Death Valley, California

Last Saturday the temperature finally dropped, so I took a trip to Death Valley.  This was also my first trip to California.  Fortunately Death Valley is only about two hours from Las Vegas... and just in case you were wondering about 2,300 miles outside of 285.
Lets go.


The Timbisha Shoshone are an Indian Tribe.  According to the website 20-30 still live at death valley.

After arriving in the park, you will encounter a kiosk where you are supposed to to stop and pay....which I did.  It costs 20 dollars per car for a seven day pass.  No..there is not a one day pass.  The 20 dollar pass is the lowest one.  There is not a gate or any type of security that I saw.  You have to pay by credit card. 
Once inside the park the first stop was Zabriskie Point. 

Park and take a short walk to the top.

Here are a few pictures from the top.  I took these with an iPad...are they better than the phone I been using??

Death Valley covers a vast area.  It requires a lot of driving to get from place to place.  I spent more time inside my car than outside walking around.  But anyway, after leaving Zabriskie Point, I headed to the visitors center to get some information.  Then I drove to Badwater to see the salt flats.

How low can you go???

 

 

 

 



The Badwater Basin consists of more than 200 miles of salt flats.

 

 

 

There is a gas station inside of the park, but you need to fill up before you get here.  I have NEVER seen gas this high.  But is this a glimpse into the future???

 



After Badwater, I drove to Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes.  It was not difficult to walk on the sand because it was a little damp from prior rain.

After walking around on dunes, I headed back in the opposite direction to the Harmony Borax Works.  Borax was processed here in the late 1800's.

I stopped at Dante's Peak on the way out of the Park.  This view takes you 5,000ft above Death Valley.   Now you can see how thh mountain ranges surround the valley below.  The "white stuff" are mineral deposites.  There is a small area of water located near the center of the picture below. 

The road to the peak got really narrow and steep near the top.  It felt like a roller coaster. 

I saw two roadrunners on my trip.  Just like the cartoon, they zoomed across the street.  They moved too fast for a picture.  I did not see any black folks, mostly European tourists.