The Purple Penguin

And last update from Death Valley – our internet connection runs out this evening and we’ll be out trying to get photos of the full moon. So next update will probably be 2 January.

Definitely a rest day. Woke up around 5.30 but decided I didn’t want to be awake so went back to sleep until about 8. Then slowly up, had coffee in bed and discussed the day. Went out to get breakfast and do our souvenir shopping, then back to the room to get ready for the day. Well, Joe wanted to do his photos and do some uploading and I wanted to check on some stuff for our next leg, and bits and pieces and the blog!

We’ll get out in a bit and walk around the Furnace Creek area. We’ve been staying here but have only really seen it in the dark! So today is hunt the roadrunner day (without the aide of an Acme catalogue though) and look for other wildlife. As we haven’t seen loads because we really haven’t been stopping for it.

So far we’ve seen: a small rodent run across the front of the car in the pre-dawn (possibly a kangaroo rat?), ravens, say phoebes, mountain bluebirds (stunning shade of blue), salt creek pupfish, loggerhead shrike, brewer’s blackbirds, rock wren, possibly a mountain chickadee, and house sparrows. But we’ve mainly been admiring scenery.

Tonight we’ll try to get out to get photos of the full moon rising and possibly moon photos of the dunes, badlands, and salt flats. We have another full day tomorrow looking at what we’ve missed so far, but only those bits we can get to in a VW Beetle. Then on the 2nd we’re off to San Diego where we’ll go on a whale watching trip and then spend the rest of the day looking at the city.

Tips for Death Valley – pay attention to the information given. Don’t walk off provided paths – there are actually very very very few marked paths so the ones that are marked are marked for a reason. Stay on them. You have the rest of the park to explore off path. Take water and all that other stuff they recommend. Stuff they don’t say – there are toilets at all the main stops off the paved roads. They are dry drop toilets with no water – of course – so take hand sanitiser. There is none provided. Take loo roll, we’ve only seen one toilet without but it does happen. If you go on the back roads there are no toilets, and not much to hide behind. Be prepared for the temperature differences between areas. Distances are further than they look and climbs may be higher than they first appear.

Have a wonderful new year’s eve (except those who celebrated at UK time in which case Happy New Year!)