Why a Booktrail?
2023: A novel about grief or a desert survival story?
Death Valley
What you need to know before your trail
A woman arrives alone at a Best Western seeking respite from an emptiness that plagues her. She has fled to the California high desert to escape a cloud of sorrow – for both her father in the ICU and a husband whose illness is worsening. What the motel provides, however, is not peace but a path, thanks to a receptionist who recommends a nearby hike.
Out on the sun-scorched trail, the woman encounters a towering cactus whose size and shape mean it should not exist in California. Yet the cactus is there, with a gash through its side that beckons like a familiar door. So she enters it. What awaits her inside this mystical succulent sets her on a journey at once desolate and rich, hilarious and poignant.
Locations
Reset- America/USA - California - Death Valley
- A: Death Valley
- B: Best Western Colonial Inn
- C: Best Western Porterville Inn
- D: Best Western Frontier Motel
- E: Death Valley Junction
Travel Guide
Death Valley
Death Valley was given its name by a group of pioneers lost here in the winter of 1849-1850. Even though, only one of the group died here, they all assumed that this valley would be their grave.
Best not to walk in the extreme heat or cold and instead find a Best Western hotel and sit there with the aircon on and read this. There are several Best Westerns in the area and there are a few on the map.
Trail Gallery
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Destination: Death Valley Author/guide: Melissa Broder Departure Time: 2023
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