Death Valley Is Love
After Monument Valley, we wanted to go West, back to Nevada, so as we drove we stopped a few times and we didn't really know where we were going to sleep. Our usual method was to go to a McDonald's to connect our wifi and find a place to spend the night. Because we always use offline Google Maps, I was able to spot a McDonald's in a place that looked like a little village in the middle of a desert. As we drove on the road that led there, we started seeing signs that read "if you're transporting nuclear or toxic waste, please go to the right" and all sorts of other weird warnings. We drove forward until we saw a toll and we decided to turn back.
After a few minutes driving we realised, after spotting some gas stations with alien drawings, that we were on the whereabouts of Area 51! Looking for it on google maps, instead of that yellow little person that you place on the street for street view, it actually appears a spaceship instead! We ended up staying in a town called Beatty, a place near Death Valley.
The next day was one of the most amazing days. We started it by visiting a ghost town named Rhyolite. It was created back in 1905 after some successful prospecting in the area, but short after as the main mining exploration declined so did all that was created to support that industry. Next to it, there's Goldwell Open Air Museum, where the last supper is represented by some ghostlike human size figures, among other art installations. I was so impressed by how easy the land in these deserts is used for artistic purposes. I wish there were more places like this in the world. There's also the mysterious grave of Mona Belle and all the land is dotted with warnings about the presence of rattlesnakes.
After Rhyolite we drove to Death Valley, California, and I guess that it was when my love for deserts had its apotheosis. Our lovely Nissan QASHQAI's thermometer hit 50º Celsius (122º F), but what I felt, stepping out of the vehicle was perfect bliss!
It's hard to describe how the hot air embraced me and how amazing I felt when it did. How the arid vastness filled my eyes and my heart with awe. That was also the second time I saw a coyote and the first time I saw a danger sign warning people about bees!
I couldn't get enough of the beauty of the landscape and had an urge to dance inside its greatness.
I was also fascinated by the different parts of the valley. The land was always changing, from totally dry to rocky, until we found Owen's lake, which is a huge salt flat with the most wonderful colours (due to the diversity of minerals found there), near Lone Pine. In some parts the water and salt had different shades of orange: from tangerine to coral, there were also pink, bright green and turquoise. In Lone Pine we were able to stare at the dramatic mountains, including the famous Alabama Hills, that served as set for hundreds of movies since the silent movies era.
It's wonderful how in the same day we experienced extremely different landscapes, on our way to Yosemite National Park we were able to see mountains with snow and waterfalls.
<3
California Deserts
As we arrived in Palm Springs at night, it wasn't possible to understand how it is organised as a city, so the next morning we were absolutely overwhelmed. As I believe I said before, I love the desert and arid places with hot weather. Coachella Valley is as dry as it comes and is embraced by beautiful and dramatic mountains.
Half of Palm Springs is made out of country clubs, as I expected. Whenever I thought of it before coming there I always imagined retired rich people with a dark tan and pastel coloured golf apparel either hanging out next to a swimming pool or driving golf carts around. Sorry if this sounds prejudiced, but I find it kind of funny, though.
One thing I loved was the Spanish architecture heritage and the super organised and lovely neighbourhoods. As we walked and drove around soaking in the vibe, we decided to go north, towards Joshua Tree National Park.
I have never seen Joshua Trees and now I want to have one but can't find it anywhere in Portugal! They're really cool and funky looking and there are thousands of them. On our way to Yucca Valley we had to stop a few times as the surrounding nature was taking our breath away. Yucca Valley is a little city with loads of hipster/alternative shops and coffee shops. We had lunch there and visited some vintage shops.
We heard somewhere that there was this place called Pioneertown, only a few minutes away from Yucca Valley, which was created in 1940's as a set for western movies. So, not as old as it seems, it's old and interesting enough to take a detour. Some of the buildings have real businesses inside.
This day we had to drive to Las Vegas but we had time. The drive is 3 hours and a half , so we had time to stop whenever we wanted.
One thing about driving from point A to point B that I've learned is to enjoy the ride. Because in between are all the things you didn't predict and you can be surprised if you take a minute to look around. You may find amazing things if you do decide to go check what's around you. This is how we found The Amboy Salt Flats and the Amboy Volcano Crater, this black beauty in the middle of the sandy Mojave Desert. I have to say that I've never seen a volcano before, and Luis was laughing at me because apparently this is a really small one. Nonetheless I was psyched to be there and to think how those black rocks laying still on the ground were once vivid lava (don't mind me, I have become an enthusiast of geology and mineralogy throughout the years but I'm still very naïve in the field).
Ok, so, after all, we were driving for a bit on Route 66 without knowing, I guess it could have happened before but we were too absorbed with everything to notice it! 😅
One thing I knew I wanted to see near Las Vegas was Ugo Rondinone's Seven Magic Mountains. They're beautiful and we got lucky to see them as this public art exhibition ended at the end of 2018!
All over the roads we drive by, there are peculiar things, some made by nature and some by men. I'm not sure if I felt this way because of the harsh contrast between it and the calmness of the deserts we were coming from, but Las Vegas did not win my heart. We were even thinking of getting married there before we arrived, but Vegas is not worthy of the celebration of such a pure thing as the love me and Luis have for each other. I guess it's just not for us, as I couldn't feel anything but the cheesiness and fakeness of everything around me. Therefore I will skip my Vegas experience and my next post will be about Grand Canyon!! <3
From White Sands to Saguaro
I'll be honest, whenever the word Roswell comes to my mind, I directly connect it to aliens and UFOs, so I was expecting a whole lot more alien related places and decor all around. The street lights are adorned with cute alien eyes and McDonald's went all the way architecture wise with its spaceship structure. But I guess that I was hopeful that the whole place lived up to perpetuate the buzz around the 1947 'incident'.
Sometimes things don't live up to your expectations, and I generally tend to underestimate them so I don't get disappointed. And after my disenchantment with Roswell, White Sands National Monument was wonderful and so much more than I could have ever imagined!
Surrounded by mountains that peek from afar rise the fairest dunes. And where the soil is plane, the minerals of which it is composed of, with the casual help of some water pools, reflect all that is possible to see like if it was a flawless mirror.
After some hanging around the desert, we went towards Tucson, Arizona. We arrived at sunset and we couldn't have chosen any better time. No wonder most of the car plates have purple mountains and cactuses with a sunset behind them. That purple is really there. We went to Saguaro National Park to watch the sun slowly hide behind those mountains and though there were some clouds in the sky, I can tell you that it was one of the most amazing things I've seen in my life. I was so sad that our photos taken with a phone could't even capture half of the mystic and all the vibrant colours graciously moving towards dusk.
The day after we explored Saguaro National Park further more. All those huge cactuses that already made part of my imaginary turned real and there are thousands of them, everywhere, with their arms twirling around their bodies and rising up to the sky.
We wanted to end our day in Salvation Mountain, in Southern California, so we decided to cross the border to Mexico. To do that we passed by the Sonoran Desert National Monument and through Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, which are really worth exploring.
