The Valley of Death

Saw an article in the NYT today about Death Valley in spring. Which got me thinking - Death Valley is far and away the coolest national park I've ever visited.

I've been to a lot of national parks: Yellowstone, Yosemite, Zion, Arches, the Grand Canyon. (Just picked up a speeding ticket in Yosemite last weekend actually.) They're all gorgeous. But Death Valley is so hands on...the park is enormous, and you can get out of the car whereever you want. There are huge sand dunes to climb that my dog loved, old bauxite mines to look at, the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere to lie down in, gorgeous hikes, the Hubba Hubba crater (where I almost met my maker), Devil's golf course, an Indian reservation, a grove of date tress to snack on, beautiful scenery, even a castle. Just pull over whereever you want and monkey around - it's that easy! Nearby, there's an old ghost town/abstract art installation and a house made of glass bottles, and in nearby Beatty, Nevada you can get drunk and eat pizza for about $8. And go get a hooker.

Or, if you're like me, you'll settle for a matchbook from the place...I swear that was it!