I couldn’t imagine spending another day in the heat of Death Valley although it was supposed to moderate somewhat. Although the vastness is impressive, there really are no activities that I could imagine undertaking in such temperatures although I did see people on bicycles and people were out hiking. In any event, I was leaving Death Valley by the southern route which meant passing some of the major sights along the way.
One of those sites is Bad Water ... the lowest point in the U.S. at –282 feet below sea level. On the wall behind the parking lot, there’s a sign on the cliff indicating sea level. A very odd sensation to realize that sea level is to high above.
Of course a lot of Death Valley is below sea level. I just never realized how much. You can drive for miles and the GPS keeps telling you that you are 100 to 200 feet below sea level. It’s not just one spot but a large part of the whole valley.
The Salt Flats at Bad Water
The road south winds along the eastern side of Death Valley actually allowing you to drive in the shade most of the way at this time of day. There are a couple of small passes to get up and over but nothing like the torture of entering the park from the west on Hwy 190.
As soon as we began rolling down from Salsbury Pass, it seemed that the air was cooler. Then again, perhaps it was just my relief at leaving Death Valley after such a short visit. This northern gringo had had enough. Connecting with Hwy 127, we headed south through desert that was not quite so stark as D.V.N.P. There’s a huge area of sand dunes that were very impressive but it wasn’t easy to get a good photograph. They appear to mostly be used by people with OHVs (Off Highway Vehicles).
There was still lots of nothing to drive through. I wasn’t sure where we would spend the night. I thought we might make it as far as Joshua Tree National Park. But we got slowed down by the Mojave National Preserve.
Death Valley is stark. There’s very little vegetation just rock and sand. But Mojave National Reserve which lies just south of Death Valley is a whole other landscape. It’s a huge, unsettled area that runs between two interstate highways. In the middle of the park at Kelso there is a visitor center. Back in the early days of the Southern Pacific Railway Kelso was an important center where engines were added to help pull trains up and over an especially steep grade. With the coming of more powerful diesel engines, the center was no longer needed and the town that the railway had created died away. The trains still go through Kelso and the lovely old railway station is now a visitor center with a lovely retro café and ice cream parlour. (I don’t actually think it retro ... I think it’s the real thing.)
A little south of Kelso there’s a very washboardy road that goes off to the Kelso Dunes which rise about 800 feet above the desert floor which is already at 2,500 feet.
It’s a slow three mile drive to the dunes trailhead (depending on your vehicle’s suspension). And a little past the trailhead, there are a couple of places where people have traditionally camped free. I still hadn’t decided where to stop so thought I’d check them out. The second spot, about a mile from the dunes trailhead, was under some shade giving trees. There was already a van and a truck parked there but there was lots of room so we stopped and popped the top of the van.
(Can you spot Eliot?)
My neighbours were very friendly. They work in the television and film industry in Los Angeles and were going to their home in Utah. The husband does set construction for a TV series called “Go On” which I assume has been renewed as they talked about work beginning again in July. The wife works as her husband’s secretary. She adored Eliot.
And so we camped in one of the nicest and quietest spots yet. And you sure couldn’t beat the scenery.
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