Jets zip through narrow Star Wars Canyon, drawing visitors
DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK, Calif. — Silence and stillness settled over the deep, sunbaked gorge as a pair of photographers sat on a cliff, waiting.
Then the rumbling started. As it grew louder, they scrambled into position.
Within seconds, a thunderous roar reverberated from the steep, narrow canyon as an F-18 fighter jet streaked through it, passing beneath their feet. It came so close they could see the pilots’ expressions.
This deafening show that was over in a flash is a fairly common sight at Death Valley National Park, 260 miles (415 kilometres) east of Los Angeles, where U.S. and foreign militaries train pilots and test jets in the gorge nicknamed Star Wars Canyon.