Srange weather for DV.!
Posted by Don on April 26, 2004 at 13:02:44:
We were in DV the first part of April, and entered from Scotty's Junction from the high-desert. It was mid-day and I enjoy watching my air temperature gauge rise from the usual 50's, and then thru the 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's, and sometimes 100+, as we approach Furnace Creek. Well, this time we were at 57 degrees at Scotty's Junction, and with threatening rain. By the time we arrived at Furnace Creek in the afternoon; it was only 62 degrees! A local camper said there was a downpour of rain an hour before we arrived. I believed him as the ground was slippery and muddy, and the moist fragrance of the desert was in the air. The temperature was in the normal, seasonal 80's and 90's the remainder of our stay. The sky was filled with huge, dark clouds the next day, and with lightning. We ate supper outdoors and were treated to an exceptional electrical storm over the Panamints and to the North where massive lightning would even traverse the horizontal width of clouds, ionizing it until the whole cloud glowed a bright purple-violet in the evening. Beautiful! At the evening Ranger Program, the ranger said electrical storms are very rare in the Spring, usually occuring in the fall.
I met a bicyclist at the Furnace Creek store who had pedaled all the way from Mahattan, New York! He said he left in a snow srorm and arrived in a DV downpour! He added a heavy, but needed 2 1/2 gallon container of water on his way thru Arizona. DV is such an interesting place to treat one's mind and eyes! PS: The Furnace Creek Campground was filled the full time we were there, so we camped at the nearby Texas Spring Campground. Many open sites were available at Texas and Sunset campgrounds. The camp SW of Scotty's was also full. "Texas Spring" was originally "Tex's Spring" but became "Texas Spring" due to its pronunciations.
- Re: Srange weather for DV.! Todd 22:26:30 04/27/04
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