April 19-23, 2023
We have a lot to share about Death Valley National Park, a surprisingly interesting and beautiful place.
The impression Mike and I had of Death Valley was flat, endless miles of blowing sand with a cactus or two sticking up. We didn’t do any pre-visit research or investigation. So, when we started exploring, we realized our impression was inaccurate. Probably that notion was formed from watching old 1960’s TV westerns. There was one called Death Valley Days. I remember the name, but it aired before we were born. I think we can stream it on the internet.
Our camp base in Pahrump Valley, Nevada, was close to Death Valley National Park (DVNP). Might as well head down that trail and see what it’s all about. For two days, we went back and forth from our camp base in Pahrump Valley, NV., which took about an hour each way. DVNP is spread out, not as large as Big Bend National Park, but we ended up spending two daytrips before deciding to move camp to one of the DVNP campgrounds. We could get an early start for a last full day of exploring. We were lucky that the NPS decided to keep Sunset Campground open longer to extend the season due to the mild temperatures this year. Hardly anyone was camping there.
We didn’t get to see everything, though. There is a lot to share, so we split it in to two blog posts.
As we usually do before a visit to a new area is to stop at the Visitor Center. On the first day trip to DVNP, we stopped at Furnace Creek Visitor Center to check in and get a map.
The red dot is our base camp in Pahrump Valley, Nevada. The elevation there was around 3000 feet above sea-level. The temperatures were mild, between mid-60’s to mid-70’s during the day. Across the border into California is Death Valley.
The green dot is our campsite in Death Valley. Since Death Valley is much lower, most being 200+ft. below sea-level, temperatures were in the upper 80’s and 90’s.
The yellow dots are the places we visited described in this blog post and the next.
Backstory
Death Valley was formed thousands of years ago when a fault line opened pushing the land up on one side to form Amargosa Mountains and on the other side, Panamint Mountains. In between the two mountain ranges is Death Valley. Death Valley is below sea level and temperatures can be extreme.
A storyboard in Death Valley quotes a statement from Oscar Denton, the caretaker of what is now the Furnace Creek Ranch. On the hottest day recorded – 134 degrees in July 1913, Mr. Denton described, “It was so hot that swallows in full flight fell to the earth dead and when I went out to read the thermometer with a wet Turkish towel on my head, it was dry before I returned.”
Nevertheless, it’s not ‘Death’ Valley to the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe who have lived here for over 1,000 years. To them it is Timbisha -home – the Shoshone’s word for Death Valley. This sacred place where they continue to live even though it is hot and arid. Trust lands enable the tribe to live here permanently. The Timbisha Shoshone Natural and Cultural Preservation Area is managed for the tribe’s cultural and religious activities.
In the winter 1849-1850 a group of pioneers got lost here. They all assumed that they would be all die, so the pioneers gave the area the name of Death Valley. However, only one of the pioneers died here.
But when we looked at it from Dante’s View overlook, we were blown away…..
Or these images from Zabriskie Point overlook…..
But our favorite place in Death Valley was 20 Mule Team Canyon.
Driving along Furnace Creek Wash Road, on a whim, we turned down 20 Mule Canyon. The only words Mike and I can think of to describe it – STUNNING and SERENE! The one-way loop road is paved with gravel.
As you go along, the road winds around massive creamy gold rocks.
We drove slowly. I think I could have spent an indefinite time in the canyon.
Leave me here with a few books, some snacks and water.
Both of us were sad when we saw the end of the loop.
Areas in Death Valley that Seems to be Somewhere Out of this World
Badwater Basin is 282 feet below sea-level, the lowest elevation in the Western Hemisphere. The second lowest elevation point is Salton Sea, at 227 below sea-level. We will cover Salton Sea in a future blog post. Dry climates evaporate water and leaves behind salty flats, such as Badwater Basin or briny lakes such as Salton Sea.
Walking along Badwater Basin brought to my mind Jules Verne book and movie, Journey to the Center of the Earth. I’m glad there were other people around; otherwise, I would have developed a massive case of kenophobia, which is the fear of empty spaces.
River erosion did not form Badwater Basin. Instead, the movement of the earth’s crust dropped it to this level and pushed rocks up on either side of the basin. A high ridge towers beyond the parking lot.
A storyboard alerts visitors to look turn around and examine the rocks. A sign amongst the rocks designates where sea-level should be. Sea-level never changes.
The National Park Service (NPS) allows visitors to walk on Devils Golf Course, it crunches as you go. However, NPS issues much caution. The rocks are crystalized salt that compose the jagged terrain making it course and sharp. Missteps and falls can cause cuts, broken bones, and sprained muscles. I only went to the edge to feel (carefully) and look closely at the rocks.
We were driving around in our van without pulling the camper, so we fit within the length limit.
God and nature are incredible artists as exemplified when driving along the one-way Artists Drive to Artists Palette.
The colorful layers of rock display the many different minerals in the area.
BTW….I didn’t realize we got a stranger in our picture; nevertheless, it shows a size and height relationship between humans and rocks.
Mosaic Canyon is a 1.7-mile hike.
But the first 1/10th of a mile is through a narrow section. It’s the most interesting part of the hike.
One side of the narrow canyon is evidence of a years ago landslide.
The other side is dolomite rock.
The day was beginning to fade, so Mike and I only walked through the narrows. We had other sites we wanted to see.
Natural Bridge is another short hike. It leads to a huge naturally carved out rock that forms a bridge joining it to another massive boulder.
To me, it seems more like a tunnel. Standing under it, I imagined it would have been a good place for Indigenous people or pioneers to get a relief from the intense sunlight.
The last natural site we passed by was the Mesquite Sand Dunes. We didn’t stop because we visited White Sands National Park in New Mexico during our earlier adventure. And we had more to see in DVNP. We took a few photos as we passed by. Mesquite Sand Dunes are captivating as well. We’ll be posting on White Sands National Park in the near (I hope) future.
If you happen to be in DVNP or White Sands in New Mexico and you have kids with you (or are a kid in big kid clothes) stop and slide down one of the dunes. If you are a kid, you know what to do 😊!
Nighttime in Death Valley
The night we arrived at the Sunset Campground in Furnace Creek, the weather was mild, the moon was not out to overshadow the stars, and there were no clouds. So it was the perfect night to view the stars. Death Valley is an International Dark Sky Park, and it showed us that it deserved this recognition.
Mike and I took advantage of the perfect evening to look up. To see the stars, this was the clearest night since our adventures began. Constant yawning between the two of us indicated we needed to get to bed. Reluctantly, we headed in.
Unfortunately, we are still experimenting with night photography, so we didn’t get a good shot.
Next post
In our next blog post, we will cover mining in Death Valley. It will include going back over to the Nevada border to visit to Rhyolite, an abandoned mining town.
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