A visit to Death Valley National Park

September 27 - Made it to Death Valley National Park. It was a l-o-o-n-n-g drive. There were two “bad” spots, both within the Park. The first was over the Paramint Mountains (it was a long, slow, winding pull) and the second was the drive from Stovepipe Wells to Furnace Creek after sunset (it was incredibly dark). For some reason we never thought about either situation but it should have been apparent.

Our day started in a little community named Patterson, California and we drove straight through to Furnace Creek Ranch in Death Valley. Now that is a long drive (more than 7hours) to begin with but was prolonged by a stop in Bakersfield to get an oil change for the Rig and to do some computer communication.

For those of you who have never driven I-5 (or as the local say “The 5") it runs through the Central Valley of California which is one field of green growing stuff after another. It was pretty amazing to see all this stuff growing all the way to Bakersfield. Passing through Bakersfield was like going from one room into another but this one had no adornments. From the slow pull to Tehachapi and down to Mojave, the landscape has more the “original” California look. A turn north onto US 395 and you get to see what a California desert looks like. It may not have been the lush green we saw along the coast but, IMHO, it has a beauty all its own.

Most landscapes are hidden by vegetation but that is not the case in a desert. Instead of having something to hid all the earth’s cracks, wrinkles, and character, in a desert landscape it is all out there to see. Reminds me of my mother without her thick panstick make-up on (Do they even still make that stuff?). She felt the make-up made her more attractive but, in my eyes, she was beautiful without. And that how I feel about a desert landscape. And I hope to get my fill of such beauty here in Death Valley.

September 28 through October 1 - What a great place to explore! Death Valley should be right up there with Yosemite and Yellowstone National Parks as places to visit. Okay, maybe not in the summer but I would suggest anytime between Thanksgiving Day and Easter.

We had the great good fortune of arriving a couple of weeks after a good soaking rain and got to enjoy lots more green than expected. The afternoon of our last day the clouds rolls back in and I think it may have rained later on the day we left. That’s okay since it means the visitors who followed us will also get the enjoy some green color in Death Valley.

One thing we find annoying about any national park is not being able to take our dogs with us on trails or most places in the park. Death Valley is no different and this limited what we could do. I can suggest and appreciate a whole variety of reasons for not taking dogs here and there in Death Valley but still wish we could have gotten to explore more of this Park.

Perhaps my favorite adventure was Titus Canyon but the Mesquite sand-dunes, near Stovepipe Wells, were pretty awesome. The Devil’s Golf course was amazing and the view from Dante’s Viewpoint incredible. Even the Visitor Center was fun.

Can’t recommend the food at Furnace Creek Ranch, either at Steakhouse or Café, but the Borax Museum and the Date Palm grove were great fun to explore. Overall, it was a great time that passed much too quickly. Maybe I’ll get to go back someday.

A couple of suggestions if you visit Death Valley National Park: Even this time of year, it is HOT!!! Take advantage of the cooler temperatures of early morning for hiking, drink lots and lots of water, and bring your own supplies. Limited groceries are available in the Park but are pricey (Pahrump, NV is the closest town with a full service grocery store and it’s a little more than an hour away).

I am putting some photo albums together of our Death Valley adventures for the Camping with Suzi section of www.forestcamping.com but here are a couple I really liked.

Follow a bee to water - advice from a Western novel

A glorious sunset.