Death Valley

It is difficult to put into words the magnificence of Death Valley, but I will try to give a flavour of one of the most extreme places on earth.
It is scaldingly hot ( 114 degrees by 5pm today), dry and hostile, but utterly mesmerising at the same time. There is often a desert wind blowing and it is rather like being caught in a hairdryer at full power! I think most people’s thought is of a flat dry sandy desert valley, but this could not be further from the truth. We drove the Badwater road today, which is a small part of the valley descending gently all the while to the lowest point in the USA at 282ft below sea level. High mountains edge the valley and the floor glistens in the morning sun. It is certainly not sand, but varying types of salt flat from octagonal plate like structures to rocky hummocks and pinnacles, known as the The Devils Golf Course. The mountain sides soar above you and are all colours and textures, from pink, gold, yellow and brown to white, silver grey and green. At the lowest point is a pool of rather disgusting brackish water, hence the name Badwater- very literal the Americans. The air seems heavy and oppressive and the heat attacks you on all sides. Five minutes walk out on to the salt flat was all we deemed sensible. The Artists Pallet is a seven mile loop off the main road and the rock formations and colours have to be seen to be believed. We had to drive it twice to take it all in. Zebrinske Point is an overlook onto the euphemistically named Badlands which takes the breath away. So does the climb up to view it! At this point we had to retreat back to the Oasis Retreat for some much needed R&R, venturing out later to make the spectacular drive to Dante’s View. We climbed to 10,000 ft above sea level and Dante is awe inspiring, although no hell hole! You are directly above the Badlands point we walked on in the morning. The views of Death Valley are stupendous in all directions. Interestingly the temperature dropped 21 degrees in our ascent from 112 to 91 and on our return to The Oasis Ranch had risen to 114. It is scarcely under 100 this evening, which is normal. Because of the topography the heat is trapped and builds up in the valley with no escape, hence the fact that this is the most consistently hottest spot on earth. The whole area was formed millions of years ago by tectonic plate movement and only recently has water and wind erosion started to pay a part. I will include some photos, but in reality they do not do anything justice.
Tomorrow we will visit some other sites on our way out of the park, heading for the Sierra Nevada and Rte 395, supposedly one of the most beautiful drives in the US. It will have to go some, as today has been phenomenal.

We have reached Mammoth Lakes after 4 hours on the road, plus a couple of stops. One was at the Mesquite flats sand dune overlook. This is probably what the uninitiated would associate with Death Valley, yet it only occupies one small section, but its constantly shifting dunes are classic in appearance. The climb out of the valley was majestic with panoramic vistas on all sides and we were relieved to be in an air conditioned car rather than on foot or mule, like the early gold rush pioneers. The first intrepid travellers had no idea what they were venturing into and didn’t all escape with their lives, hence the Death Valley monicker. We stopped from time to time to gaze and take it all in, but coming from a tiny chocolate box country, it is mind blowing. The heat and the colours of the rock continued to mesmerise. We dropped down into the Owens Valley and then climbed out the other side by way of Rainbow Canyon onto the Darwin plateau. Just when we thought the best was behind us we turned a corner to find the Sierra Nevada mountain range on the horizon and these are serious mountains still snow capped. We reached the intersection with Rte 395 and called into the visitor centre. As we climbed out of the car, my nostrils were assailed with the smell of fresh mountain greenery and I knew our desert sojourn was behind us. Suddenly we were surrounded by green for the first time since our arrival. The settlement of Lone Pine is a mile down the road and is basically a small Main Street town. It has two claims to fame. Firstly, it is the jumping off point to Mt Whitney, the highest mountain in mainland USA. We didn’t have a vast amount of time, but did venture down Mt Whitney Portal Road ( told you-very literal here) to take a look at the mountain as close as we were likely to get and secondly to visit The Alabama Hills which sit at the bottom of its flanks. Many western and other movies have been filmed here over the years and the landscape is utterly fantastic, rather like nature’s version of a multitude of Henry Moore sculptures.
Route 395 runs all the way along the base of the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada mountain range and as a drive does not disappoint. There are small towns along the way, but largely the land is vast, beautiful and unoccupied. I think that is the thing that hits us Brits with parts of the US, the sheer majesty, scale and space. It is like nothing we ever experience at home. The road gradually climbed to 6500 ft and Mammoth Lakes came into view. We are now in an alpine landscape and this is a large ski resort in the winter and outdoor sports and mountain biking centre in the summer. It is not unusual to find hotel guests bringing their bikes up to their rooms for the night, which bearing in mind their cost is probably not surprising. If it isn’t a bike in the lift it’s a dog or two. I’m beginning to wonder if they’re obligatory- I’ll let you know!Read more