A Desert of Rocks

We packed for Death Valley expecting to see this.

And while we obviously saw this part of the valley, there was so much more! We certainly didn't expect to spend the most of our time trekking through canyons, gazing down into craters, and staring in awe at the amazing colours on the mountainsides. And although dust was everywhere, so were the rocks.



First of all, I hadn't realized that Death Valley was 225km (140 miles) long north to south. All of our adventures started with a drive. The temperature was comfortable, from coolish nights in the north end to lovely warm days in the south. But this was why we came in the winter - summers can be unbearable.

We started out in the northern area, camping with two other couples. Our methods of camping were dissimilar. One couple was in a truck camper with all the amenities, the other had a conversion van to sleep in. We, of course, tented. No bears in Death Valley - I checked. The gusting wind had a great time playing with our tent and fly. The ground is so rocky and hard that tent pegs are useless. I had to jump into the tent to hold it down until hubby secured us with large rock and boulders. Assured that our tent would still be there when we returned, we went off on our first off-pavement adventure.

We bounced down 40km of gravel road and washboards towards a dry lakebed. It's about 2 miles long, but at one end there are rocks on the cracked dirt that move, leaving an obvious trail behind them. No one has seen these rocks move, nor can they totally explain how it happens. Some of these rocks are over 100 lbs. You certainly can't push them. Check out this phenomenon on Wikipedia under "sailing stones".


On the way back to camp, we passed a large crater, 1 km wide, that was perfectly round and went straight down for 500 feet. It was too late in the day to do much more than look at it, but I understand you can walk all around the top, or hike down it (not gonna happen!). As we drove back to the campsite for dinner, there was an ominous grinding noise from the front end of the truck on the turns. The next morning we headed off for another long off-pavement drive. The truck only made it to the summit of Daylight Pass before the brake and stabilizer warning lights came on. There was smoke and a burning smell coming from the front. It took an hour for our emergency road service to find a tow truck willing to come and get us - and another two hours before they came. Hubby volunteered to go with the injured party to Pahrump, Nevada - the closest repair shop, while I continued on with our friends to Titus Canyon. I wasn't too envious of him having to spend a night in a casino, waiting for repairs, because I figured I would have a nice drive along the bottom of an amazing canyon. I didn't actually think this through. I didn't follow the logic that to get to the bottom of a canyon, one has to drive over a mountain first.

And, of course, to get to an isolated, remote canyon, one has to drive over rough, narrow, very winding roads that barely cling to the outside of that mountain. The good thing is that the canyon was worth it. The flat bottom of the canyon was just wide enough for a one lane gravel road to twist between the tall rock walls. We were even lucky enough to see a bighorn sheep at the bottom looking for dinner. I wasn't lucky enough to get a picture.

Hubby made it back by noon the next day, showered and refreshed, giving us enough time to enjoy the southern end of the valley. It was a whole lot warmer there. A very salty lake sits 282 feet below sea level. This is not sea salt. It is so dry here that the lake water dries up very quickly leaving the salt and minerals from the rocks behind.

We hiked to a natural rock bridge and drove to the Artists' Palette, an amazing mix of colours on the mountain. The next day was our last full day, and in the morning we hiked to Golden Canyon from the back. This is not a remote location, a parking lot sits out front. But from the back, we still had to trek over the top of very high hills, single file along winding trails. Our afternoon walk was beside Salt Creek. I didn't know Death Valley had any water at all, and then I'm shown a creek of running water with fish in it! Unfortunately for us, they are not good for fishing. These are specialized dense-salt fish that are less than an inch long. You get enough of them all runnning in the same direction in shallow water though, and they create a wave!

Death Valley was an adventure with stunning vistas and clear starry night skies. Good friends, good food, good wine. Glad we didn't miss it.

W