Gravel Ghost, or atrichoseris platyphylla, is a flowering plant that grows in the desert southwest.  It emerges in years when there has been enough rain in the autumn and winter months to help it sprout, along with other desert wildflowers.  Gravel ghosts have flat, round leaves that hug the ground, but send up tall, wiry stems with white, daisy-like flowers on top that smell like a combination of jasmine and vanilla.  They bounce when the breeze blows and when you find a lot of them, they look like a white mist hovering over the ground.  During a good wildflower year there are tons of them in Death Valley National Park.  You may see them in not-so-great-wildflower years as well, but the plants are shorter and harder to find.

This blog is called The Gravel Ghost.  It’s where I post my photos and artwork, which are mainly focused on Death Valley National Park and its surrounding area, a place I feel connected on a very deep level.

My photographs are mainly black and white because for me, black and white shows the soul of the subject.  Not everything I photograph and paint is of the desert, however.  I am interested in lots of things and people and places.  Sometimes there are stories that want to be told, but more often, the photos or art are there to look at, because I don’t want to use a lot of words.

All photographs, text and artwork on this website are © Copyright Merilee Mitchell 2011-2025.  All photographs, text and artwork appearing on this site are the exclusive property of Merilee Mitchell and are protected under International Copyright laws. The photographs, text and artwork may not be reproduced, copied, stored or manipulated in any way without the written permission of Merilee Mitchell. Use of any image in any way is a violation of Copyright Law and will be enforced to its full extent. No images are within Public Domain.