I love being surrounded by big trees and forests, so I assumed that Sequoia National Park would be my favorite on the trip. Well, surprise! Death Valley was the dark horse that definitely wowed us!
We stayed at Panamint Springs which was perfectly acceptable. (Meaning - they allowed dogs and it wasn't old and disgusting. The accommodations surrounded National Parks always seem to be subpar.) Death Valley is HUGE and we barely scratched the surface - we only hit the Central and West sides, but we have plans to return to visit the Northern and Eastern sections.
On our first day in the park, we went to the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes near Stovepipe Wells shortly after sunrise. It was super peaceful and the sun hitting the dunes was amazing to see. The shadows and silence really made this a meditative walk!
Next up, we drove to Artist's Drive, which is a one-way nine mile drive through some of the (in our opinion) most beautiful section of the park. Artist's Palette is a super colorful area containing various shades of orange, pink, green, and purple created by metals in the rock. Artist's Palette is a small little area that you can get out and explore a bit. So cool!
Our last stop of the day was to Badwater Basin, which is the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere. It was honestly surprisingly hot here - especially compared to the rest of the park. The air just didn't seem to move at all there. The salt here gets pushed up through the mud, creating really interesting designs on the ground.
The next morning, we took the pup with us and hit Zabriskie Point, which has fantastic views of the valley. This was apparently underwater millions of years ago, which makes sense when you look at the landscape.
Then we went to explore Twenty Mule Team Canyon - which is one of the few places Indy was actually allowed! Fun to get out and explore with him!
On our way out of the park, we stopped at Father Crowley Point, which is used for training exercises for the Air Force! We didn't see any, but plenty of people were set up waiting for them. This area is also famously used in Star Wars: A New Hope!
Like I said, we really loved Death Valley! Going in November was key though since it wasn't hot at all and the crowds were pretty low. We REALLY wanted to see Racetrac Playa and Titus Canyon, but we'll have to make a return trip for those.
Up Next: We head to June Lake for 5 days where we experience a blast of winter weather and lots of hiking.
No comments:
Post a Comment