Death Valley National Park | Devil's Golf Course

Death Valley National Park, California: We did have an enjoyable evening. It cooled-down enough that we could actually sleep!

Since we had spent yesterday in the hills and mountains above the park, we decided to spend today in the valley. It was a really hot day, but we had so many interesting things to see. Death Valley is a brand-new park for us. Yes, we have been here many times, but because of the huge flooding last summer, everything has changed! It only rained a few inches last August, but the resulting flash flood was devastating. Two people were killed, everyone in the park had to be evacuated and the park remained closed for several days. Then, there was more terrible flooding during this extremely wet winter. Until today, some routes in/out of the park remain closed and several smaller tour roads inside the park have not reopened.

Our first stop was the Devil's Golf Course. Now the golf course has a water hazard! "Moisture rises to the surface from the shallow water table, carrying salt in solution. On the surface the moisture evaporates, leaving the salt to crystallize and be sculpted into sharp ridges and spires by rain and wind. The crust itself is 95% pure table salt." Again, it was so windy, that there is a dust cloud over the entire valley.

 
The Devil's (very salty) Golf Course - looking east. (That is water in the center of the photo.)
Photo on the right is looking west.

Next we drove south to Badwater - the lowest point in the park and the lowest point in the United States. This area usually has a puddle or two - now it is a huge, salty, Caribbean-blue lake. Walking out to the edge of the lake feels (and looks) like you are walking on slushy, melting, dirty snow!

Badwater - with water. Same old couple, but a new sign since our last visit


No, this photo is not framed incorrectly - the salt is simply
that white! We were about 1/2 mile from the parking lot -
barely visible at the bottom of the hill. (I added the white
line through the rocks the photo to show sea level.)

Next we stopped at a wash that had swept about 15 feet of earth away during the flooding. Incredible. Also educational to visit with my personal in-residence geologist! DT had a blast pointing out all the different rock layers to me. He also taught me how to find gold. Dang, I thought that is why we have jewelers?

Investigating the destruction


Here is a close-up of my skin after two days in Death Valley

We also stopped at Golden Canyon - another place completely changed due to the torrent of water that rushed down the canyon. The canyon is now about 10 feet deeper! I don't really care for Golden Canyon - it kinda creeps me out and I get a bad feeling here. Don't know why... but I do, so we didn't linger. I cheered up a bit after chatting with a handsome young German tourist - in German, of course! He was about Lisa's age and on his four-week vacation.

Golden Canyon from Zabriskie Point

Our next stop of the day was to the Furnace Creek Inn. Every time we come to Death Valley, we say we are going to dine at the Lodge, but we never do. Today we stopped in and asked to see a dinner menu and the hostess said, "I can show you a menu, but you ain't gonna eat. We are so full tonight, only hotel guests are being seated." (DT decided he would like a simple pasta dish tonight, prepared by his favorite in-residence chef.) On the way home we looked into the Furnace Creek Visitor Center. Tourism is blooming like wildflowers in Death Valley - due to all the rain (6 inches since July), the wildflowers have gone amok and everyone wants to see this "once in one-hundred year" blossoming.

And here, Dear Reader, is the real reason this is called "Death Valley" - the gas prices will kill you! (NOTE ADDED A FEW YEARS LATER: Gee, seems cheap now... must be really expensive to buy fuel in Death Valley now!)

Fill 'er up!

RV Park: Furnace Creek Campground