Death Valley

After an eventful couple of days in Southern Nevada we thought Death Valley seemed like the most logical next choice. Death Valley in the summer is an experience to say the least. We started off with a hike to the top of Dantes' Peak 5475 feet, no not the one from the that bad Pierce Brosnan movie, think more of the book Dante's Inferno. We then hiked over to Coffin Peak 5503 feet where we got great views of the valley and we could look down on the lowest point in the US, Badwater Basin 282 ft below sea level.



After our hike we continued our driving tour of the park, stopping here and there to take pictures and noting the temperatures as we went. The hottest temp we experienced was 118 degree at 6:05 p.m. It was like standing in a hot tub with our clothes on, the wind did not help, in fact it felt like some one chasing you around with a giant hair dryer.



We camped that night at Mesquite Springs, which I saw no mesquite and definitely no springs but it was 800 feet above sea level giving us a slight break from the heat. It was 100 degrees at 10p.m. when we went to bed but we were the only ones in the campsite and when it got dark we saw more stars then I have ever seen before in one night, the heat was worth the view.
The next morning we got up, drove to the Ubehebe Crater, Scottys Castle (you will have to look this one up to get the full story) then back down to the valley to Badwater basin, 282 feet below sea level. It was 116 degrees so we only hiked for a short ways before we headed back to the car. Having been properly toasted and having seen enough barren flat, ridiculously hot desert, we said goodbye to death valley and headed north toward Sequoia National Park.

Location:Death Valley National Park