Southwest 2021-3: California: Death Valley National Park

February 24-28, 2021

Hills at upper end of Texas Springs Campground, Death Valley.

    After a last soak in our private hot tub at Benton Hot Springs, we turned the van east toward Tonapah, Nevada, on Hwy 6/95, a drive Doug has long wanted to do. At Tonapah, 95 turns south while 6 continues on east (recalling from our previous post that it crosses the country to Provincetown, Cape Cod, Massachusetts).  It was a beautiful drive.

 

    Passing snow and desert heading into Nevada. Soon we were in  Beatty where we gassed up and turned southwest to Death Valley National Park. We love Death Valley. Doug has been there twice in recent years, but Marilyn had not been in several years and was so content to be there again.

    Our preferred campground at Furnace Creek is no-generator Texas Springs. Unfortunately it was full, so we camped the first night at Sunrise Campground—on the asphalt and among generators.

We arrived just in time for a major wind storm that rocked the van all night long, "Just like being on a sailboat," Doug said. The good news was that the wind was so loud we didn't hear the generators. But little did we know that wind would become a major theme of our trip.

   First thing next morning, we drove up the hill to Texas Springs, where we found a campsite we would stay in for the next three nights.

 Then we headed to Golden Canyon.

Map shows our adventures from Texas Springs. 

Golden Canyon is a 4.5-mile hike we’d done before, mostly flat with a bit of a scramble up the rocks through a narrow slot at the end...

Just before Red Cathedral is a slot marked by an old ladder one must climb up through...

...to enter Red Cathedral, formed by towering red rock walls.

After gawking at one's incredible surroundings, it's back down through the slot, which can require sliding on your butt.

The colors of Death Valley never cease to amaze...

...nor does the variety of rock and rock formations.

    After finishing the Golden Canyon Hike, we drove further south to Artists Drive, which leads to the amazing “painted” walls of Artists Palette. This 5-plus mile drive is a nice way to see a part of the beauty of Death Valley.

    After a nice hike and a beautiful drive, we headed back to our campsite, passing by the Inn at Furnace Creek, Death Valley's resort, complete with a restaurant and bar plus many amenities. Let’s see, our campsite was $8, and a night at the Inn is close to $400. To each their own.

Sunset at Texas Springs Campground.

    The next day we headed from Furnace Creek to Stovepipe Wells, then a little further on a washboard road to the trailhead to Mosaic Canyon.

Doug is 6 feet tall—we could easily camp under this overhang along the Mosaic Canyon Trail if need be.

The narrowest and most beautiful section of the Mosaic Canyon Trail is at the beginning (and end, as it is out and back) and is lined with polished stone. We had such fun sliding down one stone on our rear ends.

Marilyn at the end of the hike.

    While Marilyn cooked dinner our last afternoon, Doug was outside trying to keep the tent in the campsite next to us from flying away in the winds that had kicked up again. As he was working on this one, a green tent flew by, and another camper’s valiant leap failed to snag it. We think it was subsequently brought to ground. Doug continued to help our neighbors secure their tent when they returned, and the next morning they joined us for coffee.

They thanked us with a bottle of wine—which didn’t last long.

    After four wonderful days in Death Valley, we decided to adventure further south to more favorite areas: Mojave National Preserve and Joshua Tree National Park.