Death Valley National Park

I'm not sure exactly what we were expecting- we knew it would be hot, we thought the terrain would be similar to what we had seen of the desert previously- sand, sagebrush, flat, maybe a few Joshua trees along the way. We had not expected Death Valley to be so beautiful. Death Valley is the largest NP in the lower 48, it is the hottest and driest spot on the continent, and has the lowest elevation- 282 feet below sea level.

We entered the park from the east side, having driven through flat desert from Barstow, CA, on Rt 127. Our first stop was Zabriskie Point, which has a view of the beautiful yellow stone similar to the badlands in SD. Opening the car door was like opening the door of an oven- hot (115 degrees), dry air, encouraged by a 30+ mile per hour wind. Great drying weather!

We went on to the Furnace Creek Visitor center (after a brief detour at the Borax 20 mule team museum), where we were advised against our initial driving tour plan ("no one goes there, you won't be missing anything, and if anything happens to you or your vehicle, there is no cell service"). We were happy to listen to the Ranger's advice.

We drove on, headed for the lowest spot in the valley, Badwater Basin. On route, we passed the entrance to Artists drive, planning to drive that loop on the return trip. Badwater Basin was named for the salt flats and saltier water left from when the original lakes evaporated. The most important feature, however, is that it is 282 feet below sea level. It was a strange feeling looking up at the cliffs, seeing a sign designating "Sea level". The temperature here (according to our car thermometer) was 117 degrees.

We turned on to Artists Drive on our return trip. Artists Drive was named for the incredible colors in the cliffs around the drive- the reds, oranges, greens, and yellows of the minerals are surreal, looking like an artists' palette. This is where we hit our highest temperature- 118 degrees.

On our drive out of the valley, we passed by many spectacular mountains with varied colors and designs. After viewing a mountain with black and white zigzag designs, it occurred to me that many of the Indian blankets you see mimic this design. Wonder where they came up with those...

In spite of our concerns with the heat of the valley in the summer, we were happy we had decided to go to Death Valley- just beautiful! We drive on, through more desert and through the edge of Los Vegas, planning on seeing the Hoover Dam tomorrow.