First, yes, we did fall off the end of the earth. We are, after all, in Death Valley, and the Internet here is, as I may have mentioned before, iffy at best and non-existent a good portion of the time. Throw in a sand/dust storm, and, what can I say. We do not exist in the outside world.

In the morning, however, the dust storm had not yet hit. There had been hints of its coming the last day or so, but we headed out to the crater, knowing we would have clear air for the lava crater.

It is an other-worldly place.

A hill was graced by low light, and it seemed in the next minute, it was in full sun, albeit the early-morning variety.

“Look over there,” I’d say.

“Look behind you,” Arnie would call.

The light was beautiful…

After lunch and discussions, we took off for our favorite ghost town in this area, a wonderful eclectic collection of back-to-the-60s dwellings, old mining town buildings, most in ruins, crumbling mining shacks, and a section with an interesting display of art work, including what Arnie and I call …