Death Valley – Day 1
As we approached our visit to Death Valley National Park, our pre-conceived vision was of the20 Mule Team Wagons and Badwater Basin – the lowest point in North America at 282 feet BELOW sea level. Boy, were we underestimating this park!
Here is what we expected to see… (These two make a 360 degree panorama)
Here’s what we actually saw…
From Dante’s View 5500 feet (and almost 30 degrees) above the low point of the Western Hemisphere:
And the “Desert Bloom” is still happening…
We drove through the Artist’s Drive:
And we took a hike up Golden Canyon (2 3/4 miles UP-hill going in!)
We came home the long way around and the scenery just kept on coming…
Imagine living in a town with this as its backdrop…
We even saw wild horses running free…
And a Nevada Cathouse…
As we are beginning to understand, Death Valley National Park is HUGE! In fact, it is the largest National Park in the lower 48 at 3.4 Million Acres — and 3.1 of that is designated wilderness. The valley itself is 124 miles long and the scenery ranges from Bad Water Basin at MINUS 282 feet elevation to the snow-capped Telescope Peak at over 11,000 feet. There are volcanic formations, sedimentary formations, mountains, canyons, sand dunes, and flat valley floor. So very much to see! Stay tuned….