I woke up early and noticed my watch and my cell phone did not match times. I had forgotten about springing ahead. Lucky me, I got to sleep so early I didn’t notice losing the hour. I was on my way to Death Valley National Park at a reasonably early time. I would need it as that park is huge.

In total I hiked over 8 miles the entire day. I also drove over 140 miles from my camping spot to get to Badwater Basin, the lowest part of Death Valley. The first hike was a good 40 miles into the park. It was only about 3.5 miles total there and back, but there was some rock climbing required. Not so fun when you are carrying a very valuable camera, a 40 oz. water bottle, a borrowed hiking GPS, and have your cell phone in your pocket. I am not a rock climber, but I became one for the hike. The only casualty was my cell phone screen protector that cracked when I butt-slide through a tight spot. I thought I heard a crack. Glad it was that and not the borrowed GPS. The camera made it unscathed and the water bottle seems good too.

I had to forego quite a few hikes in order to get through the park before dark. I hit one I thought I tried the previous summer but couldn’t get far due to the 120 degree heat. This time I made it the mile in and got some really nice shots. Camera battery almost dead, I still managed to get a number of great shots. I decided I would like to see the close to full moon that night, so I made my way up to Dante’s View just as civil twilight was turning into night. I got to the top and attempted to take photos of the moon, but they really seem to be coming out all wrong. I think I may need lessons on night photography. The moon was so bright, clouds were strewn about the sky, and everything else was pure black. I do know a little about imaging, so this does prove that it does take practice to be good/specialize in something.

I took it slow down Dantes View Road as the grades and curves mandated this. Also, I didn’t know what types of critters might jump out in front of me, so I erred on the side of caution. It was a wonderful day, but I was ready for sleep and couldn’t wait to get to my sleeping spot. A little blessing that I didn’t have signal and the battery was only half full on the laptop from other photo updates over the past couple days. Tomorrow is another day.