A drive down the main road of Death Valley took us to this predator. Mr. Coyote was actually trolling the CENTER YELLOW LINE of the highway for FOOD (hand outs!) It is a real problem in the parks, so much so that the caretakers of Scotty's Castle has a rodent problem - they claim- because the coyotes have gotten lazy and instead of hunting rats, just beg off tourists! This particular guy actually circled our car over a DOZEN TIMES, a mere 2 feet away AND, when we started to drive away, RAN AFTER OUR CAR!!! He must have smelled the beef jerky we had with us!!
Within the Death Valley park, this is SCOTTY'S CASTLE, which is a top attraction. Seems this guy, Scotty, scammed some people in the early 1900's to think he discovered a secret gold mine in Death Valley - they invested in it even though no one ever saw it.... one of the investors became good friends with Scotty, and built this place as a vacation home.
View from bottom of Death Valley.....
View from the bottom of Death Valley - notice the thick SALT on the ground.....
One thing to emphasize about Death Valley : IT IS HUGE!!!! This is a view from way above, looking down 2000 ft.
The day before we drove to Death Valley, there was a rare rain storm which left numerous stretches of flooded roadways. This area was not quite knee deep - 24 hours after the rains! We made it through alright.....
Yosemite is yet another spectacular national park ..... we have seen SO MANY that it is now more difficult to 'wow us'..... we spent most of our day there riding our bikes down around Yosemite Valley, gazing up at El Capitan, Half Dome and other well known landmarks. Our next destination is the San Diego area to visit daughter Jessica and future son-in-law Gary....
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