Death Valley

Nothing is more exhilarating to me than not planning a trip that probably should have been planned. Seriously. I am a “let’s get in the car and see what happens” kind of guy. I love driving far; taking long, meandering drives with random detours and unplanned stops. Like the talent of turning what should be a short story into a long one, I have this uncanny ability to turn what should be direct trips into zig-zags along the map.

I have a little saying that I like to think is my get-out-of-jail-free card with my family: nobody ever says, “Hey, remember when everything went according to plan?” Basically, it’s how I try to avoid them getting annoyed with me when, right when we’re about to get on the freeway, I have to turn around and go back home because I left my wallet on my desk.

We left at 3am and wanted to be at the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes by sunrise. I had looked around for some camping spots online but there were no reservations available anywhere, so I was expecting crowds at the park.

On the drive into the park I almost hit two donkeys in Trona and a little fox while going west on the 190 towards Stovepipe Wells.

We were able to watch the sun rise from the dunes and let me tell ya - it’s something you need to experience. There’s a serene silence that comes from being surrounded by the all the sand. It’s similar to being in snow, but it’s not the same. Great job I’m doing describing it to you, huh? You’re always going to get this quality of writing from me - don’t worry!

By the time we left the dunes at about 7:30am, the parking lot was filling up. Throughout the entire day, the park didn’t seem busy. It is a very large place, but on the road we didn’t see too many cars. However, at all the attractions the parking lots were full, overflowing, and there were people everywhere. It was weird trying to reconcile the apparent lack of cars on the road with how busy everything was. It was as if everyone was appearing out of thin air.

The highlight of the trip was Badlands Basin. I’ve never been anywhere else quite like it. Yeah, it’s a salt flat, but… the lowest place in North America! And the vastness! It boggles the mind. We walked out about a half mile or so into it and it felt like we barely made our way in. It’s impossible to capture the scale of this place in any one image.

By early afternoon it was time to head out. The park was just way too busy. We had hit up some of the main sights even though we didn’t do any of the slot canyons. Remember that whole thing about no one ever saying it all went according to plan?

That’s for next time.