One of the great aspects of taking a vacation in Las Vegas is the opportunity to explore the
the surrounding desert. One worthwhile day trip, though a long one,
is to take a rental car and head to Death
Valley National Park. We went at the end of April, which
was perfect weather with highs approaching 90 degrees. I'm not sure
how people survive Death Valley in summer, as the heat is trapped on the
valley floor by the surrounding mountains - resulting in average highs of
115 F in July and lows near 90F. In fact, the Furnace Creek Inn
closes from early May until early October each year.
Death Valley was intriguing to me. We came in from the east side off of
US 95 to US 127 to US 190. After surviving a 20-minute delay on US 127 for construction and 10 miles of
gravel chips without a broken windshield, we arrived at the park. Our
first experience was a drive to the 5,000 foot level to Dantes View in the
Amargosa Mountain Range. Temperatures were in the low 60s, more than 20 degrees cooler than
the valley floor and the altitude made walking noticeably strained. The view over Death Valley was great, even though it was windy, resulting
in dust obscuring the views somewhat. Telescope Peak at 11,000 feet across
the way on the Panamint Mountain Range was still covered in snow.
This peak was named by Samuel George in 1861 when he ascended it and noted
that the spectacular view was just like having a telescope. From there we descended to the
valley floor, stopping at Zabriskie Point along the way. This area was
where borax was mined and carried out 165 miles to Mojave by 20 mule teams
from the years 1883 -1889. I still remember the 20 mule team borax
soap ads from my childhood in the 1950s, which actually is only a great
advertising campaign unrelated to the original mining.
Furnace Creek Inn
At Furnace
Creek on the valley floor, we wandered through the Furnace Creek Inn.
It
was an unusual hotel, with thick concrete walls and a tunnel from the basement
that led to the visitor parking. The hotel was very cool in temperature
despite the 90 degree April weather. Unfortunately there was no place to
have an appetizer and look out over the lovely pool to the valley.
Also, there was an legally required notice about a health hazard in the
building that visitors could ask for further information about. The
other accommodation at Furnace Creek was at the Ranch nearby. There were
also several campgrounds indicated, but I fail to understand why anyone
would camp here at any time of year.
Scotty's Castle
From the visitor center, I extended the trip by heading north to the
Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes near Stovepipe Wells. We then headed back toward Las Vegas,
skipping out on the Death Valley Ranch, better known as Scotty’s Castle
and named after Walter Scott. We returned to Vegas by driving the
entire length of the valley southward to Shoshone. Just south of Furnace Creek, at
Badwater, was my favorite part of the Death Valley experience. Badwater is
an area where the salt lake evaporation area touches right up against the
bordering Amargosa Mountain chain that marks the valley’s eastern edge.
You can
see the salt crystals forming in small pools and you can walk out on the
salt flat. When you look back at the mountains, there is a sea level
marker looming far above you and you get the sensation of being 240 feet
underneath the sea. The most striking feature of Badwater is the silence
though. There is nothing around to make a sound except your
own steps and breathing. It’s the quietest experience I’ve ever had
and it made it hard to leave.
While we were in Furnace Creek, I noticed that the front left tire on
the rental car was low, so I filled it up. Luckily, it held the rest of
the day. It caused some anxious moments as we traveled the 75 miles south
from Furnace Creek with no services, no side roads, no houses, no people
and only 3 cars coming our way in those 75 miles. I thought I might
end up reliving a childhood experience of sleeping by the roadside in Death
Valley because cars in the 50s couldn't survive the trip through the
desert without stopping to cool the radiator. Taking the
valley route south was scenic and much better than US95, though it did
take a little longer. By the time we were done, we had traveled for 8
hours and put 400 miles on the rental car. Luckily the Planet Hollywood
buffet was ready for us on our return.
