In the mid 1800s, during the gold rush that witnessed a mass migration of settlers to the west coast of California, one unlucky family had the misfortune of passing through the arid desert east of the Sierra Nevada mountains. As they battled one natural challenge after the other, they kept losing their hopes for survival as their mules and family members fell victim to the unforgiving terrain of the desert. They were eventually rescued and as they made their way out of the desert, one of the miners took one last look behind him and exclaimed, ‘Good bye, Death Valley!’
And the name stuck…
Contrary to what it sounds like, Death Valley isn’t exactly a place where nothing survives. It however is a pretty unforgiving, and inhospitable landscape that happens to be the hottest place on earth (yes, hotter than the Sahara desert) with peak temperatures recorded at over 134 F. You do find some vegetation out here but what really strikes out is the magnificence of the variation in landscapes and the altitudes, that make it uniquely beautiful. There are sections in the park that are about 200 ft below sea level, which happens to be the lowest spot in the United States as well as spots that are over 11,000 ft high.
It is a land of extremes that gets less than 2 inches of annual rainfall, that is minuscule even by desert standards. Rainstorms often cause flash floods when they arrive, that probably have to do with the unique landscape you encounter around the park. It is a pretty large park that spans about 3 million acres making it the largest park in the lower fifty states. It is larger than the state of Rhode Island! Along with Joshua Tree National Park, Death Valley is also an incredibly amazing place to view the Milky Way, thanks to the extremely low levels of light pollution.
You could easily spend a month over here and barely scratch the surface of the park, we spent about five days and wish we had more time.
First impressions of the park for us were witnessing the sunset at Zabriskie point, which was a few miles down from Furnace Creek, where we stayed for the duration of our visit. Zabriskie Point is a part of the Amargosa Range located east of Death Valley that is what remains of the Furnace Creek lake that apparently dried up about 5 million years ago. If you think the pictures portray the park in its glory, it is barely a whimper on what the real thing offers. If you can ignore the other travelers, and follow a trail, it offers up one of life’s unique experiences. At the point of writing, Death Valley easily ascended to the top of my list of the favorite parks in the country.
There are hundreds of hiking trails in the park, we managed to walk a few moderate ones including the Red Cathedral starting at sun dawn, so that we could have the place to ourselves.
At about 300 ft below sea level, “Badwater basin“ is the lowest point in the North America. It does have a small pool of salt water in the middle, which is what probably got it its name. As the water evaporates, it leaves behind a honey comb pattern of salts which is amazing to see at scale. The salt basin itself is about 200 square miles, though you can stick to a small pathway that lets you admire the salts from up close.
Yet another unique view at the park can be found at Artist’s Drive, which is a nine mile one way loop off of Badwater Road through some of the most colorful canyons in the park, all naturally created. The colors are due to the mineral deposits and most certainly the most colorful section in the park.
Desert features sand and dunes and the formations at Mesquite flats are another location that is easily accessible from the road. If you can bear the selfie takers, feel free to bask in the sun to witness another unexpected wonder in the valley.
And if you really wish to view the whole panorama from a much higher vantage point, do not miss a trip to Dante’s view! I don’t recall seeing anything like this before and it was worth the trip to get a bird’s eye view of the valley.
Death Valley is surrounded by a handful of Ghost towns, one of was the town of Baharat. Most of these towns were once thriving due to the mining activity where borax was one of key cash draws in the area.
Death valley exceeded all our expectations and while the name might scare a few out there, its a pretty unique place to view life from a completely different vantage point. Few places have surprised me like this park and often it felt like we were on a different planet. Its a great park that offers endless exploration, stunning views and you walk out with a whole different perspective on what it might have meant for people who used to live here. Someday, we will be back!
