Although the day was calm and beautiful on the Valley floor, Titus Canyon was once again closed. According to Ranger Snow, the canyon was practically a “glacier” up there and the only way anyone could get through was to clear a way with a “sledge hammer.” We heard the words “sledge hammer” several times as we were trying to cajole those in authority to open up Titus. It is our 4th trip in a row to Death Valley when Titus Canyon has been closed. We are beginning to take it personally. No exceptions were made for whiney boomers although we were given Ranger Snow’s number to call next time to find out in advance if Titus would be open.

We actually drove to Titus Canyon anyway but it was barricaded and padlocked. No one was getting in.

We found a dirt road that paralleled the paved highway and bounced along over to the ghost town of Rhyolite. No big surprise—it was all in ruins. There were some ghost sculptures of the Last Supper and ghosts riding bicycles. There was also a psychedelic couch that might have been left from the 60ies. I think we had one like it when we were grad students.

From Rhyolite we meandered over to the Beatty candy store where we traded legal tender for 5 sacks of good candy. Then we booked it all the way across Death Valley to the Artist’s Drive and the special rocks of color known as Artist’s Palette. The lighting was perfect and I got some of my best photos here.

By now the sun was starting to go down. We had left the RV back on the Beatty cut off—so—back across the Valley to get the Minnie and try to get to Mesquite Campground before dark.

As I was driving that lonely road the sun started to turn everything gold and warm. It reminded me of Heidi where Peter tells Heidi that the sunsets on the Alp are beautiful so the mountain won’t forget the sun during the night. The already striking colors and textures of Death Valley start to glow gold. You will even feel your skin and face glowing with the golden shock the sun puts out just before setting. Then the light begins to fade and the streaks of pink and red that are so distinctive of desert sunsets take over. And then suddenly on the Valley floor, it goes to shadows and very quickly to darkness. It becomes cold and dark and inhospitable. But that last flush of sun glow stays on the cheeks just a bit longer so you won’t forget.