TRAVELER

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Hi Monda,

      if you have a chance, you should take your family there.....I have a feeling that you won't be disappointed. Just don't go there during summer 'cause the temperature can soar over 120 degrees and all the wildflowers are dead.....the summer heat can also melt your shoes and give you heat-stroke. Spring time is perfect time to visit Death Valley!

Thank you for your kind comment!

P.S. In 1913, Death valley recorded the 2nd highest temperature in the world, 134 degrees!

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Hi Nazy,

    Thank you for remembering my Persian name. I love wildflowers, too. I got lucky to catch the wildflowers in full bloom...actually I booked the campsite in January and I had no idea if there is a bloom or not....fortunately there was 2 -3 inches of rain.......on average, Death Valley is the driest place with less than 2 inches of rainfall per year.

Thank you for your kind comment and look forward to your next blog!

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Hi! Red Wine,

    I beat you, I went to the desert first! You can play piano and you can compose, that is great! I can't play piano or compose, but I do like music a lot!

Thank you and look forward to your next blog!

Wonderful Photo-Essay

Dear Yolanda,

Thank you for this lovely photo essay, especially your excellent photos of the Canyons and flowers. You cracked me up with your "I love IC ", "Persian Baklava" and pupfish’s "Chemistry" comments. You are so funny :-)

Cheers,

Azadeh

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those photos are good... i can to compose a song with a piano about them... thx Yolanda .

Excellent photo essay Yolanda!

Thanks for the reminder of this magnificent nature, so close by. Now I feel ashamed for not having experienced it yet first hand. It came up notches on my list though.  Your captions are also wonderful, you write very well. Thanks a lot for sharing your trip. And I wish you the best at your job.

Lovely photo essay!

Yolanda Jan,

Thanks so much for your very nice and complete photo essay! I am grateful for the captions my friend!

I loved all your photos, but particularly the ones with flowers in them. The flowers in 78 look like what we call gol-e-mina in Farsi, Mina Flowers.
The flowers in 88 are what we call Shaghayegh, a popular girl's name, just like your name-- Banafsheh!

Thanks again for your very attractive and informative photo essay, Yolanda.

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Dear PT,

     Thank you for your kind words....I watched a Death Valley special less than 2 months ago on TV, but I made a mistake not to tape it. It is super interesting video. Death Valley is a great place to learn Geology.....unfortunately in this trip, the volcano crater was closed to the public and I could not go....due to the volcanic activities in the past, Death Valley is full of minerals: Borax, silver, gold, and talc....there are at least 2000 mines there....unbelievable! Actually I identified more than 30 species of wildflowers, but I did not post all of the flower pictures....I was afraid that people may be tired of them.....for me, finding wildflowers is like a detective work, I had a wildflower guide in one hand, camera in the other hand.....it was a great feeling when I found a match and learned the name of wildflowers!

  I also visited Death Valley in 2005, there was Bloom of the Century that year. I was there for 7 days...it was very crowded......Death Valley ran out of 5 years supplies of wildflower guides in one year, it was just amazing!

  I did pray in Death Valley for my job 'cause I have a tough job and always need God's help!

Actually it is cheaper to visit National Parks than visiting another country. I was in Death Valley for 5 days, I paid $92 for camping and ate instant noodles and hand-made sandwiches everyday for 5 straight days....it is ok 'cause the views are absolutely beautiful!

thanks,

Paint brushes in the midst of desert land

Dear Yolanda,

Thanks for sharing these beautiful images of the desert where in the midst of all the hot and harsh dry land, one can still find beauty in the colors of paint brushes and other beautiful flora. No wonder one can find the light of the Higher Self when one is surrounded by the lowly desert land. I find the wilderness to be the most nourishing food for the soul.

Thanks again,

Ramona

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Hi! Abarmard,

      The amazing thing in Death Valley is that all the colors are natural: colors of Canyons, rocks, mountains, and flowers. I have not seen more colorful mountains anywhere else other than Death Valley!

Thanks,

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Hi JJ,

    Thank you for posting my photo essay. I feel truly honored! Be very honest with you, I am very afraid of writing and is a "C" student in writing! In order to make it a true photo-essay, I prayed and squeezed out a couple of words out of my brain ...Thank God! I wrote the essay in my camping tent in Death Valley......Death Valley is not as famous as Grand Canyon, but I prefer Death valley over Grand Canyon 'cause you have miscellaneous things to see there......not just one big long trench.....

Thanks,

Felt I was there

Thank you so much for this fascinating essay. What an amazing place. You did a wonderful job. Felt I was there.

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Dear Yolanda,

Thank you so much for this beautiful Photo-Essay - Many years ago, I used to live in California - However, I never got a chance to go to the Death Valley :)

I want you to know that my favorite pictures were the 20 or so towards the end of your collection, of those beautiful desert flowers :) - It's absolutely astonishing how Nature can produce such utter Beauty in the midst of horrendous harshness!

Also, there is a saying that such harsh environment could potentially bring out the true Spiritual Nature of people! As you may know, Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, got most, if not all, of his Spiritual Inspirations in the Deserts of Arabia!

Very Well Done Again :)

PT

P.S. A couple of months ago, I saw a wonderful series on PBS called The National Parks. It was produced by the famed producer of Civil War series (back in the 1980's), Ken Burns. I was totally amazed that you have been to 30 National Parks so far - I highly recommend this series to you if you haven't watched it :) 

Wonderful pictures

Colors are beautiful. Great pictures.