Death Valley Day: The road to Badwater...and pupfish!

I woke up this morning to the beautiful sight of Mt. Whitney in the sunshine.  That's an everyday thing when you're in the town of Lone Pine, CA.

After filling up the tank, I headed east for my very first visit to Death Valley National Park.  I really, REALLY hate hot weather, but I decided to brave the milder spring temps and give it a shot.  Once there, I first stopped briefly to take a few photos of Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes.  I saw people walking on the dunes, but I didn't have the time to do that.  The photos would have to suffice. 

The clouds hid the sun for most of the day, which helped to keep the temperatures bearable, in the mid-80s.  This helped a lot when I took a few short walks.  I checked out the remnants of the Harmony Borax Works, including the wagon that was once pulled by a 20-mule team.  Well, mostly mules anyway.  Sometimes there was a horse or two in the team.

But, what I really came to Death Valley to see was the desert pupfish.  Yes, fish in the desert! The easiest place to view pupfish is Salt Creek.  I took the gravel road about one mile in from the main highway, then walked along the 1/2 mile boardwalk trail.

As soon as I glanced in the creek, I saw them!  There were hundreds, no, more like thousands of the Salt Creek variety of pupfish.  The females were rather drab, but the males were much more colorful.  I saw many of the males chasing other fish away as they tried to defend their little pieces of creek territory.

Most of the people walking the trail only went halfway, but I decided to do the entire loop on the off chance I might see something interesting.  And, I did!  Yes, a lizard again.  I think this is a type of sagebrush lizard.

By the time I finished lunch, the sun was trying to break through the cloud layer and the temperature was creeping up into the high 80s.  I can only imagine what it's like in the summertime.  The other must see attraction of the park was located at Badwater...namely Badwater Basin.  The salt flats here is the lowest point in North America...282 feet below sea level!

As I walked out to the edge of the salt flats, the sun was beating off the surface of the ground.  But, it only took me about a half hour to walk out and back.  As I approached the parking lot, I saw the sign up on the cliff designating sea level.  Hey, I'm underwater...well, hypothetically.  You can see the sign a little above the middle of the cliff. 

I need to revisit Death Valley again in the future because there are other things I need to see and do.  As for tomorrow, I finally arrive in Los Angeles!  I'll be attending the Conan Show at Warner Brothers Studios in the afternoon.  It will be the first of several live show tapings I'll be doing during my one week stay in the big city.  I'm just glad I won't have to drive so much or so far.  Anyway, if you happen to watch Conan tomorrow, keep your eyes peeled on the audience.  You might just see me!