Back from the 'Valley of Death'!

[Buttercup]

You are quite welcome. As I said before DV is home away from home and we are volonteers of sorts down there so have camped there many time. We are happy to share with the community.

Originally Posted by ESCAPE POD

I also want to thank Buttercup and Wagnerda for their advice on effective handling of the up/downgrades in exploring Death Valley. It made for a much more relaxed drive!

-Jerry

[CharlieE]

Originally Posted by ESCAPE POD

since the pilot seems designed to go out every time you turn off the oven, why have a pilot at all?

Wonderful pictures! I believe the reason for a pilot in the oven is that it is needed to reignite the oven burner. When you bake, the thermostat cuts the burner off when the temperature you set is reached and the pilot reignites the burner when the temperature cools down below the set temperature. Without a thermostat your cookies would burn. When you broil the thermost is not needed and neither is the pilot as the burner runs full time til you shut it off. I'm not very up to date on modern gas stoves and maybe they already have it, but it could be possible to have electronic ignition. I assume for safety reasons there would be a need for a "purge period" and a blower and exhaust venting system to clear any unburned gas from the oven before creating an ignition spark. CharlieE

[SteSpot]

We dropped SteSpot off at the shop for an estimate.......ouch is right....hope it can be fixed real soon. paula

[nilesrob]

Great pics! Death Valley is nothing less than stunning. Afew of our own pics from Thanksgiving 2006...

[SteSpot]

Thanks for posting your pictures.....that place is amazing. How about this for a beetle? These were taken during the fantastic flower show in 2005.

[nilesrob]

Wow. Nice.

[Buttercup]

Well, while we are showing our DV Images I submit this Panograph I took in 2006. Got up at about 4:30 and hiked out along the sand dunes to catch the sunrise. The full size can be seen HERE.

[SteSpot]

Hi Buttercup, great picture. By the way, what volunteeing do you do in DV? paula

[ESCAPE POD]

Paula:
Your photos are terrific! What camera equipment did you use? I have a point-and-shoot digital, but close-up work is sketchy at best.

-Jerry

[Buttercup]

Originally Posted by SteSpot

Hi Buttercup, great picture. By the way, what volunteeing do you do in DV? paula

I maintain the website for the Death Valley Natural History Assn. and my wife is a member of the Board of Directors for them. We go a couple of times a year for meetings and to enjoy the valley. Business AND pleasure! It can't be beat.

[SteSpot]

Originally Posted by ESCAPE POD

Paula:
Your photos are terrific! What camera equipment did you use? I have a point-and-shoot digital, but close-up work is sketchy at best.

-Jerry

Thank you. I am using a Canon EOS Rebel XT for the photos that I took last week but the beetle/flower ones were taken with a Canon PowerShot point & shoot. There is a macro setting for close ups on both of the Canons that I have/had...my PowerShot died after a couple of years and the thing I didn't like about it was the slowness....I missed many grandchildren photos. So I moved up to the EOS and the EOS is fast and huge --can't slip it into my pocket .....guess there is no free lunch. The photo of the 5 spot flower has little tiny mites or spiders that were not visible to the naked eye....I only saw them in the photos. I do like my Canon (think it is 8 megapixels). paula

[SteSpot]

Originally Posted by Buttercup

I maintain the website for the Death Valley Natural History Assn. and my wife is a member of the Board of Directors for them. We go a couple of times a year for meetings and to enjoy the valley. Business AND pleasure! It can't be beat.

I agree with you that it can't be beat......what a spectacular place and thanks for your volunteerism.....We are so impressed with the Rangers--their programs are the best of any National Parks that we have visited. They are all so enthusiastic about Death Valley and I highly recommend that their programs are worth every minute of time you can spend listening to them. You can tell that DV is a very special place indeed!!! Thanks, paula

[dscluchfc]

Originally Posted by SteSpot

Thanks for posting your pictures.....that place is amazing. How about this for a beetle? These were taken during the fantastic flower show in 2005.

nice shot of the desert 5 star....

[SteSpot]

Originally Posted by dscluchfc

nice shot of the desert 5 star....

Thanks, that is an amazing flower in the harshest conditions.

You have some spectacular photos on your web site. Thanks for the link. paula