One of the best things about Death Valley are the clear and very dark night skies. A star gazers dream.
I woke up in the middle of the night to a light show. The moon was a thin crescent, the Milky Way stretched across sky. I got up and walked around just tasking it all in, the sound of Coyotes cackling in the distance
I hadn’t spent much time on the bike this winter, opting to ski instead. I was a little concerned how I would feel doing the long sustained climb down in Tucson on Mount Lemmon later in the week. I had swapped out the 12-26 cassette on my Holland for a 13-29 just before I left home. I needed to field test it and my legs and lungs. The 5400 ft climb up to Dantes View the next morning answered that question. It is roughly the same amount of elevation gain and distance as Lemmon. The climb stiffens as you get near the end: 14% the last quarter mile have you pulling the bars for all I'm worth. The views from the top are amazing, looking down at salt flats of Badwater Basin, 250 ft below sea level below you.
Dantes Overlook by
Matthew Pendergast, on Flickr
The road is in much better shape since the last time I’d visited here a couple of years ago - no jarring expansion joints this time.
Heading back down to Furnace Creek by
Matthew Pendergast, on Flickr
Soon I was passing by Zabriske Point so I decided to stop and check it out:
Death Valley Backdrop by
Matthew Pendergast, on Flickr
Zabriskie Point view of Manly Beacon by
Matthew Pendergast, on Flickr
2020-02-26_07-38-07 by
Matthew Pendergast, on Flickr
The next morning I left Death Valley and drive to Phoenix to pick up Mark (@gugie) from the Airport to begin the TD Neil Spring Break tour..