It is rare indeed to get rained on in Death Valley:

Years can go by in some spots there before rain hits the ground in measurably amounts.

I was lucky enough in March to experience rain several times. This very wet year all the small intermittent streams were flowing that I’d never noticed before.

Rained all night long in fact on Wednesday, 20 March.

Texas Springs campground has the best of the meager shade trees.

Any scarce rain that does fall here, behind so many mountain rain shadows, either immediately evaporates and sinks into sandy terrain:

Or else the water goes rushing madly and dangerously down the rocky ravines as flash flooding.

Where the muddy clayey salty silty streams slow down…don’t walk that way, or spend time stuck in muck. And boot scraping.

Some here were a bit let down that rains were too late for flower blooming glory. And that the ’10 mile lake’ on the playa was shallow and gone in days.

I can’t say I was happy to get rained on all night long, though my space blanket tarp kept most of it off my cot.

For an eldster with a new hip the cot helps with arising and is pretty comfortable even before the air mattress, my old pal and comfort. Cause why put up a tent in DV? Never rains, few bugs, more stars than you will evah see again.

Of course the incredible storm clouds, winds and rain swept away shortly, returning us to DV’s normal Eden-like winter/spring weather, 75-85F, cool at night.

It’s a different park in the rain and storms and I felt lucky (if damp) to see it.

 

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