My Death Valley Days – Part One

Traveling around with only a general idea of an itinerary is quite freeing. Not only is my agenda my own, so that I can stay longer or skip places as my interests dictate.

To tell the truth, I wasn’t all that excited about visiting Death Valley National Park. For one thing, there’s that name. Death Valley. DEATH Valley. It is a bit off-putting. And then, my main images of the place came from Death Valley Days.

An old black and white TV show that would come on when I was a kid. I expected Death Valley to be black and white. Oh, and small, because we had a small TV back then.

Is it any wonder that I expected it to be a drab place?

Since I was a little unsure about going to a remote place with the name DEATH Valley, I was going to make sure I had a reservation. I could only book one night at Furnace Creek Resort RV Park. The campground in the National Park that accepted reservations had nothing available. I wasn’t too disappointed. I had no expectations, so one night would be enough. Or so I thought.

In the first place, Death Valley is full of contrasts. Furnace Creek Resort RV Park is located in an oasis. It is lush and green and has a wonderful spring-fed pool. There is even golf there, for those who play.

So, I dropped my trailer and hooked up the utilities and  set out to see what I could of the park. First stop, Zabriskie Point. As you can see, the wind was fierce.

I continued my drive up to Dante’s View, which is about 5500 feet above sea level. The wind had not abated, and, with the change in altitude, it was actually chilly.

After that view, I thought it was time to visit the lowest place in the country, Badwater Basin, 282 feet below sea level.

I could see what looked like the salt in the soil. I saw a piece laying loose, so I picked it up and tasted it. It was salty! Since this is a National Park, I was sure to put it back down exactly where I found it.

The next feature I had in mind to see was the Artists Drive. The colors were incredible! Was I ever wrong about Death Valley being drab! The pictures don’t do it justice.

After that exhilarating day of surprises proved to me that Death Valley is an interesting place, I took advantage of the wonderful pool at the resort.

The next day, I hitched up Flo and moved across the road to one of the non-reservable campgrounds in the park. I learned something else: a non-reservable campground isn’t like an unassigned seating plan in an airplane. There was lots of room and it wasn’t crowded in the least.

I had a different view, and lots of space. But, the wind! I was looking forward to seeing the stars at night. The night sky is reputed to be one of the darkest in the country. No light pollution to dim the stars.

The wind was so powerful that it turned a neighboring site’s campfire into roaring furnace. It carried tents and tarps away. Out of caution, I decided not go out to look at the stars. It was pitch black. I was afraid that the wind might catch Flo’s door and rip it off the hinges. It was really strong. And, even if the door didn’t fly away, I was afraid that I would get knocked down with a sudden blast of wind.

The wind was a surprise to me. No, not that it was windy, but that there could be a wind chill effect when the temperatures were in the 80’s! That’s around 27 for my celsius friends. People were all wrapped up when they were sitting around. If I had sat around outside, I probably would have been wearing a sweatshirt, too.

All in all, I ended up staying four days in Death Valley, and I would like to go back and see things that I missed.

Ubehebe Crater is an explosion crater, caused by rising hot magma turning water to steam, which explodes. This crater is a half-mile across and about 500 feet deep. It’s the largest crater in the park.

Geology isn’t the only draw in Death Valley. There is also Scotty’s Castle.

This two story castle is a pastiche of Spanish Colonial Revival and Mediterranean Revival architecture built in another oasis in Death Valley. The only way to see the interior is to take a tour with a costumed guide who takes you back to the 1920’s when the it was built.

So, I took the tour with Miss Lucy, who showed told us all about the scheming Walter Scott and his patrons, Albert and Bessie Johnson. What started out as a con ended up as a life-long friendship. Scotty and the Johnsons would entertain themselves by telling wild stories of gold and wild times in the desert. After the stock market crash, they charged people for their stories and dinner.

The last stop of the tour was a music room. Miss Lucy played Bessie’s organ that reminded me of the automatic orchestras that old merry-go-rounds used to have.

I have a more to share about My Death Valley Days and I’ll save it for another post. Thanks for coming along for the ride!