http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Death-Valley-National-Park/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from North America , United States , California , Death Valley National Park en-us Mon, 20 May 2013 09:01:18 +0000 Mon, 20 May 2013 09:01:18 +0000 The two bus loads of binocular equipped Germans perched at the top of Zabriskie Point looked like Afrika Korps scouts sent by Rommels ghost to locate prime 88 artillery sites on Death Valleys flat expanse for some future installation. Germans appear to be the tourists de jour in all of the US National parks that we have been to to date. Flush with Merkel muscled geld they leave no stone untu http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Death-Valley-National-Park/blog-779310.html My greatly anticipated day trip into Death Valley began at 230 in the morning. I travelled through Pahrump and past the Amargosa Opera House sign. It may have been an interesting drive had it not been before dawn. For most of the drive I could see the artificial glow of Las Vegas in the distance.When I arrived at the Badwater Basin parking lot three hours later I found no one else there. http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Death-Valley-National-Park/blog-772354.html Drive from Las Vegas to Mt. Whitney Portal camp ground and straight through Death Valley. http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Death-Valley-National-Park/blog-768324.html The next blog series Death Valley. . . will start on January 24th and will be from on the road Seattle San Diego Borrego Springs Death Valley N.P. Loreto La Paz and Todos Santos. Then back along a similiar route to the always beautiful state of Washington. Main features will include pictures of sagebrush talking Joshua trees mezcal ceremony and whales blowing their holes. I hope to p http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Death-Valley-National-Park/blog-766845.html We started the day by me catching a taxi to Wynn casino where I had to pick up the Hertz rental car while Tanya and the kids had breakfast. Got back and packed the car said goodbye to our new found friends Marc and Geraldine from Sydney and were on the road by 915a tiny bit later than plannedNavigated out of town with a few nearmisses of getting onto The wrong off ramp but got the hang prett http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Death-Valley-National-Park/blog-764489.html At 0830 we left the hotel for a drive through Death Valley National Park. We took the I15 south to Baker California and then headed north along the 127 through Shoshone. We stopped at the Zabriskie Point Lookout near Furnace Creek and then at the Furnace Creek Visitor Centre where it was 106 degrees Fahrenheit.We stopped to look at the sand dunes at Mesquite Flat near Stove Pipe Wells Nevada a http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Death-Valley-National-Park/blog-743916.html This photo dropped when the last post was published. The caption for the photo explains the crater in the previous post Ubehebe Crater a 770foot steamexplosion crater created when water suddenly flashed to steam shattering the rock above and ejecting a cloud of debris at speeds of up to 100 miles per hour From Death Valley National Park guide. http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Death-Valley-National-Park/blog-743373.html After 1800 miles and 29 hours of driving we reached the stunning Death Valley National Park. Intermittent sheets of rain pounded on our car top as we drove from St. George Utah through Las Vegas and up through Indian Springs where the rain was so hard all vehicles had slowed to a crawl. The evening TV weather reported severe flooding in Las Vegas that would continue into Wednesday Our timing w http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Death-Valley-National-Park/blog-742777.html Day 9 Jackie 8 SepIt was a driving day today as we departed Yosemite and headed out to Death Valley via Tioga Pass. An interesting drive out of the park which took in areas we hadn39t been to previously. We passed Lake Tenaya Toulumne Meadows and Lembert Dome but as we had a long drive ahead only stopped briefly for a few photos.Temperature again slowly rose as we travelled down the r http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Death-Valley-National-Park/blog-742528.html This morning I drove north through the valley. The road runs along the mountain foothills where they reach the desert floor. The heat is nearly unimaginable. The road has multiple signs warning of flash flood danger. They look about as silly as the signs in the mountains warning to carry tire chains. At the right time of year both of them become deadly serious as the sand streaks across the roa http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Death-Valley-National-Park/blog-736423.html Tuesday 240712 After feeding and talking with the cows next to our tent this morning we headed onto another crazy freeway. We headed towards San Francisco and by the time we made it to the Golden Gate Bridge the clouds and fog had lifted and we could see all around the bay. The bridge was pretty cool to ride a bike across it was kind of like big stacks of Lego. There wasnt much traffic http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Death-Valley-National-Park/blog-735950.html We never did end up doing any gambling. Erika managed to do a bit until she got told off because the kids were with her. She gave us a gambling voucher to use but we simply ran out of time to use it. I was surprised to see that kids were allowed in gaming areas as long as you dont gamble while they watch. We slept in which put us behind for the days activities but we really really needed it http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Death-Valley-National-Park/blog-733886.html Today we set off from Fresno on a 332 mile journey to Death Valley. Satnav was convinced it was going to take forever but it just took agesWe stopped at a Subway in the middle of the desert and it had exactly the same menu as everywhere else.The journey into the valley is like crossing the mountains of the moon with fantastic scenery and salt lakes not to mention harpin bends and high climbs whic http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Death-Valley-National-Park/blog-704237.html There are competitors for the title of the world39s greatest canyon. Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibet is said to be considerably deeper and longer than the Grand Canyon. Colca Canyon in Peru is also deeper and longer than the Grand Canyon. Tara in Montenegro touts itself as second to the Grand Canyon but alas it looks like Tara is number 4 at least. We haven39t seen Yarlung Tsangpo yet but http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Death-Valley-National-Park/blog-665125.html Death Valley was something else. 95f in the shade and a whole lotta sand. Kings canyon was pretty cool.....lots of giant Sequoia trees All the rest of the parks were loads of fun especially Lake Tahoe. We took the kayaks out and the day just couldn39t get any prettier.....and i caught trout for dinnerCrater Lake was breathtaking We did the loop and had a nice quiet lunch on the rim. http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Death-Valley-National-Park/blog-662101.html Today we drove from Bishop into Death Valley. It got progressively hotter as we made our way into the park peaking at 102 degrees. The scenery is lovely with the mountains all around. We planned to stop along the route for lunch at a place called Panamint Springs. Unfortunately it was such a small place that by the time we had got there wed left it It only took about 5 seconds to drive thr http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Death-Valley-National-Park/blog-650197.html DAY 11I got up at 8 30 and packed my stuff ready to leave Vegas. Checked out through the tv system which allows you to skip the long checking out queue in the lobby and got a taxi for 13 to Dollar rent a car where I had to wait an hour as they guy in the front office spent 45 minutes sorting two British couples who had messed up their reservation. Finally I got my car I just went for the cheapes http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Death-Valley-National-Park/blog-630550.html We entered Death Valley on Tuesday from the southeast in the early afternoon. I was expecting to find somewhat monotonous scenery once we were driving along the valley floor. Was I ever wrongWe spent the afternoon driving and stopping at sights along the way...I read aloud to Bill from the guide book discovering how Death Valley was named by Mormons and being reminded about TwentyMuleteam B http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Death-Valley-National-Park/blog-593169.html We all have images and beliefs about an area before we visit. Its fun to go somewhere and discover the truth and learn enough so that it has more dimension and truth. If we had driven thru Death Valley my view probably wouldnt have changed very much but by staying for 5 nights and visiting various areas and attending ranger talks my view is very different from when we arrived.We drove in http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Death-Valley-National-Park/blog-571794.html Death Valley National Park comprises more than 3.3 million acres of spectacular desert scenery rare desert wildlife complex geology undisturbed wilderness and sites of historical interest. Death Valley is unique because it contains the lowest hottest driest location in North America. Nearly 550 square miles of its area lie below sea level. Ecologically its plants and animals are representati http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Death-Valley-National-Park/blog-559813.html