Investment There are dunes in Death Valley. I spent the night in the lodge at Stovepipe Wells, so I could get up before dawn, get out to there, and make some photos. My alarm went off and I did not want to go - it was cold and dark. I still didn't want to go by the time I'd driven out to the trailhead. I needed to hike about 15 minutes out to the dunefield. I sat in the car, watching the stars, looking out toward the dunes and seeing mainly blackness, and black shapes in the blackness. I was scared, I realized. What if there are coyotesnakesscorpionvulturetarantulas? I sat in the car and thought about going back to the lodge. The thought that I'd driven 600 miles to be here ocurred to me. The thought that I'd got up in the middle of the night ocurred to me. I had made these investments, and the weight of them pushed me along. I got out the car and hoisted my gear.
The Crow At 20 minutes before dawn out in the middle of the dune field, I got what I hadn't realized I wanted. I noticed a crow flying maybe 75 feet off. I could hear the rush of wind under his wings as he flapped.
