I saw a sign saying Death Valley National Park and I was home free. Nope it was a bit further down the road and I then had to cross the pass into Death Valley. The pass went higher than 4,000 feet and was steep. There was signs saying turn your AC off to prevent your car from overheating. I did not do it but watched the temperature gage when going over. I also had the pedal to the floor to try and get up the hill. Dundee did get getting us up and then over the pass. The downward path was not any better as you had to use the breaks tons or downshift manually to slow Dundee. Stovepipe Wells Village was a welcome site indicating that the pass was over. Death Valley National Park kicked my butt on this trip! When I arrived at the park it was 121 degrees outside and at 10pm it is 102 inside of Dundee with the exhaust fans working at 100% and both doors open. It has gone down 19 degrees but is still very uncomfortable to be in at this time. In the AM the temp in the van was a cool 97 degrees and the sun rose over the mountains by 0600 so I was up early. As I have said, the park is hot during the summer months of June – August with an average temperature of 104 degrees. The hottest day in Death Valley was 134 degrees. The heat is not the only thing that is extreme about this park but the lack of rainfall also makes this park dry. The park gets less than 3 inches of rain in a single year. The park has a part that is below sea level and other parts that are over 8,200 feet above sea level so go explore the various parts of the park. If your vehicle allows you to do some off road activity you can even camp at locations that are well above the 1,000 foot mark. Two of these campgrounds are closed in the winter due to their elevation, but would be good in the summer time as it should be cooler in the summer. Note: Remember to bring along plenty of water when you hike as it is dry here and hot as mentioned before and we don’t want anyone getting hurt. I think that this park is kinda an “Instagram Park” in that you can drive through the park and see the highlights and post them. In the summer when I went that is the way to go although the park does have a few hotels with AC.
Furnace Creek Campground – the campground is nice and had many restrooms with running water and flush toilets. There are water and electric hookups for those lucky individuals with RVs that can utilize these items. The campground is “closed” for the summer and based on the temp I can understand why it is closed but will take first come first served campers. The campground has over 100 sites and I think maybe 10 campers here in the campground tonight. The spots do not have much shade at all but the ones with any sort of shade are taken tonight. All spots have a fire ring and picnic table and a somewhat flat paved driveway. The downside of the large campground is that there is very little in the way of privacy for the campers. The only privacy is the camper’s vehicle and the sports are within 20-25 feet of each other so if I have a fire going in my fire pit it is about 10-12 feet from my neighbors camper/vehicle. The campground does have many washing stations for dishes etc scattered around the campground. The water is not heated but it is hot and everything in the bathroom is hot to the touch, guess at over 100 constantly everything is hot.
Badwater Basin – The basin is below sea level! It is not the lowest point on land below sea level but it is in North America at 282 feet below sea level. It is called Badwater due to a surveyor’s mule would not drink the water. The reason for not drinking the water is it is very salty and the mule could sense that the water was not good to drink. The spot has a boardwalk near the parking area but if you want to explore you can walk to your hearts content or you reach the other side of the valley. The closer you are to the boardwalk the wider and harder the service of the path but harder does not mean smooth. The path is warn down from so many people walking on it otherwise it is has many ruts large clumps of earth. The further you go also the path becomes more wet, not saying that it is muddy but you can feel and see that the moisture content of the path is different. Close to the boardwalk people have dug holes and stuck water but please don’t dig in the path or on the dirt, “Leave no trace.”
Artists Drive / Artists Palette – The drive will take you to the palette which is landscape with many different layers and colors. The drive is a one way road that is off of Harry Wade Road, the same road as the Badwater Basin. If traveling south to the basin you will pass the exit then the entrance. Be aware that you can’t be longer than 25 feet to go up the drive. Dundee is 25 feet and we did not have any issues with length but I can see where it would get a bit dicey for someone that is pulling a trailer. The road is newly paved and has a few stop off points including Artists Palette. The turn to go to Artists Palette is a tight turn and one of the areas that if you are longer than 25 feet you will not make if someone is leaving this area, it is two way to/from the palette. The scenic drive is something I would recommend in the heat as you can stay in your air conditioned vehicle and see some wonderful mountains and landscape.
Golden Canyon Trail – I will start by saying I did not do the entire trail, it was 110 degrees outside and my water was running low and hot. The trail head is off of the Harry Wade Road and has parking for many cars. You head into the canyon and it is unpaved for most of the hike but there is a paved piece, think it was paved at onetime but was washed out. You walk in a canyon and the sides are various types of rocks and offer little to no shade. If you have walked in a canyon before you know this hike but if you have not it is well worth the hike, just not at 110 degrees before noon.
