It was a beautiful morning as we drove up Hwy 160.
As we climbed to the top of the Mountain Springs Summit, we could see Joshua Trees all along both sides of the road. Joshua Trees are neither a tree nor a cactus but a form of a yucca plant.
After crossing the Mountain Springs Summit at 5,490 feet, we began descending the other side of the mountains and heading northwest towards Pahrump, Nevada.
After stopping at a McDonalds in Pahrump for a restroom break and to get something to drink for along the way, we began heading west on Bell Vista Road crossing back into California. We came to the small and almost non-existent town of Death Valley Junction which has (or had) an opera house...
...with a performance tonight! We wondered if someone forgot to take the sign down.
From Death Valley Junction, we began traveling northwest and descending down towards Death Valley...
...and reached the entrance to the park within about 16 miles.
Our first stop in Death Valley was Zambriskie Point. We parked the car and walked up a paved trail to the top of the point where you could look out on the colorful mountains and Death Valley below.
The colors and desolate mountains reminded us of the Badlands of South Dakota.
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| Panoramic view |
After leaving Zambriskie Point, we drove past Furnace Creek Inn. The Furnace Creek Inn was originally constructed by the Pacific Coast Borax Company and opened on February 1, 1927.
When we reached sea level,
we could see the oasis of Furnace Creek below us.
Furnace Creek Inn and Ranch as well as the Visitor Center for Death Valley are supplied by a nearby natural spring here in the middle of the desert that supplies so much water the swimming pool at the resort is replenished with fresh cool water up to twice a day keeping the pool water at 84 degrees even when it is well over 100 degrees for much of the summer.
The ranch at Furnace Creek even has a golf course. Not what you would expect in the middle of the desert!
At the ranch was the old Borax Museum that had many artifacts from when the Borax company had a big mining operation in Death Valley.
Below are the wagons that the twenty-mule team pulled out of the mines in the early days of the mining operations.
At Furnace Creek, we were at 190 feet below sea level.
Furnace Creek is also where the hottest temperature ever recorded on earth occurred. On July 10, 1913, the temperature reached 134 degrees!!! We hoped they did not break that record today!
We walked around the museum and looked at the exhibits outside for a few minutes and then drove over to the Furnace Creek Visitor Center where it was 109 degrees when we arrived.
Fortunately, we got a parking space that was covered which helped to keep the car a little cooler while we were in the visitor center.
After looking around in the visitor center, watching the National Park video on Death Valley, and looking at the exhibits, we decided to leave to find a place for our picnic lunch in 112 degree temperatures. I'm melting!!! :)
We found a shady picnic table and a shady spot for the car and enjoyed our picnic lunch in the hot breezy weather. Are we crazy or what?
After lunch, we decided to travel to the Badwater Basin, the lowest place not just in the United States but in the entire western hemisphere. Seventeen miles seems like a long way in the middle of the desert. We could see the heat rising over the horizon as we were driving.
The basin is actually a shallow lake in the winter.
When we reached Badwater, we were at 282 feet below sea level.
Way up on the hill was a sign marking sea level.
We could walk out to the basin on what looked a dock but with no boats!
What was crazy was there actually was a small pool of water nearby.
We walked out on to the salt flats of the basin so we could experience Death Valley first hand.
The wind was blowing very strong making you feel like you were standing in front of a huge hair blow dryer.
When we got back in the car to head back to Furnace Creek, it was 115 degrees!!! Thank goodness the air conditioning was working!
We took a little 9 mile detour on Artist's Drive on the way back to Furnace Creek. The colors were beautiful.
Artist's Drive is a one-way road with a lot of curves, climbs, and dips. To be on the safe side, we turned the a/c off on the car and road with the windows down because the temp on the car started to rise a little bit when we were climbing in elevation on Artist Drive.
Thankfully, we had no problems and enjoyed a hot but beautiful view of another part of Death Valley.
There are places along Artists Drive and in other spots in Death Valley where the hills and ground are covered with black lava rock.
After leaving Artists Drive, we began our trip back to the campground in a nice, cool, air-conditioned car. We did stop at McDonalds in Pahrump for another restroom break and some much deserved ICE CREAM!!!! :)
Death Valley is absolutely beautiful but I think the next time we visit it will be in the winter! :) It is the largest national park outside of Alaska and has so many other places to see and a lot of great hiking opportunities. You just don't want to be out there hiking at 115 degrees!!! :)
By the time we got back to the campground, we had traveled over 300 miles -- our longest day trip of our southwest adventure. But what better way to spend a day than seeing a beautiful national park, traveling to the lowest place in the western hemisphere on the hottest day we have ever experienced and sharing that experience with our dear friends, Ken and Bonnie! :)
When we reached sea level,
we could see the oasis of Furnace Creek below us.
Furnace Creek Inn and Ranch as well as the Visitor Center for Death Valley are supplied by a nearby natural spring here in the middle of the desert that supplies so much water the swimming pool at the resort is replenished with fresh cool water up to twice a day keeping the pool water at 84 degrees even when it is well over 100 degrees for much of the summer.
The ranch at Furnace Creek even has a golf course. Not what you would expect in the middle of the desert!
At the ranch was the old Borax Museum that had many artifacts from when the Borax company had a big mining operation in Death Valley.
Below are the wagons that the twenty-mule team pulled out of the mines in the early days of the mining operations.
At Furnace Creek, we were at 190 feet below sea level.
Furnace Creek is also where the hottest temperature ever recorded on earth occurred. On July 10, 1913, the temperature reached 134 degrees!!! We hoped they did not break that record today!
We walked around the museum and looked at the exhibits outside for a few minutes and then drove over to the Furnace Creek Visitor Center where it was 109 degrees when we arrived.
Fortunately, we got a parking space that was covered which helped to keep the car a little cooler while we were in the visitor center.
After looking around in the visitor center, watching the National Park video on Death Valley, and looking at the exhibits, we decided to leave to find a place for our picnic lunch in 112 degree temperatures. I'm melting!!! :)
We found a shady picnic table and a shady spot for the car and enjoyed our picnic lunch in the hot breezy weather. Are we crazy or what?
After lunch, we decided to travel to the Badwater Basin, the lowest place not just in the United States but in the entire western hemisphere. Seventeen miles seems like a long way in the middle of the desert. We could see the heat rising over the horizon as we were driving.
The basin is actually a shallow lake in the winter.
When we reached Badwater, we were at 282 feet below sea level.
Way up on the hill was a sign marking sea level.
We could walk out to the basin on what looked a dock but with no boats!
What was crazy was there actually was a small pool of water nearby.
We walked out on to the salt flats of the basin so we could experience Death Valley first hand.
The wind was blowing very strong making you feel like you were standing in front of a huge hair blow dryer.
When we got back in the car to head back to Furnace Creek, it was 115 degrees!!! Thank goodness the air conditioning was working!
We took a little 9 mile detour on Artist's Drive on the way back to Furnace Creek. The colors were beautiful.
Artist's Drive is a one-way road with a lot of curves, climbs, and dips. To be on the safe side, we turned the a/c off on the car and road with the windows down because the temp on the car started to rise a little bit when we were climbing in elevation on Artist Drive.
Thankfully, we had no problems and enjoyed a hot but beautiful view of another part of Death Valley.
There are places along Artists Drive and in other spots in Death Valley where the hills and ground are covered with black lava rock.
After leaving Artists Drive, we began our trip back to the campground in a nice, cool, air-conditioned car. We did stop at McDonalds in Pahrump for another restroom break and some much deserved ICE CREAM!!!! :)
Death Valley is absolutely beautiful but I think the next time we visit it will be in the winter! :) It is the largest national park outside of Alaska and has so many other places to see and a lot of great hiking opportunities. You just don't want to be out there hiking at 115 degrees!!! :)
By the time we got back to the campground, we had traveled over 300 miles -- our longest day trip of our southwest adventure. But what better way to spend a day than seeing a beautiful national park, traveling to the lowest place in the western hemisphere on the hottest day we have ever experienced and sharing that experience with our dear friends, Ken and Bonnie! :)
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