Death Valley

Time: Nov 23-26 2013

Place: Death Valley National Park

Company: Parents, wife and daughter

Highlights:

Pre: In the first week of November, it was announced in office that the Thanksgiving week will be off for us. So hastily planned a drive down to Death Valley. Flight rates were too costly due to the holiday season, and any other place in the country would be too cold anyways. So Death Valley was ideal both in terms of timing [it is 70s in November] and cost-benefit [USD 200 or less for 4 days of rental car].

Day 1: Had booked the rental car from 11 am, so went to Hertz office at 11 am. To my horror, there was a huge line that went out of the small shop, and each customer was taking almost 20 minutes. Finally when I reached the counter, it was 12.30 pm and then I was told that there was no ‘Full-size’ car which I had reserved. Instead I was given a mid-size Corolla. I was heart-broken. A Corolla is not fit for 4 adults and a toddler on a 4 day exhaustive driving trip. I was given the option to change the car in any airport but there was no  airports nearby nor along the route. So, went with whatever we had and tried to manage. It was 1 pm when we left our home town Walnut Creek.

Had only 2 pit stops. First one was on the rest area on I-5 South and second was in Bakersfield in an Indian grocery-cum-eat-out shop. It was about 7 pm when we had tea and left the Indian store. By the time we reached our Super 8 hotel stay in Ridgecrest, it was nearing 9.

Day 2: We checked out from the hotel at 9 am. There are 2 roads from Ridgecrest to DV. The shorter one was closed due to a recent flooding in DV. Thankfully we didn’t miss the board otherwise we would have faced a road block 44 miles ahead! The longer route put us back by about an hour. We felt like we were driving forever, when finally we reached DV at about noon.

Exactly 24 hrs after we left our home and 540 miles of driving, we reached the first point of interest: Titus Canyon. We trekked through few yards into the canyon and after savoring the moment, headed to Scotty’s Castle, more for a picnic spot and restroom than for seeing the castle itself. After getting refreshed, we headed to Ubehebe crater. 

This was really a wonderful place to visit. We hiked up the crater for a few yards to take in its complete vastness and beauty. At 4.40 pm, the sunset and it started getting both cold and dark. So headed back to our next place of stay at Amargosa, NV: Longstreet Casino. During the drive, I saw board that we were 100 ft below sea-level. We finally reached about 6.30 pm and retired for the night. Thankfully they have a dining area within the casino itself since there is no other place to eat nearby.

Day 3: To leave early was very vital since we had a long list of places to see and also head back the 3 hr back to Ridgecrest hotel. Thankfully we managed to leave at 8 am. At 9 am we were on the Dante’s Peak. It had snowed recently and there were snow blocks still on the peak. The view was breath-taking, as the nps website had promised. 

Then we headed to Zabriskie Point. This place is too is very unique and visually stunning. It needs a short uphill walk from the parking lot. Our next stop was Furnace Creek General store for a quick bite of breakfast. Our next stop was Badwater Basin, which is 282 feet below sea level – the lowest point in North America. It was a heady feeling – the thought that we were below sea level. Spent some time walking on the basin and taking pictures.

Then, headed to Natural Bridge, which needed a 0.5 mile uphill walk. It wasn’t all that great but it was nice. Our last stop was Artist’s Drive and Artist’s Palette which truly is a palette considering the wide variety of colors on the rocks. That, we had decided, was the last spot we would see. We came back to Furnace Creek for quick bite of lunch and then headed back home to Ridgecrest. Exactly as planned, it was 3.30 pm when we left DV. Considering 4.40 pm was sunset time, we only had about 1.5 hrs of sunlight left, and it was vital to be back on the highway at night time to avoid any risks – even something as minor as a flat tyre or anything else. Again, as planned, we were out of the DV area by night fall. There were 2 mountains to climb to get out of the DV park, and both of them had winding roads and snow on summit. Finally we reached the same Super 8 hotel in Ridgecrest at 7 pm. Had a short and sweet dinner at neighboring Kristy’s, and then retired.

Day 4: This was just an all-day drive back home day! Initially had plans of coming back via the Pacific Coast Highway but it would be too much of driving. So, stuck to the shortest and fastest route – I-5 N. Still it took 7 hrs to get back to Walnut Creek – thanks to the 3 pit stops and the traffic at the destination. Finally when the car was returned to the rental center and we came home, it was 6.30 pm. That was the end of the trip to Death Valley.

Post: In 2009, when my wife and I visited Las Vegas, we had planned a one-day trip to Death Valley National Park. The only thing I knew then was that Death Valley had the lowest point in North America – below sea level. Then, during the visit to Grand Canyon, we changed plans on the fly and made an exciting road trip to LA instead. There was a part of me which always repented the fact that we did not visit DV. But now, after hours of research, I am glad we didn’t make a one day trip to DV. This place deserves a 2-3 days’ duration of visit. Even in this trip, we had stuck to just the main features of DV. Many places here need a 4 WD [high clearance] vehicles and roads need to be open. But we had shortlisted only those that we wanted to see. And this was the right timing, too. DV was mesmerizing in its uniqueness, although at times the roads reminded us of the Utah trip we had done last year. 

In all, we covered 1300 miles in 4 days, and one more memorable trip of 2013.