Photography by Ed Book
Camera: Canon EOS-1Ds MkII, 100-400mm lens at 100mm, with polarizer, 1/4 sec @ f/29, RAW 16bit capture with Adobe RGB profile converted using Photoshop RAW converter, tripod mounted, post conversion processing with Photoshop CS – minimal saturation adjustment for sky and curves adjustment to increase the contrast on the bottom surfaces of the clouds.
I made this image as I was leaving Eureka Valley. The road leaves the flat desert valley to climb beside an alluvial delta spreading from Hanging Rock Canyon. Then it enters the canyon with high walls and curves around bends continually climbing. Sometimes, there are wider areas where views of the barren peaks and ridges on the range stand above against the clouds and in places the canyon walls close in tightly forcing the road to hug the wall with a dry stream bed lying far below. At one place, the vertical wall consists of shattered marble with stains from the minerals held within. The road continues to climb finally reaching some mining ruins and a pass, then descends through an equally precipitous canyon into the north end of Death Valley. Just before the washboarded road reaches the valley floor, it meets a junction with access to even rougher country-the junction aptly named “Crankshaft Junction” with engine backbones hung on the sign and strewn about it as a warning to the dangers to lesser vehicles that venture into this country. The road from Scottie’s Castle to Eureka Valley is the washboardiest 43 miles I have ever traveled… and combined with washouts keeps the crowds away. I can’t imagine what it’s like in the summer when average daily temperatures are well above 100 degrees F. I wanna go see it then… gravityslens, your vehicle, I’ll drive… (till we get to the washouts) ‘hope you have an oil cooler and good air conditioning…
Peace