Travels in a Tin Can

The first evening in Death Valley we spent quite a lot of time reading
our guidebook and the information we had been given at the park entrance.
Seeing as we only had one full day before we had to move on we wanted to
see as many of the valley's attractions as we could. As we planned our day
we noticed that a ranger-led programme of events was available and so we
decided to check out the evening lecture - about geology. Our decision was
inspired not by any laudable reason such as education but by the fact that we
were staying on a campsite without hookups and were worried about draining
our batteries by having the lights on all evening. We also thought it would be
cosy and fun to go along to the talk, perhaps there would be a campfire and
singing!
Well, the lecture was fun.... but not cosy. It took place in a huge
auditorium, which they keep cool in the summer, when the rangers are too
busy saving stranded and melting tourists to use it, but they do not heat it in
winter. So we all sat huddled in our coats, but at least there was a good turn
out and we all sat at the front and close together to conserve warmth! The
ranger leading the event was very friendly and managed to keep the audience
interested in what was essentially a slide show with pictures your dad might
force you to watch. During the talk we found out that rain was due - not overly
surprising given our track record - and that some things we wanted to see
were inaccessible at this time of year. Based on this lecture we went to
several other ranger programmes, sadly inconsistent in terms of quality. For
example the next night we braved the frigid lecture theatre again; we had little
else to do. The talk was about different walks in the park and it was fun to be
able to spot things we had seen that day, however a lot of the previous night's