Death Valley in springtime

We've been meaning to take another trip to Death Valley, to view the wildflowers before it gets too hot. The weather didn't look good this weekend, but next weekend is busy, and by the weekend after that the flowers might be gone, so we decided to go while we could.

The forecast Sunday was for high winds, but they weren't going to start until after 10 am, so we thought: we'll get an early start! And we did, for us -- we managed to leave by 9:15. Of course then we had to get gas. But we were on the road by 9:30. Of course it takes about an hour to get to the park, so by then the winds had started. Oh well.

And we forgot the camera, so no lovely photos this time. Sorry! Rocket Boy and I had a heated discussion in the car about whose fault that was (it was mostly mine). By then we had driven 13 miles, so if we'd gone back and fetched it, that would have added 26 miles to the trip. By the end of the day we'd driven 334 miles, so would an extra 26 miles really have mattered? Probably should have gone back.

To get to Death Valley, we drive from our own Indian Wells Valley to Searles Valley (where Trona is) and thence into Death Valley. At that point we have two choices of roads. This time we took the road through Wildrose Canyon, which is narrow and not in very good shape. It leads to the road up to the Charcoal Kilns, which RB suggested we visit. I had not seen them before. They're fascinating: ten beehive-shaped structures in a row, built in 1877, each 25 feet tall and 30 feet in diameter. They are so perfectly symmetrical, so perfectly aligned, and so large and so old, that they are actually a bit creepy. Baby A was afraid of them, as was I. Baby B thought we were being silly, as did RB. Baby B ran from one to the other, stomping his feet inside each one to create an interesting echo. Baby A cried and insisted I carry him. I carried him back to the car and we had a snack.

From there we went on to Stovepipe Wells, where we had lunch, and then past Furnace Creek all the way to Badwater (don't you just love the names?). It was in the 50's at the Charcoal Kilns, which are at 6800 feet elevation, but the 70s and 80s elsewhere. But the wind was blowing at roughly 500 miles per hour, so it didn't really matter what the temperature was.

At Badwater, which is 282 feet below sea level, the lowest point in North America, we got out of the car, planning to push the boys in their stroller down to the boardwalk and out to the salt flats. But the wind! The boys wanted to wear their hats, but we couldn't let them -- anything that wasn't tied down blew away instantly. After a few minutes we realized this was crazy and we all got back in the car.

Our last stop was the Visitor Center and museum at Furnace Creek. We spent quite a bit of time there because it was inside and thus out of the wind. I pushed the boys in their stroller around the museum. At the desert tortoise exhibit I said "Look! Desert tortoise!" and Baby B said "Rock!" "No," I said, "desert tortoise!" "Rock!" insisted Baby B.

The wildflowers were nice. It's not a great year, we're told, but it's OK. We saw mostly Desert Gold, a yellow flower, Gravel Ghost, a white flower, and Notch-Leaved Phacelia, which is purple. Near the Charcoal Kilns we saw Desert Paintbrush, which is red. We had a wildflower guide, a pamphlet with good photos, and from time to time I would pull over to the side of the road, RB would open his door, and we would compare the flowers growing there to the pictures in the pamphlet. By the time we left the Valley we had memorized half a dozen wildflowers, but it was the sort of memorization you know won't last. Six months from now I'm not going to remember "notch-leaved phacelia." That's OK, I can always learn it again.

For some reason, all through the trip I was thinking about marriage and the compromises it entails. When two people marry, or enter into a similarly entangled relationship, they each make concessions in order to arrive at a settlement, i.e., married life. Often the two parties do not make an equal number of concessions. Sometimes the concessions appear to be quite detrimental to the people involved.

Rocket Boy and I have been married for 7 years and 8 months; we have two children. During our marriage I have given up many things and gained many things. Since our move to Ridgecrest I have been more aware of what I have given up.

When we take a trip like this one to Death Valley I am more aware of what I have gained: not only a family, but a partner who loves to explore, to take off at a moment's notice and go anywhere and do anything. It drives me crazy, yes, and it also feeds my soul.