Week 2.5: Yosemite to Death Valley

After 4 incredible days in Yosemite, I decided it was time to head to Death Valley.  I was a little timid; most likely due to the word “Death” in the name, but this was a place that I’ve been curious about for a long time.  Due to winter road closures, I wasn’t able to drive through Yosemite and was forced to backtrack out of the park and drive around the Sierra Nevada mountains for a total of 500 miles.  It was a gorgeous drive but took two days (with an overnight stop in a random turnout on Highway 178).

Death Valley Entry
I entered Death Valley National Park Friday, January 10th.  The drive is like nothing I have experienced.  I don’t know what I expected but there is nothing… and I mean NOTHING mile after mile yet the lure of what would lie ahead kept pulling me in.  I entered on highway 190 with amazing views of the Panamint and Amargosa mountain ranges.  

Here we go...

Beautiful view of mountains leading into Death Valley.  Even more interesting that I need to watch for cows.

Death Valley sand dunes

Desert Holly that flowers in winter and pollinates by wind not insects

T wondering what the hell we're doing in this place!

Almost Literally "Death Valley"
I arrived at Furnace Creek Campground around 4pm and asked the ranger where I could walk Trooper.  He recommended a path close to the campground and said “You will probably see a coyote, but don’t worry because your dog is too big for them”.  So, we headed out.  Very shortly after that, I indeed saw a coyote walking from my left to right towards the road.  As a typical tourist, I grabbed my camera and started shooting.  Then, I saw two more coyotes come from my left and stop in front of us.  I thought how lucky I am to see three coyotes!  The first coyote then started a quick, high-pitched bark at which point, I heard coyote number four respond from behind me.  I’ve seen enough Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom episodes to know that Trooper and I were in trouble.  I turned us around and started heading back to the campground, but the two coyotes that were in front of us starting trotting towards us.  I grabbed my pepper spray and air horn (if needed, my hopes are the loud and obnoxious sound will deter any animal), and continued slowly backing away.  Thankfully, a ranger drove by, saw what was happening and spun around.  After explaining everything, I was told that indeed, Trooper and I were being circled and hunted.  The ranger said it’s rare, but they are hearing more stories with coyotes packing together and when there are more than two, they will attack.  He said they most likely would have attacked and killed Trooper and the damage to me would have been my choice by staying or leaving.  SOOO, needless to say my plans in Death Valley changed after that.  I was the talk of the campground as many folks have much smaller pups and wanted to hear what happened.  Thankfully, the beautiful sunset made up for it...

Coyote #1

Coyotes #2 and #3

Campsite View

Campsite sunset 

Beautiful night sky in Death Valley

Lowest Elevation in North America

On day two, I drove to the lowest elevation in NA called Badwater which sits at 282 feet below sea level.  The salt flat was very interesting and seeing the “Sea Level” sign compared to where I was standing was surreal.  

Check out the Sea Level sign (upper right) compared to my RV

Badwater Basin - lowest point in North America at 282' below sea level

Highly concentrated salt that fills the basin

Golden Canyon Hike

I left Trooper in the RV and hiked Golden Canyon about 7 miles to Zabriskie’s Point.  The hike took about 3 hours and was worth it!  The experience and views were incredible.  There were no trees, no water, nothing but rock and dust.  It’s an environment that is difficult to explain in words but every part of me was dry, dusty, cracked and craving a pool of water to jump in.

Interesting trail marker

Interesting color changes along the hike

Amazing views from Zabriskie's Point

Made it to the top!

The next morning I decided it was time to get an early start and push through to the mountains and trees of northern Arizona.  As I was walking Trooper before heading out, I met an older woman well into her 70’s.  She shared her story with me about going on after losing her husband 10 years ago and I shared my story with her.  She said that I was brave and wished she had my courage.  I asked her what was next for her, which is when she told me that she was driving her pickup truck and toy hauler to the Dumont Dunes outside Death Valley to go four wheeling on her ATV!  And she thinks I’m the brave one???  I wished her Godspeed and said I can only hope to have her courage.  I am really enjoying the people that I get to cross paths with.

Final Thoughts
I think it’s good timing to give an update on PattyWaggin.  So far, I have broken the antenna (having to climb on the roof 5 times to get it down), backed into a light pole in a Starbucks parking lot (irony there), run over a campground sign, broken my navigation system, and accidentally dumped the black tank out in an RV lot.  All in all, I think things are going great!  I’ve been a tent camper as long as I can remember, but have to admit this “house on wheels” thing is pretty damn awesome.  I have learned how to hook up to electric, water, cable and sewer in RV parks and have also figured out how to be self-contained in places like Yosemite and Death Valley where no services exist.  I wouldn’t say my tent camping days are over, but the next trip I will certainly be looking for the ability to turn on the furnace before getting out from under my down comforter :)