Death Valley Desert Driving

Had a lot of driving to do, so I was up and checked out pretty early, wanted to get to the little cabin I had booked early enough to do a little pre-exploration of the park. Only made one stop along the way, at the Jawbone visitors center, but it was a good one.

It was neat watching the landscape change. From rolling hills to flatlands, and finally, to the desert proper. I knew the desert here wasn’t just endless sand wastes, but it was still neat having that visually confirmed.

Finally though, six hours and three applications of sunscreen to my left arm later, I made it to my cabin. Rushed through check-in, and practically threw my things in the room before heading back out. Still had a few hours of daylight left, and I intended to use them. So glad I did! Probably wouldn’t have made it to Badwater basin or Artists Drive if I didn’t do it that day, and the later would have been a shame to miss. It’s hard not to turn into a geology fanatic driving through that 5 mile loop, some of the prettiest rocks I’ve ever seen.

By this point it was getting pretty dark, so I headed back for the evening, but not before stopping at Father Crowley point to watch the sunset. Went back up after dinner to do some stargazing as well, as it was only a ten minute drive from where I was staying. The night photography capabilities of phones these days is almost scary.

Slept like a baby that night. And was up with the sunrise. It wasn’t that long of a drive to Vegas from where I was, but I made plenty of stops along the way. Probably the easiest park to explore by car that I’ve been to. Most of the sights are right along the road, or only require a short hike, at least the places I went. Dante’s View and Zabriskie point in particular are worth a stop.

I’m glad Dante’s was the last stop I made, always good to end on a high note, and I was able to enjoy the view all by my lonesome. Was the perfect way to say goodbye to one of the more beautiful places I’ve seen. I’ve been surrounded by forests for so much of my life, it was nice to see that other climates can be as gorgeous as my home turf.

Saying goodbye to the Valley, it was only a relatively short drive to Vegas, but I’ll cover all that in my next post. Until then, I’ll leave you with a photo of the best purchase I made before coming here, no matter how dorky.