could still remember how bloody cold it was last night and I was comfortably encased in my hoodie and coat and quite warm enough thank you very much (still wished I’d brought my gloves though) and didn’t want to disturb this delicate equilibrium.
The people remaining all congregated around the fire, once we’d got it going, and the laugh of the night became Rea. She had wandered round the camp asking if anyone wanted anything from the local store – about a 20 minute walk away – as she was going to it. About two hours later she came and asked me again if I wanted anything from the store. I along with everyone else nearby all exclaimed that she asked us that two hours ago and questioned why she hadn’t gone yet! It was all done good naturedly as it was very easy to get chatting to various people as they moved about the campsite and to and from the fire. Eventually she went and when she returned we all asked her if she was going to the store and/or could she get... when she went to the store. It was one of those things where it was funnier to be there and Rea was a great laugh with a wicked sense of humour. The star of the show this night was John, an English guy who worked at the hostel. He was dispensing wonderful dry English humour which had me in stitches and passed over the heads of some of the more retarded Yanks. Paul, one of our drivers was pretty in tune with this and we had a great laugh whilst we sat about toasting marshmallows.
When the fire eventually died and we had nothing more to feed it with we all turned in for the night which was a damn sight less cold than last night. I could easily tell it wasn’t as cold because I didn’t need to put my coat hood up – in fact I actually took my coat off just before I slid into my sleeping bag. I slept soundly that night.
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