Impressions from the Western US

[Bill De Jager]

Wonderful photos and well-informed commentary!

I'd like to point out that in #68, there is salt in the foreground on land below sea level, and snow on the distant mountains at elevations up to 3300 meters above sea level. Two very different white substances in two very different environments!  Those are the kinds of contrasts you get in Death Valley and nearby areas.

[Gary]

I love your dunes. There are larger dunes in the south east corner of California in the Sonoran Desert. The Sonoran Desert has significantly more water than the Mojave sporting different flora and fauna.

[simsurace]

#70 is exquisite and #74 could just as well have been a satellite pic of earth!

Great stuff Simone.

Thanks! Indeed, the scale is missing which makes this sort of picture quite abstract.

[simsurace]

Wonderful photos and well-informed commentary!

I'd like to point out that in #68, there is salt in the foreground on land below sea level, and snow on the distant mountains at elevations up to 3300 meters above sea level. Two very different white substances in two very different environments!  Those are the kinds of contrasts you get in Death Valley and nearby areas.

Thanks! I have to say that I have a lot of things to learn about the geology and ecology of this place.
You are right about the enormous contrasts and differences in elevation.

[simsurace]

I love your dunes. There are larger dunes in the south east corner of California in the Sonoran Desert. The Sonoran Desert has significantly more water than the Mojave sporting different flora and fauna.

Thank you! Glad you like them. And thanks also for the tip! Dunes are amazingly beautiful, but it's quite tiring to walk them . I saw a bit of Sonoran Desert in Arizona on the way to Joshua Tree (somewhere between Prescott and Salome, where I stayed at a motel). The distinct flora of course jumped straight at me.

[simato73]

I have read this thread for the first time only now that it is in its fifth page and there are too many beautiful pictures and interesting observations to choose one to comment on.
I just want to mention that it is an excellent account of an adventurous on the road journey that I have been dreaming of for years, and that I doubt I'll ever have the chance to do.
I don't know how long you had, but it seems like this is a trip that should last several weeks.
Thanks for sharing and for making me dream.

[elsa hoffmann]

gorgeous photos you added again!

[Frank Fremerey]

I am really impressed by the last two series. You managed to show the fractal design of these landscapes mixing large forms and micro details looking very similar. A meditative act it seems!

[Gary]

Thank you! Glad you like them. And thanks also for the tip! Dunes are amazingly beautiful, but it's quite tiring to walk them . I saw a bit of Sonoran Desert in Arizona on the way to Joshua Tree (somewhere between Prescott and Salome, where I stayed at a motel). The distinct flora of course jumped straight at me.

There are also some formidable beach sand dunes along California's Central Coast. In fact the The Ten Commandments movie, Cecil B. DeMille 1923, built an Eqyptian city in the Guadalupe-Nipomo sand dunes ... then just buried the city under the dunes when the movie was completed. It had remained undiscovered for decades.

[simsurace]

I have read this thread for the first time only now that it is in its fifth page and there are too many beautiful pictures and interesting observations to choose one to comment on.
I just want to mention that it is an excellent account of an adventurous on the road journey that I have been dreaming of for years, and that I doubt I'll ever have the chance to do.
I don't know how long you had, but it seems like this is a trip that should last several weeks.
Thanks for sharing and for making me dream.

I'm happy that you liked the story and images.
I'm sorry to hear that you don't see a possibility to do this trip or a similar one. I'll keep you posted about when I'm going next, maybe we could join forces?
The trip took 10 days, I would have loved to add more, but it was the traveling alone part that made this trip expensive (most accomodations around those parts don't offer single rooms). Despite not having had to pay the flight (I was at a conference in SLC and my return flight was paid), the entire trip cost me about 1700$ (rental car, gas, motels, food, entrance fees). I think one could have cut the cost at least in half by bringing camping gear, and it would have allowed for still more special photo opportunities and a special experience (temperatures should be fine in most places in March if one has a good sleeping bag, Bryce was the only place that still had snow and I think one could have slept in the tent even there with appropriate gear).

[simsurace]

gorgeous photos you added again!

Thank you! All the compliments mean a lot to me.

[simsurace]

I am really impressed by the last two series. You managed to show the fractal design of these landscapes mixing large forms and micro details looking very similar. A meditative act it seems!

Thanks! Indeed, the landscape is on one hand barren and hostile, but it still has a lot of interesting structure going on. I think the meditation would be easier to do in Winter though. Despite only being March, the Badwater area was very tough for me to be in: almost 40 degrees Celsius, a hot and very strong wind that blows relentlessly, the sun hitting you from above with no shade to take short rests. I basically left the car, hurried onto the plain, got my shots and hurried back immediately
At sunset though it was quite relaxed though.

[simsurace]

There are also some formidable beach sand dunes along California's Central Coast. In fact the The Ten Commandments movie, Cecil B. DeMille 1923, built an Eqyptian city in the Guadalupe-Nipomo sand dunes ... then just buried the city under the dunes when the movie was completed. It had remained undiscovered for decades.

Funny stories. I guess one could dig it out and reuse it for future movies

[simato73]

I'm happy that you liked the story and images.
I'm sorry to hear that you don't see a possibility to do this trip or a similar one. I'll keep you posted about when I'm going next, maybe we could join forces?
The trip took 10 days, I would have loved to add more, but it was the traveling alone part that made this trip expensive (most accomodations around those parts don't offer single rooms). Despite not having had to pay the flight (I was at a conference in SLC and my return flight was paid), the entire trip cost me about 1700$ (rental car, gas, motels, food, entrance fees). I think one could have cut the cost at least in half by bringing camping gear, and it would have allowed for still more special photo opportunities and a special experience (temperatures should be fine in most places in March if one has a good sleeping bag, Bryce was the only place that still had snow and I think one could have slept in the tent even there with appropriate gear).

Simone thanks for the invite, I'd  love to do this trip but it really seems unlikely that I will be able to.
The main problem for me is not the cost, but the fact that I have a small child and cannot go away on my own for more than a few days.

[simsurace]

Simone thanks for the invite, I'd  love to do this trip but it really seems unlikely that I will be able to.
The main problem for me is not the cost, but the fact that I have a small child and cannot go away on my own for more than a few days.

Ah I see! But then you can be optimistic, save up now and when he/she grows up take your whole family!