MWT - Part 13 Death Valley National Park - Day 3 Mesquite Sand Dunes

After exploring Scotty’s Castle, Ubehebe Crater and some of Titus Canyon on our third day at Death Valley we stopped at the Mesquite Sand Dunes on the way..

Part 12 Death Valley National Park - Day 3 Titus Canyon

Road to the west end of Titus Canyon in Grapevine MtsAfter the wind buffeting at Ubehebe Crater (I love that name), we drove to the mouth of Titus Canyon for a hike into...

Part 11 Death Valley National Park - Day 3 Ubehebe Crater

After touring the opulence of Scotty’s Castle we headed out to Ubehebe Crater which you can read more about here...

Ubehebe Crater

MWT - Part 10 Death Valley National Park - Day 3 Scotty's Castle

Scotty’s Castle
After two days exploring the stark beauty of Death Valley I was totally unprepared for the opulence of a castle built in the desert. Read more about Scotty's Castle here.

Part 9 Death Valley National Park - Day 2 Artists Drive

Gaelyn and Jeremy at Artists Point, sorry for the poor stitch job
We left Badwater Basin to return to camp after a very full day of sightseeing but wait, there’s a scenic 9-mile (14.48 km) one-way loop road that winds through colorful mud hills called Artists Drive and we need to go...

Part 8 Death Valley National Park - Day 2 Badwater Basin

Sea Level sign, note red lineBadwater is the lowest elevation point in the Western Hemisphere at -282 feet (-85.5 meters), only in Africa is it lower. Read more here...

MWT - Part 7 Death Valley National Park - Day 2 Natural Bridge Canyon

Looking into the mouth of Natural Bridge Canyon
After leaving hell, oops I mean Furnace Creek, we attended an afternoon guided Ranger walk into Natural Bridge Canyon to learn more about the geology of Death Valley.

Part 6 Death Valley National Park - Day 2 Furnace Creek

Some folks called it hell.

Furnace Creek Inn
Originally built as a working ranch in the 1880s it is now a complete resort complex called Furnace Creek... 

Part 5 - Death Valley National Park - Day 2 Harmony Borax Works

In the last Death Valley post I mentioned the mining of salt deposits. Well sodium borate, or borax, known as the “White gold of the desert” ranks as Death Valley’s most profitable mineral as seen at the Harmony borax Works.  Read more here.

MWT - Death Valley National Park Day 2 - Salt Creek - Part 4

We didn’t beat the early birds but tried to get an early start as planned to see a lot on our second day in Death Valley. First stop the .5 mile (.8 km) roundtrip boardwalk to Salt Creek which you can read about here.

Death Valley National Park Day 1 - Aguereberry Camp and Eureka Mine - Part 3

 Explore Aguereberry camp and the Eureka Mine here.

Kangaroo Rat in Death Valley

Every night after sundown a little visitor came around camp. Not pesky like a ground squirrel or chipmunk looking for handouts.  Read more.

Trying to hide

Death Valley National Park Day 1 - Part 2

Highway 190 and the Panamint RangeAfter hiking Mosaic Canyon we drove out of the valley floor to the Wildrose charcoal kilns.

Death Valley National Park Day 1 - Part 1

Sunrise from Stovepipe Wells campgroundBeing in California put me in a different time zone so I awoke early enough to greet the day and prepare for hiking in Mosaic canyon.

Sky Watch Friday - Southern California Sunset

Took this 10 years ago at Anzaberrego State Park.

To see other skies from around the world or to share your own go to Sky Watch Friday by clicking here.

My World Tuesday - The gypsy life of a seasonal park ranger

At the end of my first summer season at Oregon Caves National Monument I gave away the cheap car to a fellow guide and hit the road for the winter...

Me leading a cave tour at Oregon Caves