Death Valley

Death Valley, how do I begin to describe it? It’s miles and miles and miles of barren land. There was nothing around us except quiet. There was no cell signal where we were so this meant no phone calls to be made, no checking the weather or posting to Facebook. It is an eerie feeling and not many places can evoke that in us anymore. You are vulnerable but with that comes the awareness that you are ALIVE.

If I had to use one word for Death Valley, it would be nowhere. You are literally in the middle of nowhere. You drive and drive but there are no familiar landmarks on the horizon. Just rocks and some scrub brush tossed around here and there. No McDonald’s, no banks, no grocery stores, nothing. There are no trees, no greenery, very few signs of life, just rocks, mountains and barren land. It is the most desolate place I have ever experienced.

Death Valley is a place of extremes being one of the hottest, driest and lowest places on earth. Summer temperatures often break world records, climbing into the 120’s and higher. There are several areas within the park that are below sea level. Badwater Basin boasts 282 feet below sea level.

So what did we see while we were here? We saw stars as they were viewed over 100 years ago. According to the International Dark Sky Association (IDSA), Death Valley is an International Dark Sky Park. What does this mean? It means the stars are bright and brilliant as they should be. Planets can be seen with the naked eye. The big and Little Dipper, the Milky Way, all sparkle with amazing clarity.

We saw the beauty of the Mesquite Sand Dunes standing big and bold in whichever way the wind directs them. They are there to be climbed on and enjoyed both day and night. The girls wandered deep into the shifting sands under the cover of night. There was both fear and excitement twinkling in their eyes. They came back giggling and alive with the sensation of cool sand under their feet. A moment they will never forget.

Badwater Basin was awesome. Not only is it home to the Badwater Snail found only in this location but it’s surreal. It’s one of the lowest elevations in the United States. And the salt that seeps up out of the surface is in it’s purest form. We listened in on a park ranger program and it was well worth it. 

We were able to walk out to an area where the salt flats were undisturbed. The floor forms cracks that go several miles deep into the ground. When the salt comes back up through these cracks, it brings with it some dirt. These form cool patterns on the salt flats. They can grow upward several feet if left unaltered. Very, very cool thing to see. 

We also drove Artist Drive. It was pretty neat and no easy task providing a road to wind through this place. But I’m sad to say that the experience was dulled by my knowledge of the Painted Desert. There’s very little that could ever top that beauty. I’m sure there’s no place like it in the world. The colors and textures were a feast to the eyes. But Artist Drive is still cool none the less. Just go there before the Painted Desert!

I walked the path showcasing the former Borax production area. It seems the element Boran was discovered here in the late 1800’s. At the time, it was the only location for the element in the entire United States. The only other sources were Turkey and…..I don’t remember. Anyway, Boran was processed into Borax by Harmony Borax Works. It’s uses were many to include laundry soap.

Death Valley is massive with over 3 million acres to explore. That’s a LOT of park to cover and things are far apart. And a lot of the things to see are on backroads only accessible to four wheel drive vehicles. I really wanted to see Scotty’s Castle but it was closed do to flooding in October. Yes, someone built a castle in the middle of nowhere. And yes, it flooded in the driest place on earth just months before our arrival. Crazy, huh?!

mustard canyon

The other thing that I really wanted to see was Racetrack playa. In this playa, or dry lake bed, rocks slide completely unaided, leaving long trails behind them. Some have traveled over 1500 feet. Scientists have several theories on how this occurs but believe it’s a combination of rain and the playa. When small amounts of rain fall, they believe it makes the playa slick enough to move the rocks. Accessible by four wheel drive only, bummer!

We missed a lot of sites but however fascinating this place in the ‘middle of nowhere’ was, we were in desperate need of technology. We could only disconnect from our contact with the outside world for so long. After four days it was time to move along.

But not before I heard one of my teenagers declare, “I’d love to come back here again some day”. She fell in love with the starry nights. My heart swelled with pride, I patted myself on the back. Finally, I reached something deep down!

However, it was time to stop patting myself on the back. You see, I needed both hands on the steering wheel coming out of Death Valley. If you make it in alive and you survive this place, you better hope your luck holds up coming back out.

I mean, after all, I was driving my Perfectly Enormous Rolling Lady (PERL)  of   approximately 15,000 pounds down 9 percent curvy grades for miles and miles. That weight doesn’t factor in the 3,500 pound tow vehicle ambling behind us. And the side of the road didn’t really have, well, a side. It was more like a massive drop off down to the canyon floor below. And I do mean massive drop.

And what’s going to stop my 15,000+ pounds? An itty bitty little guard rail. My height fearing brother had sweaty palms as my knuckles turned white on the steering wheel. I pulled off at one of the few pullovers and let Perl’s brakes rest for a bit. I shifted into low gear as much as I could but there was no way to avoid some braking action. If I return to Death Valley again, I think I’ll look for an alternate route. Just saying.

Shortly after we were out of Death Valley, my breath was taken away by the gorgeous Sierra Nevada’s. They were just as I’d seen on t.v. and books, amazingly beautiful. We pulled into Bakersfield, CA on Saturday with time to spare. We’re resting up doing laundry, stocking the fridge and preparing to move on soon.

I had everything mapped out and was planning on heading over to Santa Barbara for two weeks. But, I hear Yosemite, San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge calling my name. So I’m thinking of revising the plans. So who knows where you’ll hear from us next. One thing I do know, I’ll have internet!

If you plan on shopping Amazon anytime soon, please click on my Amazon Link and help this blogger out :-). If you order within 24 hours, I’ll get a small compensation and it won’t cost you anything more. I’d be very grateful! Thanks!

{HUGS} from the Crew!