Honey and
Ricotta
food, life, ramblings

Wednesday 30 January 2019

Death Valley: Sand, Salt, Sky


We left Joshua Tree and drove through dessert-y nothing-ness for 5 hours (with a stop of B's choosing at the Mad Greek for a fresh strawberry shake) and eventually arrived at huge, majestic nothing-ness, aka Death Valley. This National Park is truly otherworldly: huge mountains tower behind gigantic sand dunes, way-below-sea-level-salt flats and boulders, while deep gorges filter the sunlight and play with shadows, and pastel rocks dot the horizon.


Every day we drove for miles and hiked many miles too. If you just walk a few extra steps, you can escape the other people and coaches. And if you can cope with the bizarre hotel options (think of it as inspiration for your first novel), a trip to Death Valley will be mind-blowing, awe-inspiring, and overwhelming (in a good way). In three days we visited the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes, Zabriskie Point, Golden Canyon, Titus Canyon, Artists Palette, Badwater Basin, and Devil's Golf Course. So, with that said, here's a glimpse of all those spots (I'm not sorry for the somewhat excessive number of shots of sand and salt!).



















Saturday 26 January 2019

Joshua Tree: Sunrise, Sunshine, Sunset


Looking back through these photos of Joshua Tree in the cold depths of New York January is pretty painful. That light. That silence. Those multi-colored, ever-changing skies. Watching the sun rise and set every day. Disconnected from the rest of the world. Is this real life?


Reading about the vandalism happening in Joshua Tree National Park made me even angrier and upset with the governance of this country than I am on an everyday basis. It's such a magical, wondrous, spectacular place. All Los Angelenos seem to describe it as "spiritual". And while that often winds the cynical Brit/East Coaster in me up, they're kinda right.


It's hard to describe the park itself (and the surrounding space—we stayed nearer Pioneertown), but hopefully these pictures (narrowed down from the selection of 300+ I took over 4 days) share a little bit of the otherworldly beauty.





































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