This is your mandatory Manly Beacon In Morning Light image. Instead of going to the overcrowded Zabriski Point Viewing Platform, I took the good advice of QT Luong and walked up a trail just north of the walkway.

If you’re not already reading QT’s blog, “Terra Galleria“, you should. Go comment and tell him Edie sent you.

If you’re into architectural photography, put Scotty’s Castle on your bucket list. The uncompleted jewel sits in a verdant oasis (Yes! VERDANT!) of Grapevine Canyon of Death Valley National Park.

While the view from Red Pass on the Titus Canyon road is lovely, it will have to wait until another trip; It was raining, misty and the light was terrible for shooting. I found myself fascinated by this dead bush clinging to the embankment at the side of the road.

(Edited: Yes, Rich, dead bushes don’t grow. Thanks for pointing out that rather embarassing fact!)

There are several locations in Death Valley that have petroglyphs. I recommend stopping at the Stovepipe Wells NPS kiosk and asking Ranger Bruce Casper for suggestions.

Time for me to admit abysmal ignorance; I was under the impression that there were no bighorns in Death Valley any more. I was wrong. What remains is the question: Are the animals depicted here actually bighorns? Bighorns have curling horns, don’t they? These are curved.

There’s an unmarked 4×4 road across from Mesquite Sandunes that climbs up to “Grotto Canyon”. If you stop at the powerlines, you have a sweeping view of the dunes and the mountains beyond, as well as the Panamint range to the west.

In this shot, we’re looking roughly north by north-east, with Corkscrew peak just right of center, and Mesquite Dunes in the foreground.

This arrangement presented itself to me as I returned from the salt flats of Badwater, Death Valley.

Salt flats under unusual clouds.

Clouds suggest angels soaring over the Manifold, and aptly named section to the south of Zabrisky Point.

After an astro-bivvy night at Emigrant Campground with the wind still buffeting, we got an early start at 5 AM to be in place for sunrise at Zabrisky Point. My travel companion and I took up stations to watch the show. Manly Beacon rears into the morning sky.