2015, was a year of adventures; The Last Frontier, Alaska to the desolate Death Valley, we covered the spectrum of life to death.
This winter we took our annual driving trip to Sedona and Death Valley. Our route was SFO, CA – Sedona, AZ (with a night halt in Barstow) – Death Valley, CA – SFO, CA. This was long, but well worth it. Sedona, AZ is beautiful but Death Valley National Park took the award for this trip, so starting with the second half of the journey. Sedona will come later.
The drive to Death Valley National Park is boring, dry and full of desolation. It doesn’t matter which side of the country you enter the park from, it’s just miles and miles and miles of barren land. Nothing, absolutely nothing for miles, then suddenly a travel center and you breath a sigh of relief, refill the gas tank, make a bee line for the restroom, grab your coffee refill and then start driving again. Be careful as you drive into and exit out of Death Valley – Hwy, 190 is a well maintained highway that curves through mountains with 9% grade in certain parts. It has very little signs and no cellular service. Keep paper maps handy.
The drive maybe dry, but the story behind how Death Valley came to be is rather interesting. The Unusual Story of Death Valley centers on the Pacific Coast Borax Company and the 20-mule team. Back in the olden days, when Death Valley was a land untamed for man, some brave souls mined Borax and it was transported via mules. In fact as I heard in Death Valley (I love to talk to the locals – cashier at the general store, the rangers at the visitor center and so forth. Their stories are either their experiences or what their grandparents told them. Definitely more interesting than the internet.), the 20-mule team was a household name in those days. In fact the Borax Company also laid the foundation of Furnace Creek Inn. It wasn’t long before the good folks of Borax Company realized that the travellers were attracted to the desert for its raw beauty and the lore of the mule teams.
They say that “universe works in mysterious ways,” this couldn’t be truer for Death Valley, one event led to another and we fast forward to February 1933, when after years of waiting, Death Valley was officially crowned the Death Valley National Monument. In 1934, the National Congress gave it the park status. Today, Death Valley is 3.4 million acres of stark, powerful and impressive landscape that attracts over 1 million visitors annually for its clear starry nights, craters, sand dunes, fault lines and snow.
It took us 6.5 hours to drive from Sedona to Death Valley. We wanted to stop midway to see Hoover dam, but after seeing the 3 exit long line, we changed our plans, because we wanted to reach DV before sunset. DV takes pride in its night sky, so there are no lights whatsoever on the way to the park or inside the park roadways. It’s just you, your car headlights and maybe a car light in your rear view mirror. Word of advise, if you go to Death Valley National Park, please plan on reaching there before sunset. It’s not dangerous but the silence can be eerie in the still of a dark night.
After driving for miles with no one in sight, it was a relief to see this sign. Excitedly we took our turn and were very pleasantly 
surprised to find our resort way beyond our expectations. Xanterra is the company behind Furnace Creek . They have two properties, the absolutely beautiful Furnace Creek Inn that charges a little too much I think, but then the views from the location are stunning and you pay for that OR you can try the common man Furnace creek Ranch (where we stayed) for about $200 per night for the deluxe rooms. The rooms are nice, clean, come with the standard amenities and 2 queen beds, but the money is for the French doors that open into a patio and a common green grass area. It’s walking distance from the play area; pool, tennis courts and they have fire for those cold desert evenings. The Ranch has 3 restaurants on site and that’s a blessing after a long day of hiking and walking OR you can get creative and take little rice cooker with you. We were blessed to have friends who treated us to some delicious food every evening J the property also has a RV park and camping grounds for the more adventurous souls.
Day 1 in Death Valley started with a visit to the Furnace Creek Visitors center. As a general rule, every time we visit a non-commercialized national park, the visitors center is a must stop. The rangers are extremely helpful and give good advise on the must see and do hikes.
We were there for 2 days and since we were sure we wanted to be back at sunset, the plan for us was:
Day 1:
Ubehebe Crater, Sand Dunes, Zabrinski Point,
Day 2:
Artist Drive, Badwater Salt Flats, Natural Bridge and Dante’s peak.
The bummer – no Scotty’s Castle and Golden Canyon hiking. They both were closed due to flash floods. Good news for you, Spring 2016, the dead lifeless rocks will come alive with an abundance of wildflowers. It’s going to be a riot of colors.
We started on our journey. Ubehebe crater is about an hour drive from Furnace Creek. It’s an easy no car in sight route J Just make sure to follow the signs and stay away from areas that are zoned out.
Ubehebe Crater:
The crater is 600ft deep and ½ a mile across. A maar crater, the steam and gas explosions created it as the hot magma heated and all the steam gushed out. The rim of the crater can be viewed from the parking lot and the view is absolutely breathtaking. More than anything, it is the empty vastness that boggles ones mind. You can hike the rim or go down 600ft and experience the solitude and magnitude of the crater. Walking down the crater is moderately easy. There is a marked trail, however loose gravel and gravity can cause a slip or two, so be careful. Walking back up is exhausting and can be tiring. Walking the rim is again moderately easy for the most part. There is loose gravel and a little climb, which makes it tricky. If you get tired, take breaks and walk at your own pace. Once you reach the Little Hebe crater, pause and just breathe. Sit down and soak in the calm and peace. It’s a circular 1.5-mile walk around the rim, so regardless of which direction you go; you will end up at the parking lot. The rim walk goes through many other smaller craters.
Part of our troop did the Little Hebe walk and part when 600 ft. down into the crater. Once both groups were back, we took our photos and headed to the Mesquite sand dunes.
Mesquite Sand Dunes:
A desert is any place with less than 250mm of annual rainfall and you know there are cold deserts such as Antarctica and hot deserts like Death Valley. Regardless of the kind of desert, one look at the sand dunes, and I realized how tiny I was and even tinier was my footprint.
What is the first thing that comes to your mind, when you hear the phrase. “Walking on sand,” Beach, right? Of course, we always associate sand with beach, when there is so much more of it in the desert. I wonder why and then I started walking on the sand dunes and understood. When we walk on the beach, the sand is cool and sort of tickles our feet and the child in us comes alive. When we walk on the sand dunes, it isn’t the tall sand dunes that daunt us; it’s that tiny sand grain in our shoes that bothers us J
All of us did our little adventure here, the teens wandered off to the tallest and farthest sand dunes, the younger kids, tried to keep up and then decided to roll and play, and us adults, we walked as far as we could and then went on our photo rampage. Somewhere in between I realized it’s been an hour since the two teen boys left and haven’t come back. My continuous cribbing forced my husband and our friends to walk beyond and look for them. We found them and then of course I got the “over protective” mom look. In vain, I tried to explain the difference between an over protective and a cautious mom. All in all, it was a good day. We took some awesome pictures and headed to Zabrinski Point.
Zabrinskie Point: Is an overlook. Boring? It is quite the contrary. The elevated overlook, just a few miles east of Furnace Creek on Hwy 190, is a photographer’s paradise. Best viewed at sunrise or sunset, it makes for some stunning photographs and un-paralled views of the badlands. I’ll let the pictures do the talking here.
Back at the resort, our friends treated us to delicious biryani by the fire pit. As a special treat, we did some night sky watching too. So ended a perfectly perfect day.
Day 2: Artist Drive, Badwater Salt flats, Natural Bridge and Dante’s Peak.
Artist Drive: I was excited to see this. I had read some good and some okay reviews but either way, just the name intrigued me. It’s on the way to Badwater Salt Flats, and again, it’s just you and the desert. We were lucky to have friends with us, but if you go solo, it is you, your car and the desert. Don’t let that intimidate you. Learning to enjoy your own company is a life skill. The drive is an easy loop. It’s called Artist Drive because there are a variety of colors in the formations. The pictures are self-explanatory. The drive also makes an excellent stop for “sitting on the road” photos.
Badwater Salt Flats: This is the lowest point in Death Valley. It is 86meters below sea level with miles and miles of table salt J Yes, it is mostly sodium chloride and as we were driving to it, I understood what the word “mirage” means. On a bright sunny day, it looks like a pool of water. Why go to Bohemia, when you can see them right here in the USA, though I have heard that the Bohemia Salt Flats are just WOW. Many couples choose it as the backdrop for their wedding photos. Backdrop or not, Death Valley Badwater Basin Salt Flats should be included in your “to see” list
Natural Bridge: On our way back, we took a short detour to Natural Bridge. It’s an unpaved road to the parking lot and then you hike for a mile to a that rock formation that looks like a bridge. It’s a short hike on gravel, relatively easy, but take water with you.
By now, it was post lunch and we were hungry. We headed back to our resort only 20 mins away and had lunch. The kids decided to unwind, and found their way to the tennis courts at the resort. As the day was ending and our little one was “exhausted,” we chose to stay back and watch the 4 kids, while our friends made their way to Dante’s View.
Dante’s View: Directly above the Badwater Basin, it is the highest point in the park. At approx. 5,000 feet it has seen a fair share of snow this year and the local folks of Death Valley are looking forward to the flowers. The photos are courtesy our friends.
And so ended our two day stay in Death Valley.
Death Valley National Park, CA should definitely be one of your bucket list items. If the pictures above did not excite you enough, then maybe knowing that Star Wars IV – A New Hope was filmed in Death Valley, will intrigue you to go see it. Blogger Steve Hall shows you how and where. Still not convinced, here are 3 more facts so you can start planning your Death Valley vacation.
- South of Alaska, it is the biggest national park.
- Badwater Basin is the lowest point below sea level in North America and just 15 miles from it is Telescope Peak at 11,049 feet and the sheer drop makes Grand Canyon look shallow.
- The area was named by a woman in 1849. This is another interesting story. One brave group of miners trying to reach CA, during the gold rush decided to take a short cut via Death Valley only to realize that there was no vegetation or water for either the animals or themselves. Slowly they perished and as the remaining were exiting the park, one woman looked back and said “Good Bye, Death Valley.” The name has since stayed.
Death Valley is beautiful and dangerous. Its enormity mocks the petite human and yet its is grandeur allures us to walk straight into its badlands. “The Force” was definitely with us and we made it safely back home, with a fleeting feeling that yes, we will be back.