Death Valley, you have nothing on us!

Craig:

This trip was all about seeing family and friends, with a few national parks on the side. Death Valley is a national park and on the way so we really had no other option. We had to drive through it. Death Valley claims to be the "hottest, driest, and lowest" land in the country and that is an extremely legit claim. Death Valley is bleak. On the surface it reveals absolutely no signs of life. There are a few plants scattered here and there but they are definitely not green, rather a dim shade of brown probably due to the constant day time sun. The brochure said that the park was teeming with wildlife such as coyotes, rattlesnakes, and kangaroo rats but we did not see any of these. I am sure that they are there but not during the day time. We also were just driving through so I am positive we would have seen more with a little bit of exploration but we just did not have the time.

My number one beef with Death Valley is that it there are actually two Death Valleys in Death Valley. You come into the park from a mountain pass and drive down into the valley and then up into the mountains to a pass that you would assume would be the exit of the park. Nope, the only thing that lies on the other side of that mountain pass is another Death Valley. What gives? So we had to repeat the process of driving down the 9% grade mountainside, through another barren valley floor and up the other side of the valley to the pass.

One sign of life in the valley was the little village of Stove Pipe Wells, an old mining camp that has survived through the years on tiresome tourists stopping for $4.25/gal gas and Death Valley trinkets.

Boasting a small RV park and hotel, Stove Pipe Wells was a lively stop at sea level for a sticker and some water.

After Stove Pipe Wells, I did venture out of our air conditioned car one more time to get a picture with the desert to document our survival of Death Valley.

I am glad that we took the Death Valley challenge and passed with flying colors. It was another interesting experience and we learned a lot. And the Toyota Solara passed once again with exemplary marks. So to sum the trip through Death Valley, I am going to talk little bit of trash to the valley that is so morbidly named. Death Valley... you have nothing on us!

Next Stop: Yosemite NP