It's About the (RV) Journey....: Death Valley....................

Furnace Creek in Death Valley is about 2 hours from our campground in Lone Pine, and we decided to make the visit Saturday. The forecast was for a cool 87! Actually, depending where you are in the park, the temperature can differ by at least 20 degrees. There is, however, no shade. Anywhere.

We drove in from Lone Pine on 190, which was a beautiful drive in itself. We seemed to have the road to ourselves. Before long, we were in Death Valley, at the Father Crowley Vista Point. From here, you have a view over the mountains, to the sandy desert below.

gorgeous drive from Lone Pine to Death Valley

the geology is already incredible!

a cool 48 degrees here.....I'll take it!

Father Crowley Point-you can see the desert from here too

The road twisted and turned through the mountains, and each view we had was striking. What a surprise to me how beautiful this park is. I had expected basically a sandy desert with brutal heat. I was in for a shock! We loved this park, even though we did no hiking. The variety of landscapes was truly spectacular.

see sand dunes in the distance?

close up

There are miles and miles of road through this enormous park

The colors in this national park were so vibrant. Too bad most of my pictures look washed out. They really don't tell the tale of the beauty in this park.

the sandy desert floor

just look at those colors behind me!

spectacular volcanic mountains

nature's art!

we made a quick stop at some of the pull outs to gawk at the views

this place is amazing Susie!

heading down to the valley-Death Valley

As we got farther into the park, we passed by Stovepipe Wells Village, a little Visitor Area with lodging and camping, gas and food. There is really not much here in this huge park, so it is best if you come prepared with your own food and water. Lots of water! Not far from Stovepipe are the Mesquite Sand Dunes,which can be climbed if you feel the urge. We didn't .... had a full day planned in this huge park. The dunes were really scenic against the mountainous backdrop.

Stovepipe Wells camping

one of two places we saw to get anything you didn't bring with you

giant sand dunes

must be especially beautiful at sunrise or sunset

want to walk on the dunes?

anyone can walk out there - looks like fun

We were headed to Furnace Creek, the main Visitor Center in the park. It is also another area with gas, food,, camping, and lodging. As we drove there, we were back down to sea level for some of the ride, and the desert, surrounded by the mountains, looked unforgiving. The colors all around were amazing though! Tom spotted something crossing the road, which we thought was a coyote. On closer examination with a zoomed in photo, we think it was a kit fox. It was smaller than a coyote.

a huge park! lots of driving!

beautiful

this was my preconceived notion of Death Valley...just this....but it is SO MUCH MORE

see the kit fox in the bottom center of the pic?

close up

just look at those colors and textures!

driving past the Borax mines

mustard yellow!

the movie was really good here (as usual in the National Parks!)

camping at Furnace Creek

more lodging choices

We were shocked to see a little bit of green...which means there must be water! The Shoshone Reservation is also here. Death Valley is their home. Frankly, I don't know how they do it. It is a tough environment, putting it mildly!

Shoshone Reservation

what a tough environment to live in!

Golden Canyon looked like a really interesting place to hike, but by mid-morning it was way too hot for us me to even consider hiking. Actually, we didn't plan on any hiking, so we didn't come prepared for that anyway. There were a few people getting ready to hike though! It sure looked beautiful. The colors were so striking.

this was a gorgeous little spot

this looks like a really great hike

in the middle of this harsh environment

no can do.......its way too hot for me!

looks interesting though, through the canyon

We rode by the Devils Golf Course, since it was a dirt road that we didn't want to get stuck on. From a distance, it didn't seem like too many folks were spending much time there.

dirt road down to the "golf course"

We were headed to Badwater Basin, the area where a 30 foot deep lake dried up a few thousand years ago and a left 1 to 5 foot layer of salt. Lots of table salt! You can walk out quite a distance, and most people do. It is amazing. We noticed when we spotted a pothole that there seems to be water under the salt. Its a briny pond, four times saltier than the ocean, and it dries up in the summer.

The mountains surrounding us, and the colorful swirls they exhibited, were so awesome. This was like no other place we've ever been! Walking on a thick layer of salt surrounded by all that beauty. This is one of the hottest places on earth (hence, my hesitation in even visiting the park at all), and it is the lowest place in North America, at 282 feet below sea level.

salt flats of Badwater Basin

the mountains surrounding the valley are just gorgeous

look at those colors across the way...and the salt flats are sooooo white!

lets go walk on the salt flats!

lowest point in North America

so cool!

heading out...it looks like it should be ice, but its salt

so bright white

looks like people are skating out there, doesn't it? Hahahha

looks like snow, doesn't it

just amazing

very cool experience

nature's art again

this is pretty wild!

let's head back now

sandy salt

so white...and pretty thick layer too

see the pothole with the water underneath? (looks like about 5 inches thick)

what a landscape....otherworldly

After our walk on the salt flats, we headed to Artist Drive, a short one-way loop through amazingly colored rocks. This scenic loop is appropriately named. I really wish my pictures came out better! Actually, it is described in the park brochure as "a visual feast and geologic tour of one of Death Valley's most explosive volcanic periods". You must see these colors....just awesome. We thought we'd find a nice scenic spot for our peanut butter picnic, but it was so hot, we ate in the car with the air on. There is no shade anywhere!

a good name for this road!

the colors and designs in the rock...wow!

nice picture of Tom enjoying the wonders of this park

check that out

salmon colored :)

just amazing

the geology here is incredible

and the colors are stunning

a fun road!!

its starting to get a little hot

more fun driving this road...and looks like we are hitting the "mustard yellow" section

really....the minerals here give the coolest colors and designs in the rock

Tom looks so small among these magnificent volcanic remains

great colors!

such a pretty scenic drive

look at all the shades of pink and brown

this is an artist's palette!

aahhh...green too!

After lunch, we headed out to Zabriskie Point, another natural wonder in this park. We passed by the famous and historic Furnace Creek Inn, where early visitors came to the desert to escape the winter. All I can say is WOW! The distances are so great here, I can't imaging taking one of the early cars out here.

back to the valley....

these colors are just so beautiful...everywhere you look

the designs are awesome

Furnace Creek Inn

Anyway, did I mention how much we loved the colors and the designs? Just everywhere! The drive to Zabriskie was colorful for sure. Here, there are eroded badlands, in vibrant colors as well. Like being on another planet!

heading to Zabriskie Point

incredible badlands

looks like pastel colored meringue

so cool

look at that erosion

amazing

Zabriskie Point-a beauty!

heading back down to our car...the view all around is fantastic

another pic...can't stop!

we could walk out there....but its pretty hot

like another planet here

Our last stop on our whirlwind tour of Death Valley was Dante's View. Its 5000 feet above the valley floor, and THIS is the place to eat your picnic lunch! Even if it is late in the day. The temperature difference was about 25 degrees, making this a very comfortable spot to visit. The mountain ranges were beautiful, and we could see the white salt flats below us, where we had just explored a little earlier in the day. From this vantage point, you can see clear across Death Valley-110 miles! Woah! It really is a big park!