If you missed our prior posts on Red Rock Canyon, Valley of Fire State Park, and Las Vegas or day one in Death Valley National Park, be sure to catch up first.
Day Two. Fifty degrees, windy, and mostly cloudy.
I made an early morning trip to Devil’s Golf Course for sunrise. One other photographer was present, along with a camper van that probably parked there overnight. The sunrise was just beautiful enough to justify waking up at 6:00 AM and braving the high 30s temperature.
Our plan for the day was derailed by the fact that Salt Creek Trail, Twenty Mule Team Canyon, and Dante’s View were all closed per flooding or winter weather. So this morning we hiked the Golden Canyon and Red Cathedral Trails. These are very popular trails, for good reason, but were not overly crowded.
Best overheard conversation of the trip, on the Golden Canyon Trail, mom to five or six year old: “Put on your fast feet and get moving now.”
Runner up, overheard as we passed a family of four going in the opposite direction on the same trail. A young kid (10 or 11, 12 at most) loudly expressed his thoughts to his parents in no uncertain terms: “F*#k this. It’s bulls@%t. Why do I have to f*#king hike. I don’t give a crap.” And so on. The look on his older sister’s face during this tirade was priceless. The correct thing to do would have been to turn around and see how the parents dealt with this kid. Instead we kept going. I think the kid escaped a beat down. We didn’t hear one.
While Death Valley has a lot of defined hiking trails, in most areas of the park you can hike wherever you want. Several times we saw cars parked on the side of the road, with hikers off in the distance going cross country in some random direction. I wish we had time to do this.
After grabbing a late lunch, with slow service and much grumbling on my part about the cost ($21 for a chili dog and fries, with water), we drove past the Harmony Borax Works (didn’t stop) and through Mustard Canyon. It is a short two mile dirt road through mustard colored rocks, and only mildly interesting.
We finished the day with sunset at Devil’s Golf Course. Unfortunately it was overcast and sunset was a non-event. There was no chance to see the stars with the clouds. Guess we should have taken that opportunity the previous night. Lesson learned.
Day Three. Fifty-five degrees, windy, overcast, and a few spots of light rain.
I went back to Devil’s Golf Course at 6:30 AM hoping for another great sunrise. Nope, should have slept in.
We left the hotel and made our first trip north of Furnace Creek to the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes. Of the several sand dunes in the park, these are the smallest but the most accessible. The Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes cover a square mile or two, and the tallest is about 185 feet. This area is very popular with families with kids, and we saw several folks trying to slide down the dunes on cardboard – largely unsuccessfully.
Mosaic Canyon was our next stop. A two and a half mile dirt road leads to the trailhead of this popular hike. Our hike was cut short, as we only had about an hour, but it is a wonderful canyon.
Dante’s View reopened, and we wanted to get there for late afternoon and sunset. This is where the expanse of Death Valley becomes an issue. The overlook at Dante’s View is well over an hour’s drive from where we were spending most of the day.
Lunch was at Stovepipe Wells, an area adjacent to the sand dunes with a hotel, restaurant, gas station, and general store. Compared to Furnace Creek, the prices at Stovepipe Wells are more reasonable (only about 10% overpriced – lunch for three was $20 less expensive than at Furnace Creek). Gas was $2 per gallon cheaper, too.
Most notably, beer was a lot cheaper. Our beer options in the general stores were a variety of local IPAs (no thanks), Corona, or Coors Light. A six pack of Corona at Furnace Creek was $18. (Someone would pay that?) At Stovepipe Wells we got three candy bars, a Dr. Pepper, and a 12 pack of Coors Light (which was surprisingly decent) for about $24.
I got the impression that Stovepipe Wells is more popular with the backcountry crowd, as it is closer to most of the gravel roads that go deep into the interior of the park. Furnace Creek is more of the family vacation crowd, being much closer to the most popular sites.
After lunch our plan was to go to Father Crowley Overlook and the Panamint Valley Playa, but weather derailed us. The cloud cover was growing and falling lower. The tops of the mountains were in the clouds. Storms were coming. Most of the rain and snow fell to the west on the Sierra Mountains, but we got a few rain drops.
Because of the low cloud cover, we abandoned our drive up to Dante’s View (elevation over 5,000 feet). The overlook was in the clouds, and there was no point making the 40 minute drive up the mountain. Instead we made the drive to Badwater Basin and admired the scenery.
For a third night in a row we had dinner at the Saloon at the Ranch. Numerous beers and wines are available, but only about eight food items. Basically expensive bar food, but decent quality. Over the three nights we had pizza, mozzarella sticks, chips and salsa, and wings. The Saloon is fairly busy at dinner, because the other main options are a buffet at $29 per person, or fine dining at the Inn, which starts at about $45 per entrée on average and only goes up from there.
The vast expanse of Death Valley is both a plus and a minus. Even though we were there during busy season, it did not seem crowded. The most popular sites are easily accessible by a paved road and parking lot, but there is plenty of room to spread out. If you have an off-road capable truck there are hundreds of miles of dirt and gravel roads to explore, virtually on your own.
The downside is the driving time. You must plan for a lot of driving. Changing plans on the go is not easy. This was particularly problematic for us because of the short days. When sunset is at 4:30 PM, and your overpriced lunch burns up an hour or more, you have to think ahead.
We brought breakfast food and snacks with us to the park. In hindsight we should have brought food for lunch, too. Not having to be in a set area for lunch (either Furnace Creek or Stovepipe Wells) would have freed up some time during the day. And saved us a good chunk of money. Walking down the hall in our hotel one afternoon, we saw an open door where a family of four was staying. All you could see in their room was food everywhere. They did it right. I was impressed and jealous.
By the way, on the morning we left to drive back to the airport in Las Vegas we took a detour to Dante’s View. It was worth the wait.
Garrett and Stephanie
The Travel Blog page contains collected links to all of our travel posts. Check it out if you have not already done so.
Want to subscribe (or unsubscribe) for email notification of new blog posts? It is only two to three emails a month. Send your name and email address to slowtravelchronicles@gmail.com, and note subscribe (or unsubscribe) in the subject line. All email address will be kept confidential and not sold to any third-party. You won’t get any marketing junk or sales pitches from us.
This was great .. and laugh out loud funny in SO many parts! Loved it!!