Being our first day in the park, we walked to the ranger station in Stovepipe Wells where we collected our 59th Passport Stamp, bought David’s hat, and talked with the Ranger about our plans in the park. We found out that the Park film was only at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center and our plan to visit the Racetrack, where large rocks mysteriously move on their own, is down a road that requires off road tires due to sharp rocks. Death Valley was made a National Monument in 1933 and became a National Park in 1994. It’s the largest NP in the lower 48 states behind Alaska. We jumped in the Behemoth and drove to Furnace Creek. We stopped in the visitor center, saw the park movie, explored the exhibits and talked with the rangers again about the road to the Racetrack. They showed David an example of the sharp rocks which convinced him the road tires we had put on the truck for towing, were not suitable for that road. We grabbed lunch at the saloon at Furnace Creek Ranch and filled the Behemoth up with fuel ($5.68 per gallon!). We decided that the first place in the park we needed to visit was Badwater Basin. We pulled into the parking lot for Bad Water and then hiked a mile out into the salt flats to the lowest point in the North American continent at 282 feet below sea level. With the mountains surrounding us, and the salt flats spreading out for miles, it is an impressive location. By this time the sun was heading down fast, so we headed back toward the Wanderer, taking the Artist Palette loop road along the way. Critter Sighting: we came across a coyote that was walking in the road on our way to Badwater Basin, and the same coyote a while later on Artist Palette road. He was a very brave fella standing in the road challenging cars to get around him. He was a beautiful brave warrior. Now, whether he was begging for food or heat deranged… hard to say. He almost seemed tame and made direct eye contact. That was surprising!
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| Badwater Basin, Lowest point in the USA at 282 feet below sea level |
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| Screen Capture |
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| Leslie on the salt flats at Badwater Basin |
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| David on salt flats at Badwater Basin |
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| Shadows on the salt flats |
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| Wiley Coyote blocking the road |
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| Wiley Coyote walking alongside the truck |
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| Colorful badlands from Zabriskie Point |
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| David driving home at sunset |
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| Panoramic of Badwater Basiw |
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