Kirukkalkal

Hottest, Driest and Lowest National Park... The mention in the NPS web-site about Death Valley National Park pretty much sums it all: In this below-sea-level basin, steady drought and record summer heat make Death Valley a land of extremes. Yet, each extreme has a striking contrast. Towering peaks are frosted with winter snow. Rare rainstorms bring vast fields of wildflowers. Lush oases harbor tiny fish and refuge for wildlife and humans. Despite its morbid name, a great diversity of life thrives in Death Valley. Death Valley National Park boasts as the largest of all the National Parks in what is called the contiguous US (meaning, excluding Alaska and Hawaii). Another interesting fact is that it is designated as the ‘dark sky park’ – the night sky apparently provides incredible views with minimal light pollution in the vicinity. As the Las Vegas buildings disappeared behind us, we were heading into the desert pretty soon on a fine December morning. Soon we were on the roads with much...

Day1: Mountain top sunrise to Beach sunset After we landed in Seattle around mid-day, we drove to Port Angeles. It is a bigger city with many amenities and had a small park along the beachside. Our arrival was in time to see the Sunset in Port Angeles beach. So, we loitered around to relax from the long drive, sat down a bit to enjoy the Sunset and checked in to hotel for the night. Next day morning, left the hotel at 6 to get to the top of Olympic Mountain by 6:45 AM. During the drive up there in the dark, we hardly saw any vehicles in that windy road uphill. When we reached the top where the visitor center was supposed to be, we saw an almost empty parking lot with vehicles slowly trickling in. Apparently, the visitor center was damaged in the wildfire earlier and they had made a makeshift center and bathroom in trailers.  We roamed around a bit to see where would be get a good view of the sunrise and decided to take Sunrise point trail . The way up was pretty well paved until ...