Eastbound Joads: Leaving California

Enough with the Nick Cage movie references, let's talk about Death Valley.

Death Valley was always one of those places I thought I wanted to go to, some day, if I was near it maybe and you know, had some time to kill. I mean, I don't want to go out of my way to see a desert and all. Well the weather in the Sierra Nevada mountains drove us out of there and left us with a desire to get warm and dry so we figured why not, let's go check it out. We were both floored by the beauty of the place and its hugeness. To give you an idea of how enamored we were with the place, we took over 400 photos in two days.

While true it is all a desert, such a varied place we have not been. It's has high, high peaks and obviously the lowest spot in North America. Our first day we spent in the high plains and hills of the Panamint Mountains to the west of the valley. We explored old mining ruins, 100-plus year old charcoal kilns and the the wild flowers that were still much in bloom this late into the year. At these high elevations, heat was not an issue. In fact at our first campsite high up on a ridge overlooking the valley at 8100 feet we woke to howling winds and a temperature of 36. Snow still capped the surrounding peaks. Oh, it was a free campsite, so it's not like I was gipped.

Our next and full day at the park we took advantage of all of the dirt tacks that lace the park. We drove off to the east to two more ghost towns of which nearly a dozen dot the park. Although the term ghost town more accurately describes a few old sheds and a lot of iron trash. We drove back into the valley via the Titus Canyon, which was a narrow dirt wash at the bottom of a stunning rock canyon. Next we drove far to the north to see the Ubehebe Crater (another old volcano on this trip) and the famous 'racetrack.' A dried lake bed where rock mysteriously leave tracks in the bed.

We camped that night in Furnace Creek on the valley floor. It is famous for being the source of a spring within the valley, home to the abandoned borax works, the worlds lowest golf course, and oh yeah the hottest temperature on record, 136 degrees. When we were there it was a manageable 95.

The charcoal kilns used to power the borax works

Furnace Creek is also home to the most expensive gas we have yet bought on this trip, $5.45 a gallon. Price gouging yes, but you're going to look pretty stupid running out of gas in the middle of the desert waiting to see if AAA will come to your rescue. A quick aside, I have been amazed by how much gas prices have varied in California. I've seen everything from $3.75 to the plus $5 in places. In fact, when I bough the $5.45 a gallon gas, I was still stewing over paying $5.00 a gallon at something that was barley a town way up on the Northern Coast. Oh well, what can you do. We're not going to walk back East.

One of the many blooms

Our last day in the park, and our last day in California, we completed the Death Valley experience by driving down to Badwater, the lowest point at 282' below sea level and taking the artist canyon drive. It loops through some of the most colorful rock formations in the park. Colors one would be hard pressed to find in nature anywhere else in the world I'd think.

Leaving such a vast, beautiful and nearly monastic place behind, we drove on eastward towards one of the other uniquely American experiences; Las Vegas. I'll leave those thoughts for the next post.