I was curled into the warmth of my sleeping bag. I did not want to get out and face the cold, but the achy parts of me wanted out of bed, out of the car. I had spent the night carefully tossing and turning on my air mattress, which was delicately balanced on top of the fully reclined car seat, and that squeaked loudly with every move.
Several years back Laura and I slept in the car, and somehow the memories of how uncomfortable it was had faded, making us think we should give it another try. Plus this time we had our amazing air mattresses that actually makes camping comfortable. But we will not forget again. It is not a pleasant way to spend the night, no matter what kind of air mattress you have!
We were in Death Valley National Park, the hottest (well not in the winter months), driest, and lowest area in North America.
Entering Death Valley from the west side of the park.
It was our first time visiting the park and we only had the day to explore. So with achy backs we climbed out of the car to sunny blue skies to start the day.
Slipping my jacket on to escape the morning cold I could smell last night’s campfire on me. We had sat in front of the fire while we ate canned chili for dinner and afterwards we had huddled closer to roast marshmallows. The best part of roasting the marshmallows was our new take on smores. We sandwiched the gooey goodness between Chips Ahoy cookies. They were absolutely delicious! I’m not sure how many I devoured…
When camping, not only do you have to climb out into the cold morning, but it also means that your morning clean-up involves throwing cold water on your face. Feeling refreshed we climbed back in the car, but this time fully upright, to head to Badwater Basin, the lowest point in North America at 282 feet below sea level.
The basin is home to a salt flat and I was really hoping to see the large hexagonal honeycomb shaped salt crystals that are in pictures of the Bolivian and Chilean salt flats. No such luck. And since it wasn’t purely salt, it wasn’t the blinding white color that you also see in pictures of famous salt flats. But at least now I’ve been to the lowest point in North America…
Reflection of the mountains in Badwater Basin.
The hard packed dirt and salt surface in Badwater Basin. The ridges of crust were so strong that they didn’t even crumple when Laura jumped on them!
Laura on the salt flats of Badwater Basin.
The rest of the day we explored other sites in the Furnace Creek area – Artist’s Drive, Golden Canyon, Red Cathedral, and Dante’s View.
As we drove and hiked through the desert it felt as if we were on another planet. You feel a lonely vastness in the valley. There are no signs of plants or wildlife, though they do exist. It is not only very very very dry, leaving the earth in a hard crust, and your mouth dry, but also the various minerals leave you seeing a rainbow of colors. There are hues of red, orange, yellow, green and brown that contrast strikingly against the bright blue sky.
An artist’s palette of colors.
More amazing striations of color along Artist’s Drive.
Looking down into Death Valley from Dante’s View.
As dusk began settling over the valley we called it a day and started our drive out of the park. This is always my favorite time of day. The late afternoon sun produces beautiful light that makes everything glow. You can feel the energy of the day slow and it gives a chance for reflection on the day.
As I looked out the windshield at the hills, they looked fuzzy and soft in the afternoon light, I was thankful to have had the day to explore a small section of this vast park. Death Valley contains a very unique and special beauty that isn’t found anywhere else. It truly is one-of-a-kind.
Heading east through the park in the late afternoon sun.
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