Role Reversals and Reflection on the Road

We headed back out on the road last week after a wonderful time at home with family.  Our oldest daughter Hayley married Chris Kirk, and we gained an amazing son in law and an extended family in the process.  Small event, just parents and siblings.  Intimate, joyful, and special, love was felt by all.  

Our trip this month will be focused on California, with a brief drive to the southwestern tip of Nevada to get to Death Valley California.  By the time we complete this journey, we will have seen all the California National Parks (weather permitting).  Time will tell.

This was the final leg of the journey experiencing desert flora and fauna.  We expect California to have more mountains, evergreens, and water.  Should be an interesting adjustment of scenery.

Also, during this trip, John has been under the weather for the last several days.  Too sick to go into much of the parks we have visited, and too sick to drive…sleeping a ton.  Based on this, I have done several solo hikes to see some amazing views.  I have also had some role reversal where I am doing all the driving and navigating.  These experiences have taught me a couple things.

First, I am not a great solo traveler.  I don’t mind doing hikes by myself, but I am a little lonely when it comes to someone to talk to.  The biggest sadness for me is I see these beautiful scenes, and I don’t have anyone to share it with.  Sure, I can share it in pictures, or written word.  But when someone is there with you, seeing it with the naked eye like you are, it is different.  That shared experience is something only the two of you have had and you can always talk about it and be taken back to that very place.

Second, I have an incredible level of appreciation for solo travelers.  Especially females.  It is a lot of work to pick where you want to go, drive, navigate the route, find diesel stations along the way so you don’t get too low on gas, cook, clean, etc.  John and I make a great team around segregation of duties, so when one must take it all on, it can be overwhelming.  For those that choose to do it all on their own, I have the upmost respect.

An Architectural Wonder

On the way to the Las Vegas area, we decided to make a stop at Hoover Dam.  I know, not a natural wonder.  But it seemed like a stop worth making given the magnitude of the engineering marvel.  We were unable to take a tour due to COVID but did have a view of it from the Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman bridge (also quite an engineering marvel).  The anti-gravity dam took 5 years to build, involved thousands of workers, and over 100 people lost their lives.  Hoover Dam impounds Lake Mead, and provides power to Nevada, Arizona, and California.

The lake is beautiful, with beautiful blue waters, and a dramatic contrast against the canyon peaks.  We were surprised to find the recreation around the lake nonexistent because of the lower water levels.

I never really thought about it the massive reliance the southwest has on this dam.   The amount of electricity generated by the dam has been decreasing with the falling water level in Lake Mead.  This is due to drought along with a higher population demand on this water source.  New turbines have been added to allow the dam to work with lower water levels.  Wind and solar is being considered to compliment this water source.  It puts new meaning to Water is Life.  

Fire on the Mountain

From here we made a stop to Valley of Fire, Nevada’s oldest and largest state park located about 1 hour outside Las Vegas.  It gets its name from the red sandstone formations formed 150 million years ago.  This was an off the beaten path jaunt to something I read about from some of research as a must do.  And I would echo, a must due.  Spectacular shades of red, orange, yellows, tans…. incredibly vibrant from the sunshine that beats down on the rock formations. 

We were lucky enough to hike the Rainbow Vista, Fire Wave, Seven Wonders and White Domes Trails   Words don’t do it justice.  Layer after layer of ever-changing color along the hike.  Waves of color like an ocean.   Narrow slot canyons like Antelope Canyon but with complete privacy and at your own pace.  We just took video after video, and picture after picture.  If you get to Las Vegas, you must make this a stop!

We were also able to enjoy some free BLM beauty on this trip by sleeping overnight on the edge of a canyon.    

Red Rock Majesty

Another go to outside of Las Vegas is Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, managed by the BLM. The extreme color differences between the bright red and tan sandstone are amplified here.  Not to mention the size of the park gives it so much majesty and grandeur.  John and I took our ebikes along the 13-mile scenic loop, and it was a complete blast.  This gave us the opportunity to stop along the way and take as much time as we needed (versus the driving route).  Super easy short jaunt outside Las Vegas.

Where am I…Another Planet?

We drove late into the night to get to Death Valley.  I found some BLM land completely off the beaten path, with 4×4 high clearance vehicles required to enter.  After we parked, we looked up into the night sky to see stars from end to end across the horizon.  And intermingled within these starts were the small white what looked like sand particles.  Everything in the sky was visible to the naked eye.   Death Valley is so dark it is classified at the highest level by the International Dark Sky association…many objects viewed here cannot be seen anywhere else in the world.  We also had the benefit when the sun rose to see just what we drove into the night before.  What an incredible surprise view to wake up to!

We spend the day checking out some of the sights in the massive park – 3.5 million acres – the largest park outside of Alaska in the US.  93% of the park is protected and officially designated as wilderness.  And wilderness it was.  It is the hottest, driest, and lowest national park in the US.  In its history, it has gone years without rainfall.  Don’t visit in the summer….a scorching 120F is standard.

We started in Badwater Basin, the lowest point in NA at 282ft below sea level.  Salt flats exist along the floor, and the name of the basin derived from the fact mules refused to drink this “bad” salty water.  Many years ago, the lake existing there evaporated, leaving the concentrated salt deposits behind, forming geometric salt polygons as groundwater rises up through the deposits and evaporates.  From this vantage point, you can also see Telescope Peak at 11,000 feet above sea level, over two miles above the basin.  Such a dramatic difference in height.

We then moved on to drive the Artist Palette, rock formations with muted shades of red, orange, yellow, blue, pink and green; formed from volcanic deposits.

We finished our trip with a few scenic vista points at Zabriskie Point and Dante’s View…. revealing some of the most photographed views of this other worldly opulence.  The panoramic view of the salt flats the whole way up to the mountain peaks is overwhelming.  The colorful badlands are unreal.  Almost like we don’t belong here seeing these things.  I hiked along the ridge for better and better views, as the cold wind whipped along the edge.

The Desert has an Oasis Surprise

We made our first trip to Joshua 31 years ago, on our first anniversary when we were visiting John’s sister Angela.  As newlyweds, we headed out into the desert, borrowing Angela’s car.  Before we even got out of the parking lot, I hit the front edge of her car on a parking garage pilon.  John, being the gentleman he is, told his sister “WE” caused damage to the car (not willing to throw me under the bus).  For the record, I came clean years later and told her it was me.  As youngsters, we were less experienced about where to go inside the park, and at that time, it wasn’t a National Park, but a National Monument.

Today, we did our research.  Joshua is a great park for a scenic drive.  The park is split into the high and low desert.  The Colorado desert on the East is home to creosote bushes and cholla cactus.  Super cute, known as teddy bear cactus, but don’t get one stuck on you because they can hurt (personal experience).  The Mojave Desert in the West is home to the Joshua Tree, given this name by Mormon pioneers seeing the limbs of the trees as upstretched arms of Joshua leading them to the promise land.  And the town surrounding the park has a great hippe vibe which is fun to check out.

I took a solo hike to Fortynine Palms Oasis.  I had no idea what to expect from a desert oasis. You hike 1.5 miles in to find water and thriving palm trees.  It seems so bizarrely out of place when you consider the surrounding landscape.  The trees were planted by miners to mark the spring many years ago that now irrigates the trees.  It was surreal and beautiful.  

The Best Oasis

And this oasis find led to the best one.  Despite John’s illness, his sister Angela and her husband Jake invited us with open arms to their home yesterday.  A refuge for John to rest and recharge.  A refuge for me to have a break from the role reversal, and a wonderful ability to spend time with my loving family.  Talking, laughing, sharing, eating.  I appreciate their hospitality and generosity so much.

We will take a few days off the road.  John will fill up on sleep.  I will fill up on SoCal air and beach.  We then start navigating our way up the state, stopping at the parks along the way.  Next up, Channel Islands, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon.  

Send John positive healing vibes!