It’s interesting that almost everyone I told that I was going to Death Valley said pretty much the same thing, “Why? What’s there?” Well, let me tell you…..!
First of all it’s the hottest, driest, and lowest National Park in the U.S.
Hottest: It’s actually the hottest place on earth. The temperature was recorded at 134° F on July 10, 1913. The dark rocks, lack of plant life, and heat being trapped by the high mountains around it, contribute to the high temperatures. In 1972, the highest ground surface temperature ever recorded on earth was there at 201° F. In 2012, the temperature at night never dropped below 107° F, another record.
Driest: Death Valley gets about 2.36” of rain per year. In 3 years; 1929, 1953, and 1989, there was no measureable rain fall for the entire year.
Lowest: Badwater Basin sits at -282 ft below sea level, the lowest point in the United States. The highest point in the park is Telescope Peak with an elevation of 11, 043 ft.
It’s also the largest U.S. National Park in the lower 48 states. At 5270 sq. miles, it’s almost the same size as the state of Connecticut. Unfortunately, it would take more time than we had to see it all, but we did our best.
Quick rundown: During the Pleistocene era (2.5 million to 11,700 years ago) the area that is now Death Valley was actually a lake. A really big lake. Lake Manly was 100 miles long and 600 ft deep. As the lake dried up, it left salt and borax deposits on the valley floor. These salt pans were mined from 1883 to 1907. Death Valley was inhabited before miners moved in though. It's the home of the Timbisha Shoshone tribe that still lives there today (they were previously called the Panamint Shoshone). Because of the lack of rainfall, there is almost no vegetation. The scenery is stark and incredibly dramatic so it’s not surprising that a number of movies have been filmed there, including Star Wars in 1977.
It's located in the north part of the Mojave Desert, but despite the arid ecology, there is, in fact, water in Death Valley. I read somewhere that there are over 600 springs and ponds (hard to believe!). The endangered Death Valley Pupfish – a remnant species from the Pleistocene era — can be found in the Salt Creek. There is even a waterfall on the far western part of the park. And just west of that, a little place called Sequoia National Park.
Our first night in Death Valley we camped at Texas Springs Campground at Furnace Creek. It’s a first come/first serve facility and we were really happy to get a spot with a great view.
The small town of Furnace Creek sits at a negative 190 feet below sea level. It has 3 campgrounds, a couple of hotels, a golf course, a National Park Service (NPS) visitor center, a jeep rental business, and 1 gas station. I HIGHLY recommend filling up your gas tank before getting there as we watched diesel go from $7.50/gal to $8.50/gal the next day to $9.99/gal the VERY NEXT DAY!
Once we got settled, we headed out to see a couple of sites before the sun went down. This was the same day as our Ash Meadows detour, so we hadn’t arrived super early. (click here to read about Ash Meadows)
We made a quick stop at the Harmony Borax Works which contains the remnants and interpretive history of where the borax was refined before being loaded onto wagons for transport out of Death Valley. The loaded wagons weighed up to 36 tons and needed a lot of horse(mule)power to move it. The 20 Mule Team became the symbol of the borax industry.
For sunset we went to the Salt Creek Interpretive Trail. An elevated boardwalk that runs along the Salt Creek where the endangered Death Valley pupfish can be found. At the end of the boardwalk, there is a trail that goes even further if you are so inclined (we were). It was really surprising to me to find this beautiful creek in the heart of Death Valley.
The next morning we had a private jeep tour scheduled. Our guide Barb was great and it was nice for Lynda to be able to just sit back and enjoy the ride instead of having to drive and keep her eyes on the road. It’s also nice for the extra information a guide offers. We had 3 places we were going to see on the tour, the first being Artist’s Drive and Artist’s Palette.
Artist’s Drive is a one-way loop drive that takes you alongside some unusual rock colorations. Greens, purples, oranges, and yellows look like they've been splashed across the hills. It really did bring to my mind an artist’s paint palette. According to the NPS website, it’s from “volcanic deposits rich in compounds such as iron oxides and chlorite.” Whatever causes it, it’s a must see if you’re in Death Valley. There’s a parking area at Artist’s Palette where you can get out and walk back into the hills for a closer look. Because of dips in the road and sharp turns, vehicles over 25’ are not allowed on Artist’s Drive. I think closer to sunrise or sunset would be a really beautiful time to visit this area.
Our next stop was Dante’s View. In a matter of minutes we went from near sea level to 5475 ft at the top of the Black Mountains for some incredible views of Death Valley. There’s not much else up there, but what else does there need to be?
20 Mule Team Drive is another one-way drive. It may be short but it packs a punch. It’s only 2.5 miles long on a dirt road, but we had to stop numerous times for photo ops.
Here’s the thing with Death Valley: around every bend, down every trail, at every time of day, the view changes. Death Valley is all about the drama. It is stark and barren and absolutely stunning. This was only our first 24 hours here and we were already in love with the place. In my next post—Death Valley Part II—I’ll be covering some more, but very different places.
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