Truckers in the Milky Way
So, if you’re reading these blog posts religiously. Anyone? Bueller? You’d know that a few months ago I finally made it to Death Valley to explore some of the many things it has to offer. But, what we weren’t able to capture were any images of the night sky full of stars. Death Valley is one of the best places to stargaze in the United States but, unfortunately it was a full moon when we visited and we weren’t able to see too much.
So, I convinced my previous travel companions to head there for one night in August during a new moon when it would be pitch black. Death Valley is one of the darkest places in the US because there is little to no light pollution to reduce star visibility.
When we got there, it was hot. Really, really hot. No problem we thought. We’ll give it until midnight and it will cool down. We thought wrong. When we trekked out into the desert to shoot it was 112 degrees. At midnight. But it was most definitely worth it. Pictures do not do it justice. The sky was absolutely stunning and I cannot wait to go back, but maybe in January…
We were so hot and exhausted that we couldn’t bear the thought of driving back to our AirBnb. Instead we drove through the night and got back to Los Angeles at 6 in the morning. I passed out for the whole rest of the day and felt almost delirious from both exhaustion and dehydration. I would not recommend doing a turnaround trip to Death Valley from LA. It’s a solid 5 hours there and back.
Nevertheless, we survived, and here’s what I have to show for it.