immense it seemed like Britain could have fitted in the empty basin stretching
out in front of us. In fact the actual valley is about 100 miles long and 5 to 15
miles wide, but the National Park covers 4687 square miles and is the largest
in the continental USA. For Vegas, as we drove through the outskirts of the
city towards our hotel the words were: crowded, built up, loud, ugly. This last
adjective came to mind because we were arriving during the day when you
can see too much and the neon lights look tackier.
In both places we also felt somewhat vulnerable, though the perceived
threats were completely different. Within a few minutes of entering Death
Valley National Park we saw signs warning of flash floods, tanks of water
beside the road for topping up radiators, and signs instructing us that 'Driving
Off Roads Is Prohibited' - really, what a surprise. Most of these measures are
in force to cope with the ferocious heat and dryness of the summer, but even
so we could feel that the valley was hostile. Beautiful, yes, but not to be taken
lightly! In the summer people can die in a matter of hours if they fail to take
enough water on their hikes. A point graphically made in the newsletter
distributed to all visitors. And do not forget our own flash flood experience
when it started to rain while we were in a canyon.
In Vegas the vulnerability that we felt had a more mundane cause,
simply the fact we were in a busy city, often out walking at night. Having said
that, we never felt scared as we had in New York's Meat Packing District. I
was just at a constant level of alert for fear of pickpockets.
Comparing our visit to the former playground of Elvis with that to the
playground of vultures and rangers in more detail reveals some unsurprising