Mud and Snow

Who would have thought mud would be the treacherous part about Death Valley?  After a long drive through scenic rock formations and palm-like desert plants, we reached the interior of Death Valley.  We didn't go to the LOWEST place on earth, but did get 100 feet below sea level.  I was proud of myself for being able to set up a useful fire, which we used to roast sausages, smores and some canned food.  The stars were beautiful.  I was able to point out several satellites to Jenny.  Neither of us got much sleep though, thanks to the rocky ground and my inadvertantly hogging the sleeping bag.  But that let us start hiking at sunrise, before Death Valley's famous heat could doom us.  Instead, we were doomed by the mud on the edge of the stream we followed.  Jenny slipped and her leg ended up thigh deep in thick, clay-like mud.  Then her other leg sank in, and she looked so sad.  It was actually pretty hilarious, but marred by the fact one of her $100 sandals broke in the mud.  My feet sank a bit too, but not over my hiking boots.  We managed to extract ourselves, wash up a bit in a more secure portion of stream, and headed out nice and early.  Jenny's had her fill of deserts.

Jenny suggested an impromptu stop at Hoover Dam, so we decided to go through Vegas.  Jenny was very excited by The Strip, but it was just a collection of extravagant crap to me (though the big black pyramid of the Luxor was pretty cool).  Hoover Dam itself was impressively large, and I was surprised to learn ninety-five people died in its construction.  Unfortunately the lake it created was too cold to swim in, in part due to the high winds.  We stayed at a casino/hotel/restaurant near the dam, which was my first time in a casino.  Jenny enjoyed the gambling and left with only a one dollar net loss.  As for me, I think it'd be more useful to light the money on fire, because at least flames would look cool.  The hotel did have a nice hot tub and pool though.  Sitting in the bubbling hot tub was extremely relaxing, and the ludicrously high winds blowing the palm trees gave it an entertaining hurricane-esque atmosphere.  Jenny collapsed almost immediately in bed, and I joined her not long after.

Today's objective was the Grand Canyon.  It was still sunny and 70ish on our way there, but got progressively colder as we approached the National Park itself.  We were quite disappointed to find the weather freezing and still terribly windy, but were still up for a short walk along the rim of the canyon.  Then it started to snow as well.  The view was very impressive, immensely detailed in its vastness.  On the way back to the main highway traffic slowed to a standstill for a half hour or more.  My exploration determined that some collision had occurred far down the road, and while the wait was tedious, the sound of the power lines crackling as I walked under them was neat.  The snow only got worse from that point on, climaxing in a storm with snow blowing horizontally and in mini-tornados.  We fishtailed and slipped a bit, but Jenny's skillful driving pulled us through.  Turns out the entire portion of Flagstaff we drove into was out of power.  Luckily, a tasty restaurant was nearby, and several hotels.  So that's where we're staying tonight.

Tomorrow it's off to the Painted Desert (Petrified Forest National Park), then to Rutger's in New Mexico.