Death Valley, Mosaic Canyon

Wednesday, after leaving the dunes we continued our exploration of Death Valley with a short trip to Salt Creek to see if we could spot some Pupfish.  It seems they are very shy at this time of year, and we couldn't find any.  The few pictures we took didn't seem post-worthy.

After a little picnic lunch at the creek, we went on to Mosaic Canyon which is just down the road from Stovepipe Wells.  Here we walked up a canyon with walls that were (in places) a polished marble.  Very different from anything we had seen before.










The floor of the canyon was a coarse gravel like stone that didn't seem to match the walls at all.  When we looked up, we could see areas of similar dark colored stone high above. I am fascinated by the formations.  I told Craig I wish I knew more about geology.

As we walked thru the canyon it was easy to imagine a roaring rush of water ripping and scoring the stone walls. 

Wednesday was our last day at the Stovepipe Wells park. We enjoyed our time there very much, and I think we did most of the  walks that were accessible with our little car. There are many more canyons to discover, but we don't like to drive more than a couple of miles on the gravel roads with the Accent, and the other trails are farther in. 

Maybe the next time we are here we will rent a Jeep for a few days.  They are available at Furnace Creek.

Because it was our last day, I decided to give the pool a try.  The gal at the reservations office said it was heated, and I had seen some teenagers swimming the day before. There was a large solar array on the roof of the game table area enclosure.

It may have been heated, but it was not very warm.  Craig put a toe in and declared he would stand by as my life guard. Once in, it wasn't too cold, and I did enjoy it.  It is January after all!

So ends this chapter of our travels.  The next morning we packed up and drove to Las Vegas.  Another world!