Washington D.C.: Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality NM

Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument
Saturday, August 10, 2019, Washington, D.C.

On my last trip to Washington D.C. in 2019, I visited the Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument.  This National Monument is interesting for two reasons, obviously one is its connection to the National Women’s Party, a group in the United States that fought for women’s suffrage and other issues of women’s equality.  Second, the history and architecture of this building is so interesting!

The home was built between 1799 and 1800, and it was probably designed by Leonard Harbaugh at the beginning of his career.  He also designed many notable buildings in the early days of Washington D.C.  In 1814, the British partially burned the home during the War of 1812; the stories go that there was gunfire at the home directed at British soldiers.  The home was owned and occupied by the Sewall family until 1912.

Vermont Senator Porter Dale purchased the home in 1922, and renovated it.  Meanwhile, the National Women’s Party had purchased a different property nearby, which was seized by eminent domain to build the Federal Triangle complex.  On the hunt for a new headquarters property, organization co-founder Alva Vanderbilt Belmont purchased an option for the Sewall House.  They purchased the property in 1929.  In the 1950s there was a proposal to condemn the building and demolish it to build underground security vaults for the Senate building.  Thankfully, citizen opposition saved the building.

What was going on inside the walls was equally fascinating!

The fight for women’s suffrage in the United States is largely considered to have begun at the first Women’s Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, New York, in 1840.  I have visited that site as well, if you want to read more about it!  It took 80 more years of lobbying and protesting before white women finally universally gained the right to vote in the United States.  Of course, this all happened before the National Women’s Party owned the Belmont-Paul House, but since that time, the party has lobbied for other issues of women’s rights and eliminating sex discrimination, notably, the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA).

The ERA was passed by Congress in 1972, and was ratified by some of the states, but it was not passed by enough states to become an amendment to the Constitution.  Since the deadline passed, a few more states have ratified the amendment, but of course, those are not legally binding.  Some detractors argue that after so many other laws have passed, notably the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Pay Act of 1963, that the amendment is no longer needed.

The tour of the house included some of the artifacts of the party, like writing desks and clothing, as well as exhibits on the attempt to pass the suffrage legislation.  There were also banners that the women carried during their two and a half year picket of the White House.  You read that correctly!  Women involved in the National Women’s Party stood outside the White House from January 10, 1917, to June 1919.  They were there in all sorts of weather, and were arrested, beaten, and went on hunger strikes to protest their treatment in jail.  In response, prison guards forced feeding tubes down their throats, causing injuries that never healed.  The attempt to gain women’s suffrage was not always a peaceful undertaking.   

In 2021, the National Women’s Party ceased operations, and donated its papers and artifacts to the Library of Congress.  The legacy of this movement lives on in the education provided by the National Monument at the Belmont-Paul House.  It was an interesting place to visit! 

 

 

 

A Quick Visit to Washington, D.C.

Tuesday, August 6, 2019 to Sunday, August 11, 2019
Washington, D.C.

Back in 2019, when I was working for the water and sewer district, I had a chance to go to Washington, D.C. for a conference.  The conference was scheduled for Wednesday through Friday, but I was able to  pay for a couple of days on my own and fly home Sunday instead.  I always love when that is an option!

I was in conference sessions for full days when I was there, so I really only had the evening hours to explore during the week.  But I made the most of my time! The conference hotel (the Hyatt Regency Capitol) was right downtown near the Capitol, so I was able to get to several nearby places by walking!  When my flight arrived, I took the subway to Union Station, which was about a half mile from the hotel, and then I walked from there.  The first evening that I was there, I had dinner at the hotel, and enjoyed a glass of wine.

Union Station

 

Me

Wednesday at the conference I met a friend, a lady who was there from Kansas City.  We decided to get dinner afterwards and do a little wandering.  We found The Ministry Wine Bar down the street and had a delicious tasting of sparkling wines, along with my wonderful beet salad.  It was so good!  After dinner we walked over to the Capitol building and checked out the outside of the building, as well as the Supreme Court Building.  No matter how you feel about politics in our country, it is humbling to see where the work of our government occurs, and the site where men and women come together to interpret our laws and our Constitution.

Rose flight at the Ministry Wine Bar

Beet Salad at Ministry Wine Bar

A fire station near the Capitol

The Capitol in the evening

Fountain at the Capitol

The Supreme Court Building

Thursday after my conference, I walked over to the National Portrait Gallery to see some of the artwork.  It is open until 7 pm, so I had some time.  They have many portraits of former Presidents, including my man Abraham Lincoln!  They also have portraits of fictional characters, like Barbie!  It was a fun way to spend a couple of hours that evening, and it was less than a mile walk from my hotel.

Abraham Lincoln at the National Portrait Gallery

Barbie at the National Portrait Gallery

A diorama at the National Portrait Gallery

I have no idea what this tin foil creation is!

Friday was the last day of my conference, and that evening, I met up with Alexis, a girlfriend that I went to high school and did 4-H with.  She had another friend visiting too, so it was a party!  We met at the Hill Country BBQ market, a delicious BBQ restaurant about 3/4s of a mile from my hotel.  It was a fun evening and a nice walk to and from the restaurant.

Sliders at Hill Country BBQ

Saturday I went to the Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument.  This home has an incredible history, but notably, was owned by the National Women’s Party beginning in 1929.  The Party was integral in the fight for women’s suffrage, and the Equal Rights Amendment.  I toured the home; so I will share more about it in a separate post.

The Capitol during the day

That afternoon, I met up again with Alexis and her friend for lunch at the Old Ebbitt Grill.  Old Ebbitt began in 1856 as a saloon and boarding house, and become one of the iconic political hotspots in Washington, D.C.  It has moved several times, but has been at its current location since the 1920s.  If you hang out there, you are likely to see some politicians!  Of course, we were there on a Saturday, and there were no politicians to be found, as far as I knew.  We did have a fabulous lunch, and I had the shrimp and grits off their brunch menu with a glass of white wine.  So delicious!

Old Ebbitt Grill

 

Shrimp and Grits – Old Ebbitt Grill

After lunch, we walked over the W Hotel and went up to their rooftop bar.  It is nice to have a local friend to show you around!  The hotel is kitty corner from the White House and has incredible views!  The cocktails there are quite spendy, so it isn’t something I could afford to do all the time, but it was fun to check out how the other half lives, and look out over the White House!

The White House from the W Hotel

 

Me at the White House

From there Alexis, her friend and I parted ways, and I went to go check out the Smithsonian’s National Gallery of Art.  It was fun to spend a few hours checking out the exhibits.  Of course, there is so much to see there that a repeat visit will definitely be in order!  That evening I had dinner at the hotel bar, and had a delicious chicken Chop salad, and spent the evening relaxing before my flight the next morning.

National Gallery of Art

National Gallery of Art

My Chop salad at the Hyatt Regency

Sunday I flew home and it was once again back to the daily grind of work.  I had such a fun trip to Washington, D.C.  The conference was interesting, and I learned a lot, and I was able to fit in a lot of sightseeing into my free time!  I hope I’ll be able to get back there again soon.

 

 

Lassen Volcanic National Park Getaway

Sunday, July 14, 2019 to Tuesday, July 16, 2019
Lassen Volcanic National Park, Shingletown, California

During the summer of 2019 I headed back down to California to go to Lassen Volcanic National Park.  It had been on my bucket list for a while, but I was able to score a reservation at one of the cabins in the Manzanita Campground in the park.  A trip was born!

We headed to Lassen on Sunday morning, from Weed, California; the drive was a little less than 2 hours and the weather was beautiful!  Once we were in the park, we checked out the Loomis Museum at the north end of the park.  The museum has exhibits on the types of volcanoes in the park, the eruption in 1915, and the animals in the park.  It was a relaxed afternoon, just checking things out.  The kids got Junior Ranger booklets to fill out to get their Junior Ranger badges.

Lassen Peak

We checked in to the Manzanita Campground, the park’s largest campground.  The first night, we had a tent site.  The sites are large and open, you can see all your neighbors, and tents and RVs are largely mixed together.  It is a great campground; it was warm during the day, but it did get cold at night.  Maybe best of all, the bugs weren’t bothersome!  We checked out Manzanita Lake; one day it would be fun to canoe or stand-up-paddleboard on the lake.  The lake is right on the edge of the campground.

The campground also has a general store, with souvenirs, grocery items, ice cream and even beer and wine.  I got a t-shirt, an enamel mug and a bottle of wine to share.  The wine is long gone, but I still have the shirt and the mug!  That evening we made steak and corn on the cob over the fire, and had smores too!  It was a wonderful, peaceful evening around the fire, chatting and watching the crackling fire.

Saturday morning dawned sunny and bright, and we made breakfast on the camp stove.  We didn’t want to dawdle, so there would be plenty of time for exploring!

We decided to start at the south end of the park and work our way back up to the north end, where the campground is located.  We started at the Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center and checked out the exhibits, and of course I got my Passport stamp!

We checked out the thermal features and walked part of the boardwalk.  Unfortunately, the boardwalk that goes to Bumpass Hell (yes, that is actually the name) was closed for trail rehabilitation when we were there.  I will have to go back to see it!  There are mudpots, where boiling mud bubbles and lets off steam.  It isn’t as spectacular as the geysers of Yellowstone National Park, but it is still a cool natural feature to check out!

Lassen Boardwalk

Lassen Mudpots

Me Lassen National Park

I loved all the Bristlecone pine trees that were growing in the area, and we stopped at a couple of overlooks and trailheads to check out the views and the landscape.

Lassen Volcanic National Park

We wanted to do a hike, but not one that was too difficult, so we hiked the King’s Creek Trail.  This trail is 2.3 miles round trip, although you can connect with other trails for a much longer hike.  Although the hike starts at approximately 7,300 feet in elevation, the trail itself has about 700 feet of elevation change over the course of the trail.  This is one that starts by going down, so you have to go back up a little at the end!  All that said, it is a beautiful hike, through grassy meadows with a creek crossing over a log bridge.

King’s Creek

King’s Creek Meadow

Lassen NP

The trail takes you down a hill, and the waterfall is right next to the trail, giving you nice views of the cascade.  It’s beautiful!

King’s Creek Falls

That evening, we had a reservation for a one bedroom camping cabin.  The bedroom had two twin bunk beds, and the outer room had a queen futon.  So the cabin could sleep six!  There was also a table and two chairs, a heater/AC unit and a lantern.  It was a nice setup! 

That evening we had another nice meal over the campfire, and enjoyed sitting around the fire talking and drinking wine.  It was peaceful, and quieter in the cabin section of the campground.

Lassen Cabin

 

Lassen Chipmunk

The last morning that we were there we went to an interpretive talk about the pioneers who traveled through what is now the park to reach the lush farmland in Western California.  The rangers spoke about the pioneers methods of transportation, how to cook over a fire, and what it was like to travel so many miles in a covered wagon.  The kids finished their booklets and earned their Junior Ranger badges. 

We did a little more hiking, and checked out the huge rocks near the trail.  It was a wonderful end to a nice trip.  One day I’ll make it back to Lassen to check out more of the park.

 

 

 

 

Lassen Volcanic NP History

Lassen Volcanic National Park is located in northern California, and its mountains are part of the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest.  This park is unique in that it is one of the few places in the world where visitors can see all four types of volcanoes; Composite Volcanoes, Lava Domes, Cinder Cones and Shield Volcanoes.  Lassen Peak, the mountain for which the park is named, is the largest plug dome volcano in the world (plug domes are a type of lava dome).  The park also contains thermal features similar to those made famous by Yellowstone National Park, including mudpots and fumaroles.

Lassen Volcanic National Park

Human habitation in the area began thousands of years ago, and four tribes lived and traveled in areas of the park.  The Atsugewi, Yana, Yahi and Mountain Maidu all made use of park areas seasonally for hunting and gathering.  They continue to use these areas today to preserve traditions and celebrate their history.  White settlers first entered the area in the 1830s, and Peter Lassen, a Danish blacksmith, settled in the area.  The Nobles Emigrant Trail then was established through the park area, leading settlers to the Sacramento Valley further west.

Lassen’s claim to fame is that it is one of the few volcanoes in the United States to have erupted in recent history.  Lassen Peak began erupting in 1914, and continued off and on with eruptions both large and small until 1921. Thankfully, monitoring of the volcano had already begun and people living in the area had a warning prior to the eruption.  No one was injured or killed, although some homes and buildings were destroyed.  Prior to that, the most recent eruption in the park was the Cinder Cone, which erupted between 1630 and 1670 (mostly likely 1666, according to tree ring analysis).  The area had been designated as a Forest Preserve in the late 1800s, and then Lassen Peak and Cinder Cone were designated as two separate National Monuments in 1907.  The eruption led to the park’s designation as a National Park on August 9, 1916 by President Woodrow Wilson.

Today the park has a lot to see and do; visitors can hike, snowshoe and ski in the winter, camp, and see wildlife.  There are hiking trails up the mountains, in the wilderness, past waterfalls, and boardwalks built around the thermal features.  Manzanita Lake in the northern section of the park has a large campground, a museum and a store.  The southern section of the park has a fairly new Visitor’s Center.  Sadly, some areas of the park were significantly damaged by a fire in 2021, but many sections of the park have reopened since that time.

I spent three days and two nights camping there in 2019; one night in a tent and one in a camping cabin.  I had a great time, and will tell you about my visit next!

Lassen NP

 

Circus Trip 2018: Yosemite NP

Day 90, Saturday, October 13, 2018
Yosemite National Park, Mariposa, California

I’ll say right up front that I need to see more of Yosemite.  My visit was too short, and too emotional to really do justice to it.

That morning I woke up in Bridgeport, California at my campsite at the little marina there.  It was cold (about 17 degrees or so), so I decided to get breakfast out, and went to the Bridgeport Inn for corned beef hash and coffee.  I’m not ordinarily a coffee drinker but I needed a warmup that day!  The Inn was built in 1877 as the Leavitt House, and has a hotel, restaurant and bar.  Mark Twain stayed here at some point.  The food was good, and warmed me up, but soon it was time to get on my way.

I headed west over Tioga Pass and soon was in the line to enter Yosemite Park.  I was so excited to see it!  This is one of the National Parks that has been on my bucket list for a while.

Sadly, when I headed into the park, I started to feel a heavy weight in my heart.  I had long wanted to visit Yosemite, but it had been a dream I had with my ex-husband when we were married.  In fact, when we separated, we had a trip planned to Yosemite, and I ended up canceling.  He went with his dad, and I didn’t go, because we were having so many problems.  We ended our marriage shortly after that.  I always thought it would feel amazing to finally visit, but it was quite the opposite.  It was like all the grief I had been holding in for a few years at that point finally came tumbling out.

I parked at a lake on the pass and sat next to the beautiful water.  People were all around, but no one really noticed me.  I sobbed.  I thought maybe once I had it out of my system, I could go on, but I kept starting to cry again after that first time.  I finally decided I wasn’t ready for Yosemite that day.  I didn’t go into the valley, or do much more than just drive through the park, sitting in my sadness.

I did get a stamp and a few postcards to commemorate the parts of the park that I did see, but I definitely need a do over.  It has now been almost 7 years since my divorce was final, which will be longer than I was married.  I think I’m ready now.

So after leaving Yosemite that day, I headed up to northern California to see the man I was dating at the time.  That relationship didn’t work out either, but for reasons unrelated to Yosemite.  That’s a long, sad story for another time, if I’m ever ready to tell it. 

I suppose I could call this day the last day of my big road trip, even though I spent close to a month in Northern California before I finally headed home to Washington.  But I wasn’t traveling all the time anymore, so it seemed the trip was at an end.  I saw parts of Northern California that I had never been to, but I also just relaxed.

All in all, I spent several months on the road that summer and fall.  If you remember back, I left home on July 16, and got back home on November 12, 2018.  It was the trip of a lifetime, and one that I would love to do again with a different itinerary.  It was exhilarating and fun, and sometimes sad and lonely.  I learned so much about bravery and courage, and feeling comfortable in my own skin.  I healed, and learned how to be alone.  It was everything I needed at the time. 

Now, 5 years later, I’m at at different place.  I’m retired, with the ability to pack up and take a trip when the mood strikes me.  And I do.  Life isn’t perfect, and I still have stories of sadness and hardship that I’m not quite ready to tell.  But life for the most part is good.  I have other tales to tell, and other road trips to take, and memories to make.  I hope you will continue to follow along.

 

Circus Trip 2018: Manzanar NHS

Day 88, Thursday, October 11, 2018
Manzanar National Historic Site, Independence, California

After my visit to Death Valley, I began my trek north on the Eastern side of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California.  I stopped to visit Manzanar National Historic Site in eastern California.  Manzanar has a sad and interesting history as an internment camp for Japanese Americans during World War II.  In a shameful event in American history, Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942, which forced Japanese-Americans and those of Japanese descent into concentration camps for the duration of World War II.  Pearl Harbor had occurred just over two months before, and anti-Japanese sentiment was running high in the United States at the time.

 

The first internees arrived at Manzanar War Relocation Center in March 1942, and worked to set up their new homes.  “Home” is a bit of a stretch, as the prisoners lived in wood and tar paper barracks, with almost no privacy and very little protection from the elements.  Manzanar is at an elevation of 4,000 feet, and temperatures in summer soared above 100 degrees and went down below freezing during winter nights.  Within months, the camp housed more than 10,000 people, mostly from Los Angeles, California, and some from coastal areas in Washington.  Over 11,000 people lived at Manzanar during the period that the camp was open. 

The camp was intended to be self-sufficient, with residents working in the camp.  There were gardens, chicken and hogs raised for eggs and meat, schools, recreation, and even a camp newspaper.  People did their best to continue on with their lives, and make the best of their imprisonment. Many of the prisoners worked for the war effort, with women weaving camouflage netting.  I’m sure the irony of helping a country that considered them enemies of the state wasn’t lost on them.

When I visited, I arrived about 4:20 in the afternoon, and the ranger explained that the visitor’s center was closing for the day, but he gave me a map and let me know that I could stay later to do the driving tour.  I was alone at the site, and took my time wandering.  The 3.2 mile auto tour route takes visitors by the Block 14 buildings, which included a reconstructed barracks, the reconstructed women’s latrine, and a 1942 Mess Hall that was relocated from Bishop Air Base and restored.  Unfortunately these buildings were closed for the day, but I would like to return to see them.

I also was able to see the original sentry towers, uncovered Japanese Gardens, and the Cemetery Monument.  Over 150 people died at Manzanar, although many of them were cremated and returned to their families.  Fifteen prisoners were buried in a small cemetery outside of the camp’s perimeter, and nine families removed their loved ones’ remains after the war.  Six people remain interred there.  There isn’t a lot there now, so it takes some imagination to envision a camp that housed so many. 

During the war, over 120,000 citizens and permanent residents of Japanese descent were held prisoner in ten camps in the United States; Manzanar was one of the smaller camps.  They were finally released in November, 1945.  Now it is a remote, quiet place, but it is easy to see how hard life would have been there for the internees, especially without basic conveniences and appropriate housing.

Sadly, once they were released, their lives did not return to normal.  Many prisoners went home only to find their property had been sold, their possessions stolen, and their businesses closed.  There were some internees who had friends in their communities who protected their homes, businesses and belongings, but those were few and far between.  Most families had to start over, and some never returned to the communities where they lived before the war. 

It was a humbling, somber experience to visit Manzanar, and I hope more Americans learn about what happened here.  97,382 people visited Manzanar in 2019, and I hope you consider seeing this important place in American history. 

Circus Trip 2018: Death Valley National Park

Day 87 & 88, Wednesday & Thursday, October 10 & 11, 2018
Death Valley National Park, Death Valley, California

I arrived at Death Valley National Park in the evening, and got a campsite at the Oasis Resort Campground.  Now, you should know that the Oasis Resort looked like an actual resort, with nice lodging and green, watered grass and a golf course.  The campground was, let’s just say, not an oasis.  It was basically a gravel parking lot, with a bizarre unisex portable bathroom (it wasn’t actually designed to be unisex, and rather was just a regular portable bathroom building that they let anyone into – UGH).  I hope they have fixed that bathroom issue by now, but that’s a story for another time.  However, for $15 a night the campground had one perk that was amazing!  The spring fed pool for the resort, with entrance included with your campground stay.  That pool was amazing!

I soaked for several hours that night in that pool.  It was a warm night, the water was warm and the dark skies made for an incredible view of the stars.  I just floated, watched the stars, and listened to the conversations going on around me.  It was one of the most incredible nights of my trip, just watching the stars from that warm swimming pool, and I would go back there just for that pool! Pictures won’t do it justice.

The next morning, I got up and wandered around the Oasis area of the park.  I had breakfast at the cafe, which seemed more like a cafeteria – the food was fine but nothing spectacular.  I checked out the equipment outside of the Borax Museum, but didn’t get to go inside because it didn’t open until 10 am.  One day I’ll get back there.  Then I went to the Visitor’s Center at Furnace Creek, got my passport stamp and postcards and headed out into the day.  I didn’t spend too much time there, as I wanted to do my sightseeing before it got too hot.

Badwater Basin

Badwater Basin is the lowest point in the United States, at 282 feet below sea level.  I walked out to the salt flats, and marveled at the fact that the walk was longer than it looked.  Keep that in mind if you walk out there on a hot day.  The salt dries into a honeycomb pattern, and it looks really neat, so I occupied myself with plenty of photos.  I was surprised that there were birds flitting about the saltwater pond.

Artist’s Palette Scenic Drive

The Artist’s Palette scenic drive was pretty, but it hadn’t rained recently when I visited, so the colors weren’t popping the way they do when the ground is wet.  Iron oxide and chlorites give the layers their bright colors.  I got out at the viewpoints and took photos and appreciated the scenery.  It was surprisingly not very busy, but they do say that sunrise and sunset offer the best times to view the colors here.

Zabriskie Point

The Zabriskie Point viewpoint was a bit more crowded with people checking out the surreal layered landscape.  It was named for Christian Zabriskie, one of the prominent men in the Pacific Coast Borax Company.  The largest peak of the landscape here is Manly Beacon, named for one of the gold rush prospectors who came through the area during the California Gold Rush; it rises 823 feet from the canyon floor.  You will probably recognize this view, parts of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi were filmed here.  This is one of the best spots for sunset in the park if you go.

I drove back to the Visitor’s Center as I was passing by and checked out the park movie.  It was interesting, as it showed the perspective of the Native Americans who had traveled and lived here historically.

Harmony Borax Works

Then I headed to see an old borax mining operation – fascinating!  The Harmony Borax Works was started in late 1883, and at its peak employed about 40 mostly Chinese workers.  It was a difficult operation, requiring extracting the sodium borate from the ore.  The ore was dumped into boiling water vats and carbonated soda was added, which made the borax dissolve and the lime and mud settle out.  Then the dissolved borax was moved into cooling vats, where it resolidified and crystallized on rods.  The finished borax was hauled by mule teams on a 165 mile, 10 day trip to Mojave, California.

On the 0.4 mile hike around the borax works, there was an old building where borax was extracted, old mining equipment, and a 20-mule team wagon.  That was so cool to see!  My mom has a Borax 20-mule team wagon model that my parents got before I was born.  It used to sit on my dad’s workbench when I was growing up, and I love looking at it.  It was neat to finally see the place where this model got its start.  I’ll have to get her to dig it out, so it can be displayed once more!

Sand Dunes

The last place I visited that day was the sand dunes.  The signs advertised that sidewinder rattlesnakes live here, but sadly I didn’t see any!  They do burrow underground to escape the hottest temperatures, and are often nocturnal to avoid the daytime heat.  I was fascinated by the fact that this park has so many different ecosystems within its boundaries.

Death Valley was an interesting place.  It doesn’t rank near the top of my favorite National Parks, due to its desolation and heat, but there are still places here that I would like to return to see.  I had to get on my way, and check out Eastern California!

Death Valley National Park History

Death Valley National Park is certainly a unique park, and a beautiful place in its desolation.  It is the largest National Park in the contiguous United States, spanning 3,422,024 acres stretching between four valleys, the Panamint, Eureka, Saline and of course, Death Valley in Southern California.  It also holds the record for the lowest point in North America, and second lowest point in the Western Hemisphere, at 282 feet below sea level in Badwater Basin.  It is the hottest and driest place of all of the U.S. National Parks.  On July 10, 1913, the world’s record for the hottest ambient temperature was set in Death Valley; a temperature of 134 degrees Fahrenheit.

Geographically, Death Valley’s valleys sit between several surrounding mountain ranges, and the fast rate of uplift of the mountain ranges meant that the valley did not have time to erode into a typical V-shaped valley.  Instead, the erosion caused more of a bowl shaped valley, that has steep walls and a more sloping canyon floor.  Geologists apparently call this a wine glass canyon.  I had never heard of a wine glass canyon, but it is an interesting idea!

Death Valley occupies an interface zone between the Mojave and Great Basin deserts along the border of Nevada and California, and it is populated by plants and animals that are adapted to its extreme environment, such as Joshua trees, pinyon junipers, creosote bushes, Bighorn Sheep, and the ever adaptable coyote.  The park is also home to the endemic fish, the Death Valley pupfish, which lives in Salt Creek and Cottonball Marsh (there are two varieties of these pupfish).  They are unique because they can live in water that is 4 times more saline than the ocean, and at temperatures up to 116 degrees Fahrenheit.  They are considered endangered because they are found nowhere else in the world.

Native Americans first began inhabiting the area about 7,000 BC, living in the area during the cooler winter months and migrating to the mountains during the hot summers.  White prospectors on their way to California discovered the area in 1849, when they became trapped.  One of their party died, so the name became Death Valley.  Prospectors did find gold and silver in that is now the boundary of the park, and several small booms occurred from the discoveries.

However, the only ore found in significant amounts was borax, which is used for a number of household and industrial purposes, and gave rise to the imagery of 20-Mule Team Borax, from the mule drawn wagon trains that were used to haul out the product.  Today, remnants of the old borax mines are still visible in the park, with signage explaining the process for extraction.

Death Valley was designated as a National Monument on February 11, 1933, and then upgraded to a National Park on October 31, 1994.  In 2022, 1,128,862 people visited the park.  Visitors can do various activities, including scenic drives, hiking (when it isn’t too hot), and seeing the various views in the park.  There are salt flats and sand dunes, and colorful sedimentary layers.  Not to mention seeing the borax mining equipment that I mentioned earlier. 

There is also a lot of opportunity for those with 4X4 vehicles who can travel on the hundreds of miles of unpaved roads in the park, including hot springs and the Racetrack Playa, where a combination of cold weather, ice and wind make the large rocks move across a dried up lake bed.  That would be fun to see!  There is even a historic home called Scotty’s Castle, but it has unfortunately been closed to the public since the road washed out and the home flooded several years ago.  They have restored the area enough to begin tours of the grounds again, but one day I would like to see the house.

I will tell you about my visit next!

 

 

 

Circus Trip 2018: Zion Hike

Day 86, Tuesday, October 9, 2018
Zion National Park, Springdale, Utah

After my visit to Cedar Breaks National Monument, I continued on my drive to Zion National Park.  On the way there, I saw a field with bison!  Of course, I pulled over for pictures. 

I have been to Zion once before, so if you want to read those posts, you can find them here: history of the park, Angel’s Landing and other places in the park.

But this time, I was going to spend a bit of time in a different section of the park!  I arrived in the park this time through the east entrance, which is famous for the road that travels through the Zion-Mt. Carmel Tunnel.  More on the tunnel later in the post.

Shortly after I arrived in the park, I saw Bighorn Sheep – and there were even some mamas and babies!  So I had to pull off to get some photos! 

After I got my fill of the Bighorn Sheep, I continued to my first destination; I was going to hike the Canyon Overlook Trail.  This trail is shortly before the Zion-Mt. Carmel Tunnel and it can be very busy, so pack your patience while driving on this road and looking for a parking spot, as it will be slow going (be sure to only park on paved pullouts or you will be cited).  I ended up having to walk a bit to get to the trailhead; just be careful with the traffic!

The Canyon Overlook Trail is only a half mile long (one mile round trip out and back trail), but what it lacks in length it makes up for in stunning views.  The trail has some switchbacks and is uphill on the way to the overlook, with a few sections that take you underneath a rock overhang.  You also get a different view of the Zion-Mt. Carmel tunnel, and see what an amazing engineering marvel it was to tunnel underneath all that rock.  If you have a chance to hike this trail, don’t miss it! 

I relaxed at the top and enjoyed watching the chipmunks skittering about.  It was a warm, sunny day and it was perfect for a hike! 

After my hike, I drove through the tunnel; that was an experience!  The tunnel was started in the late 1920s and finished in 1930 – it is 1.1 miles long!  When I was there, they were only allowing one direction of traffic at a time, and there are significant size restrictions, so you do have to wait in line to get through the tunnel, but it didn’t take too long.  If you have a larger vehicle, be sure to check the park’s website for restrictions and information about buying a permit.  It’s a long, dark tunnel! 

Of course, before I left, I went to the Visitor’s Center and got my parks passport stamped and I got some postcards.  No visit is complete without that!

It was a quick trip, but such a fun afternoon! 

Circus Trip 2018: Cedar Breaks NM

Day 86, Tuesday, October 9, 2018
Cedar Breaks National Monument, Cedar City, Utah

Cedar Breaks National Monument is an easy detour when you are traveling between Bryce Canyon National Park and Zion National Park.  It is certainly not to be missed!

After my visit to Bryce Canyon, I got up the next morning and headed out from Panguitch, Utah.  Diverting off the main highway, I traveled through some beautiful country.  As I got higher in elevation, I began to see fresh snow all around me, but the roads themselves were bare and dry.

Cedar Breaks is a small park, established on August 22, 1933 and protecting 6,155 acres of a natural amphitheater containing hoodoos similar to Bryce Canyon.  Annual visitation in 2022 is 688,644.   The rock here is more eroded than at Bryce Canyon, and the colors are more subtle, but it is no less stunning to stand at the rim and see the view.

The day that I was there, there had been fresh snowfall in the previous days, and it made it such a beautiful winter wonderland!  It was the only time on that trip that I really wished that I had my snowshoes, so I could have gone hiking there!  As it was, the snow was a bit too deep on the trails to feel like I should go tromping through it with just my hiking boots.

Point Supreme is at the highest elevation in the park, at 10,350 feet.  There is a visitor’s center there, that was still open when I visited (it is open May through October), and a gorgeous viewpoint of the amphitheater.  At the visitor’s center, I collected my passport stamp, got some postcards, and bundled up for the short walk out to the viewpoint.  The snowman here was much bigger than the one at Bryce Canyon!

Although Cedar Breaks was just a short stop on my route, it was incredibly beautiful and worth the detour.  I certainly want to return one day and do one or both of the hikes there, and spend a little more time.  There is even a small campground that is open during the summer months.  I will let the photos speak for themselves.

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