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Published: February 21st 2013
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My greatly anticipated day trip into Death Valley began at 2:30 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. It was an exciting surreal moment, being the only human for miles and miles, shrouded in thick silence and darkness. The sky was full of stars and it did not take long for my eyes to adjust to their light. I didn’t even need my head lamp. Walking out into the salt flats, I watched a couple stars shoot across the sky and marveled at my own private world. This was short-lived, however. In no time at all, a small handful of cars pulled into the parking lot too. They caught up with me on the unofficial path into the salt flats, toting their monster tripods and super professional cameras.
The sky grew light very quickly in anticipation of the sunrise. There were no brilliant colors
Badwater Basin at Sunrise
Telescope Peak (11,331 ft) in distance though. It was a cold morning, with hat, sweatshirt and gloves required to stay warm. Standing in the middle of nowhere watching the sky turn from black, to dark blue, to light blue made me wish for some hot cocoa. The light first hit the snowcapped Telescope Peak. The orange hue moved down the mountains until just the base and salt flats were still blue. At this point, I turned back for the warmth of my car. It would take another hour for the light to get to where I was standing, and I had already been there for two.
On my way back to Furnace Creek, I detoured on Artists Drive, a scenic one-way road past colorful rocks. A quick stop and hike up a short trail to Zabriskie Point offered a partially obscured view of the basin below. I continued on to Dante’s View, a nicely paved overlook 5,475 feet in elevation. It was so windy, I was not out there for more than a couple minutes. But the views were fantastic. I could see from the valley floor of -282 feet to Telescope Peak at 11,049 feet.
In Furnace Creek, I gassed up my car
for $2 more per gallon than in Las Vegas before stopping at the visitor’s center. Unlike other national parks, Death Valley seems to operate on the honor system for park admission. I have an annual pass, but no one bothered to stop me to see if I had paid the entrance fee. Just beyond the visitor’s center is the Harmony Borax Works. I did not exit my car to take photos. There was much more to see today.
Death Valley was created by a number of natural forces, including volcanoes. My next stop was toward the north of the park, at Ubehebe Crater. There is a short trail that runs around the rim of an extinct volcanic crater and I thought it would be fun. Upon my arrival at the site, I saw the weather was moving into the valley quickly, and decided for just a partial hike. I think I got back to my car just in time, because rain clouds descended immediately afterward onto the lower hills of the valley and the wind shook my car.
It was well into the afternoon when I began the drive back to Las Vegas. The weather chased me all
the way out of the park and overtook me on the highway. Snow clouds blocked visibility and blanketed hilltops with a thin layer of white. I want to plan another day trip to the valley and check out some of the things I passed on this trip.
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