Day #1 in Death Valley

One of our most favorite places is North America's hottest, driest and lowest National Park.

In this below-sea-level basin, steady drought and record summer heat make Death Valley a land of extremes. Yet, each extreme has a striking contrast. Towering peaks are frosted with winter snow. Rare rainstorms bring vast fields of wildflowers. Lush oases harbor tiny fish and refuge for wildlife and humans. Despite its morbid name, a great diversity of life thrives in Death Valley.
And we love it here though we were not expect 93℉ on November 5th. Wild.


Once we entered the Park, our first destination was to saunter in the sand dunes.
So why dunes here and not everywhere?  There are actually five dune fields in Death Valley. For dunes to exist there must be a source of sand, prevailing winds to move the sand, and a place for the sand to collect. The eroded canyons and washes provide plenty of sand, the wind seems to always blow (especially in the springtime), but there are only a few areas in the park where the sand is “trapped” by geographic features such as mountains. We chose Mesquite Dunes as they were the easiest to reach and on our path to camp.


"Beneath the hot sun of the desert,
there’s a quiet energy that seeps into your soul.
The desert doesn’t make demands; it simply exists.
It is both a place of peace and challenge,
an environment where you learn
how to survive by being present,
living moment by moment,
and accepting the harshness of reality."
We've only been coming here for 30 years. Tourism in Death Valley began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, transitioning from mining camps into resorts as the automobile era made the area more accessible. Early entrepreneurs, like H.W. Eichbaum, built roads and accommodations like Stovepipe Wells in the 1920s. The Pacific Coast Borax Company also developed tourism by establishing the Furnace Creek Inn and later selling its hotel operations to the Fred Harvey Company in the 1950s. The area's designation as a National Monument in 1933 and then a National Park in 1994 further boosted tourism, although it was temporarily set back by events like the Great Depression and World War II.
Our home for two nights was the very comfortable Furnace Creek Campground (spot #26).

"A desert night under the stars
makes you realize how small you are
in the grand scheme of things.
Yet, there’s something humbling about that.
The silence becomes soothing,
and the beauty of the universe reveals itself
in a way that only the vast emptiness of the desert can provide."

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