“Hello” Death Valley!

We had checked the weather report for Death Valley and found that the highs were in the mid-90s with evenings in the low 60s.  Not really too bad since we were going to have full hookups (50 amp—ample for running the A/C all day!) and the resort had a pool … I’m down with that!

We had to crawl up two passes over 4200 feet … and they were looooooooooooong, slooooooooooooow crawls! 

Here we are at the national park entrance sign. 

Our first stop after entering Death Valley was at Father Crowley Overlook.  Not really exciting, but it was the first “official” stop inside the park.  We forgot to read the sign, but maybe Father Crowley is who they named Crowley Lake after?  Just guessin’ here!

Death Valley isn’t amazing because of its individual scenic areas, it’s stunning because of the overall stark and startling landscape which, quite frankly, is challenging to capture in snapshots. If you have never visited Death Valley, add it to your “bucket list”.  (Their season is October through March.) 

Death Valley is a land of great extremes which characterize this hottest, driest, lowest national park.  The extremes in temperature create scenic vistas and ecological niches that host startling biological diversity. Death Valley may appear to be a vast, empty wasteland, but to the aficionado it is a place of wonder.  The colorful and rugged terrain shouts tales of cataclysmic forces that thrust rock layers upward and opposing erosional forces battling to tear them down. 

Death Valley is considered the hottest spot on earth.  Why, you ask?  I thought you’d never ask!  Low elevation is one cause, but the valley’s enclosing mountains recirculate hot air and keep it from dissipating at night. Summer daytime highs often reach 120° and lows may not drop below 100° at night!  The hottest recorded daytime temperature was 134°.  People who were here at that time recorded tales of swallows just falling out of the sky!

Another interesting tidbit of information about Death Valley is that geologic forces make the highest point in the lower 48 states—Mount Whitney—just 100 miles from the lowest point, Badwater Basin in Death Valley.  Simply amazing!

It is a fantastic encounter with the natural elements.  Sunsets transition to the deepest rich red. This photo was taken from our campsite on our first night.  Some nights we did not have a colorful night sky display while other nights we were mesmerized. 

 

Once the sun sets it becomes pitch black at night and the sky is stuffed with more stars than you can imagine.  We would set up our chairs outside the RV and silently sit there just to stare at the night sky.  The Milky Way was clearly evident … it was the first thing I said when I got out of the RV, “Gary, I think that’s the Milky Way!”  And the Big Dipper sat there just right above the horizon, so very easily recognizable.  I wish my camera could have captured the sky for you, but it’s just not that sophisticated. 

 

The night sky made me think of my dad, Chuck, who passed away last year.  He was an amateur astronomer and could have told me what all the star clusters were that I didn't recognize.  My dad would have really enjoyed sitting outside in the dark pointing out all the different star constellations to us.

Although I couldn’t take pictures of the sky, I did take a number of pictures while we were simply driving down the roads in the park to try to give you an idea of what this harsh landscape looks like.  Here’s the first sampling starting with our drive into Stovepipe Wells (sitting 5 feet above sea level) which is where our campground was located.

 

Here are some shots of our motorhome in the RV park while we are preparing dinner on the BBQ. We have our TV trays set up outside so we can catch the sunset while we eat dinner.  Evenings were a wonderful, balmy 60 degrees ... I loved the evenings in Death Valley.

 

 

Here is Gary bar-b-queing at the campsite under Sadie's supervision, of course!  (P.S. Our RV in this  pic is on the extreme right!)

Gary has MASTERED (and I do mean "mastered") the art of campfire marshmallows!  He makes the absolute best ever and we have been enjoying a couple every night that we had that bag (which, alas, is now empty).  We do not use a gas grill, but still enjoy a nice charcoal grill which does make for some awesome marshmallows.  Check out these beauties ... yum! yum!

At both Stovepipe Wells and Furnace Creek Campgrounds you can make reservations for the RV sites (Stovepipe has 14 full hook-up sites) so we made reservations since full hook-ups were something I wasn’t willing to forego especially in Death Valley.  Both Furnace Creek and Stovepipe Wells have hotels in addition to their campgrounds with restaurants and swimming pools.  If you need to stay “connected” to the outside world, your best bet is Furnace Creek.  I had no cell reception at Stovepipe and the Internet is very slooooooooooooooooow (and that’s an understatement!).  But, at Furnace Creek you can get wireless inside the Visitor Center and I had cell reception there too.

Oops, I digress!  In tomorrow’s blog I’ll get back to our sightseeing adventures with our first stop at Mesquite Dunes!

 

Psalms 8:3-9 // When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained; what is man that You take thought of him, and the son of man that You care for him? Yet You have made him a little lower than God, and You crown him with glory and majesty!  You make him to rule over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea, whatever passes through the paths of the seas.  O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!