Death Valley Trip 2013 | Day 9 & 10
Sunday & Monday, February 17-18, 2013
For my last morning in Death Valley I decided to head back up to Dante’s View to catch the sunrise.
Glow on the horizon.
The Earth Shadow over Badwater and the Panamint Range.
Telescope Peak framed by nicely lit rocks.
A look in the other direction from the viewpoint.
When the sun was up I headed back down from the mountains and started the drive through Greenwater Valley to leave the park.
I did make a quick stop to hike up a short canyon looking for petroglyphs.
I had missed the petroglyphs on my hike in, but luckily managed to spot them on my way back to the Jeep. There were quite a few smaller panels scattered around. This was one of the larger panels.
After finding the petroglyphs, I continued my drive out of the park to Shoshone and then back into Nevada. I made one stop in Las Vegas for gas and lunch and then continued the drive back east into the northwest corner of Arizona.
When I reached the Virgin River Gorge I stopped in the canyon and went searching for some petroglyphs along the river. After finding a place to pull off the Interstate I had to scramble down to the river and find a place to cross. I thought I found a good spot to cross, so I took my shoes and socks off and started to walk across. It was easy going at first, until I stepped in a deep hole that I couldn’t see. I almost dipped my camera in the water when I sunk in and the water level almost reached the phone in my pocket. I got lucky and would be more careful on the way back!
The first panel I found was carved into this thin slab of sandstone which looks like it has broken away from the cliff it was once attached to.
A closer look at the figure in the circle and a few sheep.
I also found this large boulder covered with petroglyphs nearby.
I searched the area for another panel that was supposed to be around here, but came up empty handed on that one. It was starting to get late so I climbed back up to the highway and continued the drive into Utah. I wasn’t planning on driving all the way home today so I needed to find somewhere to camp for the night. Two years ago Jared and I had camped near Little Black Mountain just over the border in Arizona, so I thought it would be a good spot to head back to.
I arrived at Little Black Mountain just in time to catch the setting sun striking the petroglyphs found here.
I liked the rock catching the last light of the day below this petroglyph of a sheep.
I stuck around Little Black Mountain the following morning until this large boulder was out of the shadows and in the light.
Before finishing my drive home I drove further south into the Arizona Strip just to see where the road went. I took this photo at my turnaround point to finish off the trip.
