Category Archives: nature

For Nat’l Park Visitors

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visit our new website

As a frequent traveler to our national parks long ago I gained an appreciation for the beauty, splendor, grandeur, diversity and serenity that these places provide for us to enjoy.

For those of you who have been to one we’ve created a series of colorful stickers for you to remember those unforgettable visits.

Yes, we have an unorthodox name – StickItToYourCar.com – so you can guess where these stickers might go. But that’s not all – you can display them on most flat surfaces.

If you’re looking for a way to let others know that you’ve been to one of our amazing national parks and encourage them to enjoy the same participation – grab one our stickers from our new website StickItToYourCar.Com

Here we’ve added a plug on our water bottles for two our our favorite national parks.

Visit StickItToYourCar.com

Flowers and Foliage

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A Small Collection of Nature’s Color

When I’m walking with my camera, I can’t help but stop, admire and photograph the flowers along the way. These walks might be close to home along the neighboring streets, strolling in one of the nearby gardens or hiking through some of our country’s amazing national parks. There are flowers everywhere.

And while an admirer of flowers is called an anthophile, I’m definitely not an expert. In fact, I know the names of only a few.

Anyway, let me just present my photo collection of flowers and foliage

A Death Valley Visit

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<br /> Death Valley Visit<br />

After the 2023 Floods


A scenic two hour drive from the bustling streets of Las Vegas takes you to this expansive desert area. The place is called Death Valley and is the nation’s largest national park.

I’ve visited Death Valley many times before. On this trip I spent only a few hours there specifically to catch a glimpse of something special as you’ll soon find out.



My first stop was at Zabriskie Point



…especially noted for its alluvial runoffs.


 



They date back millions of years



…and form some amazing landscapes.


 



Twenty miles down the road is Badwater Basin, the lowest point in North America. It sits some 280 feet below sea level.



Badwater is a salt flat that spans the width of the valley. It’s basically a dried sea bed from millions of years ago.


 



Here’s a closeup of the terrain at Badwater. Normally the entire basin is covered with salt similar to this. You can walk on some of the terrain but other parts are thin and considered dangerous to traverse.



Something drastic happened this past August. Unprecedented torrential rains caused extreme road and terrain damage. The basin was in part turned into “Lake Manly”. While only a few inches deep in remains there as of January 2024.


As you can see here, many visitors trekked to Death Valley to view the lake in the Badwater basin



As I was driving I couldn’t help but spot large patches of yellow off to the side of the road.



While these flowers are not one of Death Valley’s infrequent superblooms, these patches may be a byproduct of last August’s downpours and flooding. Regardless, these dandelions were a bright spot that stand out against the park’s vast desert terrain .

 

My drive to Death Valley was to see the “lake” that was formed by last summer’s rains. Once again I’m amazed to be a witness to mother nature’s way of creating scenes that I can thoroughly enjoy.

Written by:

Arnie Lee