Two guys and a Jeep: Day 37

Death Valley is driest place in the USA. It is also the hottest. So imagine our amazement when it not only rains but we find ourselves in the middle of a flash flood! But I'll get to that later. Entering the valley in the morning, we were greeted by a pleasant temperature of 110 degrees. Our first hike was through the Mosaic Canyon, a narrow canyon named for the rocks walls composed of many tiny stones cemented together. Water is vital out here. After Mosaic Canyon, we already went through five water bottles. In the middle of the canyon, we noticed some storm clouds on the horizon and decided we should head back. We didn't think much of it. Next, we saw what I originally thought of as a "desert", the sand dunes. As we walked into them, I just saw endless fields of sand around me. It was amazing to see but it also made me realize how helpless I would be without my car and water. Visiting the nearby remains of an abandoned Borax mine, it was evident how difficult life is out here. The next two places we visited were some of the coolest things I've ever seen- Artist's Palette, and the Devil's Golf Course. Artist's Palette is a rock wall covered in all sorts of different colors because of the different minerals it's composed of. The fact that it recently had rained made the colors all the more vivid. The nearby Devil's Golf Course is an alien-looking landscape covered in rock made of crystallized salt. If you listen carefully, you can hear the sound of the salt expanding and contracting in the heat. On our way out of Death Valley, we saw that the road was completely flooded. Both of us worried that the road would be closed but the traffic official took one look at our Jeep and said "Yeah, you're high enough. You'll be fine". Soon after we saw the best sight of the day, a beautiful rainbow in the desert. How lucky is that! On that note, we're going to be trying our luck tonight staying in Las Vegas.