The holiday thread :).

[Janszoon]

Originally Posted by Burning Down

During the same trip I also visited Death Valley National Park, in the middle of the Mojave Desert, specifically Badwater Basin, during one of the hottest summers recorded there. On the day I was there the temperature was approximately 130'F, and dry as hell. I thought I was going to burn up!

Death Valley is one of mine and my wife's favorite places. Going there really feels like a trip to another planet and the sheer number of stars you can see at night is mindblowing.

[MoonlitSunshine]

Originally Posted by Janszoon

Death Valley is one of mine and my wife's favorite places. Going there really feels like a trip to another planet and the sheer number of stars you can see at night is mindblowing.

There are places like that in the West of Ireland, I remember being out in Sligo for a joint 21st/18th in a cottage out in the middle of nowhere a few years ago. We were lucky enough to be there at the same time as a meteor shower, the view was absolutely stunning. We spent about an hour lying in the middle of a road/dirt track looking at them fall, even without the shooting ones there were enough stars to make it an hour well spent, I've never seen the milky way so clearly either!

[Janszoon]

Originally Posted by MoonlitSunshine

There are places like that in the West of Ireland, I remember being out in Sligo for a joint 21st/18th in a cottage out in the middle of nowhere a few years ago. We were lucky enough to be there at the same time as a meteor shower, the view was absolutely stunning. We spent about an hour lying in the middle of a road/dirt track looking at them fall, even without the shooting ones there were enough stars to make it an hour well spent, I've never seen the milky way so clearly either!

That was my experience in Death Valley as well, the Milky Way was very, very distinct. There's no horizon glow there to speak of and no cell phone reception or radio stations available either.

[Janszoon]

Now that I think of it, I guess it would be appropriate for me to post some of my Death Valley photos. They're a couple years old but it was a vacation I took so it's in keeping with this thread.

The Devil's Golf Course


Ubehebe Crater (a volcano that destroyed itself thousands of years ago)


Bad Water Basin. All that white stuff is salt packed down by people walking on it, the brown stuff to the sides is salt too though it hasn't been packed down. It's also interesting to note that it was about 110 degrees Fahrenheit down in the valley when I took this photo and yet, as you can see, it was still cold enough up in the mountains for there to be snow on the ground.


Zabriskie Point