I kicked off 2014 with a road trip, leaving bright and early on January 1st for Death Valley. I drove from Los Angeles north on Hwy14, through Red Rock Canyon State Park, then onto Hwy395 to Olancha & from there Hwy190 took me to the east entrance of Death Valley. At my first stop I met a woman who asked if I was just arriving or leaving. Her question surprised me since it was still quite early. She told me they were leaving and their visit took them only about 2-2&1/2 hrs. However they had only driven across from west to east. She wasn’t aware they had missed out on the most scenic parts of Death Valley. When planning your trip keep in mind Death Valley is the largest national park outside the ones in Alaska.
Entering Death Valley from the east, I left the snowy caped Sierras behind me and after a beautiful drive I got to the first view point Father Crowley. As you step out from the parking lot the steep and dark Rainbow Canyon is right in front of you.The gray and black rocky formations are the result of black lava flows. From the parking lot there is a very easy trail at the end of which one gets a great view of the Panamint Valley.
Unlike other national parks where one has to pay the entrance fee before driving in, the closest ranger station was coming up after Father Crowley. It is 20$ per vehicle and it is good for one week. When I walked in to pay there was a man in front of me asking about road conditions and he particularly wanted to know if Titus Canyon was open as according to him it is the most beautiful road in the USA he has driven on. Well, hearing this I of course became intrigued and asked the ranger about the area. She told me one needed a high clearance vehicle as it was a gravel road and most of it was a one way road only accessible from east to west, but she said I could drive up the first 3 miles to the mouth of the canyon even with a regular car and hike from there. More on this later….
Driving on east on the 190 I came to Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes. It was a beautiful warm day in the low 70s, the sand was warm and the softest kind. This spot is beautiful and so much fun, I could have spent half a day just here! You’ll want to climb onto those dunes and slide down on them, and run up again and slide down until your legs are begging for a break.
The main visitor center is at Furnace Creek, there are also some small shops here, a camp site, lodging and gas, however it is very expensive (over $5/gl), so unless you are spending several days in Death Valley make sure you fill up your tank at the nearest town outside of Death Valley.
My next stop was at Zabriskie Point, also called the badlands because of the undulating terrain of eroded mud-stone hills and canyons. Its name comes from Christian Brevoort Zabriskie, the vice president of the Pacific Coast Borax Company which had big operations in the area at the beginning of the 20th century before it was designated a national park. This is a very popular spot for photographers, quite a few of them were lined up waiting for the sunset when I was there. It is also featured in movies and on the cover of one of U2’s albums. It was fun walking down into the canyon from the view point. I’d recommend planning enough time to be able to hike around the badlands and get a view from the bottom-up.
Time goes by fast when you are having a great time, right? Before I knew it I found myself running up the badlands at Zabriskie in a hurry to get to Dante’s View before sunset. It was probably the best time of the day to be in this spot, the views were spectacular, I think the pictures speak for it. This is the highest part of Death Valley accessible by car.
I had hoped to see everything that was accessible on paved roads in one day, but I haven’t even come close, so decided I’d return on my way back to Los Angeles for another day in stunning Death Valley.
