Andrew_Kerr

UK - 12-Jan-25 -

America has a wealth of diverse national parks that cover everything from forests, mountains, canyons, lakes, rivers and of course, deserts.
In Death Valley they have the hottest desert in America, the lowest point below sea level and some truly incredible landscapes.
I visited Death Valley in August 2018 en route from Nevada to California. I was on the road early that day and stopped a few miles short of Death Valley to chat to a group of bikers. When I told them where I was headed their advice was to "get out of there before 10:30 as the heat is unbearable by then".
I decided to heed their advice as much as possible and by 7:30 I was at the first major port of call, Zabriskie Point (photo), part of the Amargosa Mountain Range and some memorable rock formations (also the scene and title of an iconic 1970 movie by Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni).
The heat by this time was sweltering, into the mid 30's already and the words of the bikers were now sounding even more like great advice..
After this I headed to Stovepipe Wells, where there's a few limited facilities for travelers including a cafe and gift shop.
Following some much needed refreshments I headed for the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes and had a short walk over them noting the many signs warning you of the extreme heat.
It was a relief to get back into the air conditioned hire car and start to head out of the valley towards California.
As you leave the valley behind the road climbs and gives plenty of opportunity for landscape photos of the valley and finally as you begin to exit the park proper there's a forest(?) of Joshua Trees to send you on your way.
Of course there is much more to Death Valley than the snapshot you get on road trip but the sights that I visited that day are some of my most memorable in America.