DEATH VALLEY IN A DAY
Are we crazy to go all this way for just a day?
Due to some unforeseen scheduling mishaps on the front and backend of our planned trip to Death Valley National Park, we could not leave as early as we wanted to and had to cut our trip a day short. A month out knowing these scheduling conflicts, we tried to reschedule our trip, but every campsite was already booked up for all the spring dates that worked for us. Rather than cancel the whole trip, we just unreserved the second night of our campsite and decided to make the most of the time we had to explore Death Valley in a day. Death Valley is the largest US national park outside of Alaska. (It is also the hottest and driest location in all of North America.) With the park covering over 3.4 million areas, we knew we wouldn’t event scratch the surface, but planned to try and hit some of the highlights.
FURNANCE CREEK CAMPGROUND
We arrived at Furnace Creek in the dark. This is the only campground in the park that accepts reservations (October 15 - April 15). The campground is open year round, and runs on a first-come, first-serve basis outside of the above date range for its 136 campsites. The campground is also the only one to offer full hook-up sites (18 of them). We did not stay in one of the full hookup sites, but it totally makes sense why people would want them. Even in early spring, once the sun is up it gets hot quickly. There is accessible water and flush toilets throughout the campground. A dump station is located close by. All sites also have a picnic table and fire ring. For the date range accepting reservations, all sites do fill up. We didn’t find the need to reserve 6 months out like some of the more popular national parks (Yosemite, Glacier, etc.), but when we went back on reservation.gov a few weeks before our scheduled trip all the sites were booked. There are 8 other campgrounds within the park, but none accept reservations.
78° at 8:50pm. This is way past the girls bedtime, but both took late naps in their car seats while we made the drive to Death Valley, so a little night walk exploring was in order.
Monet awoke with her ear hurting, so we gave her some garlic drops and she went back to sleep. Thankfully Monet (who prefers to sleep in like Kyle) has learned to roll over in her bed in the van and sleep through Indy’s early morning shenanigans. Indy has been our morning girl since shortly after she was born.
Most campsites throughout Furnace Creek are exposed/unshaded. The back of our site did have a bit of vegetation; the girls enjoyed pretending the small trees were their houses. I wouldn’t want to camp here much past April with the intensity of the heat and lack of shade. Before we left the campground to go explore the park, Kyle got some onewheeling in. It’s always a good day for Kyle when he gets to Onewheel.
MESQUITE FLAT SAND DUNES
After breakfast we knew we wanted to head first to Mesquite Flat to play on the sand dunes before it got too hot. It was supposed to be in the low 90s by 12pm. Even arriving mid-morning at Mesquite, the sand was already hot. Breaks under a bit of shade from the shrubbery we could find were necessary. The girls loved running down the sand dunes (not so much the climbing back up). By the end of our time playing on the sand dunes, both girls were over the unrelenting heat and all the sand. We carried Indy most of the way back to our van.
FIGHTER JETS DOG FIGHTING IN DEATH VALLEY
While playing on the sand dunes at Mesquite Flat, we got our own air show with two fighter jets practicing above us. The jets were extremely loud; Indy was not a fan.
Took a needed break from the sun with lunch in the van before heading out to explore Mosaic Canyon.
MOSAIC CANYON
After lunch we headed over to Mosaic Canyon. This is a 4 mile out and back hiking trail through a narrow canyon. The girls loved climbing all over. Kyle and I continue to feel the tension of safety vs. risk with our girls. Of course we want to keep them safe, but we also want them to have opportunities to test their abilities. We also think it is important for them both to be aware of their bodies—how they move and interact with the spaces around them. Climbing taps into so many of their senses and gives them the chance to explore their own limits. We definitely got more than a few looks from other hikers as we let the girls scamper up and down the rocks in the canyon. I never felt worried for the girls’ safety. Our thought is: if they can climb up the rock, they can also climb down it. This is a work-in-progress for Kyle and me as we navigate the never-ending gray areas of parenting.
ARTISTS PALETTE / ARTISTS DRIVE
After hiking and climbing in Mosaic Canyon, we decided to take Death Valley’s scenic drive. Artist Drive is the most popular drive in the park. Volcanic deposits created the colorful and multilayered hillsides. It is a 9 mile single lane drive with lots of twist, turns and dips. Since it is a one-way and one lane road, Kyle felt good about getting out and onewheeling several miles of the road in front os us.
BADWATER BASIN
Badwater is the lowest point in North America (282 feet below sea level). I had no idea, but the salt flats cover 200 square miles! We took our shoes off and walked the boardwalk out onto the flats. Once out on the salt flats, we had to walk carefully—every step feels like a sharp/rough pumice stone massage. The girls played hard while the sun set. It was the perfect time of day to be there.
While exploring Badwater Monet asked if we could call it “Goodwater” instead. Badwater/Goodwater not only wins the prize for being the lowest point in North America, but also for having the smelliest vault toilet any of us have ever experienced. I recommend doing whatever you can to not have to use the vault toilet in the parking lot at Badwater Basin.
BROKEN WINDOW
It wouldn’t be a van camping trip without something going wrong. Badwater was our last stop of the day at Death Valley. We played on the flats until we all had enough of the rough salt and then headed back to our van to wash off. We have a water hose component on the back of our van making it easy to clean up. The water hose is probably one of the features we love most about the van. We regularly use it to wash feet and hands while out exploring. As we were loading up to head home, the wind picked up and caught the open sliding door window on our van. The wind was forceful enough to pull the window completely off and send it crashing down onto the asphalt parking lot, breaking a large chunk of the window. We keep a decently extensive tool supply in our van’s garage, but there was not much more we could do than duct tape the window and hole for the drive home.
LAND OF EXTREMES
Death Valley National Park is known as the “land of extremes.” While visiting the Furnace Creek Visitor Center, we watched a park video in which a Shoeshone tribal woman described Death Valley: “When you come here you feel like you are being held.” The pressure of the heat and the unrelenting sun add another layer to the physicality of being held. Over the years I have heard passing comments about Death Valley being a barren wasteland and not worth the time to visit. Kyle and I both disagree strongly with that sentiment. Death Valley is striking and beautiful and so worth the time exploring “being held” by it. We left only wishing we had more time.
The park service says it best: “Despite its morbid name, a great diversity of life thrives in Death Valley.”
Yes, so much life here and so much more to be explored!
HIGHLIGHTS:
Getting to see so much even with our limited time
Running over the sand dunes at Mesquite Flat
The girls (for the most part) being up for a day full of walking and climbing
Playing on the salt flats at Badwater as the sun set
LOWLIGHTS:
Wanting and needing more time to explore
Monet starting the day with an ear ache
Our van window breaking