My original plan after the Grand Canyon was to head to Zion for the day and then over to Bryce where there was available camping, Zion already being full. As my previous post notes, I decided to take an extra night and check out Hoover Dam and stay at a nearby campground. The plan then was the next day to head over to Zion and then Bryce.

Waking up though I had the wisdom to take  advantage of the device we call a cell phone but is so much more, to check the weather. Both parks are further north than Grand and also at higher elevations, so I expected them to be cooler. I was right. However, there was also apparently a band of cold weather moving through. Though I had brought lots of warm clothing I wasn’t looking forward to heading into the cold.

I zoomed out on the map on my phone and realized Death Valley was only a couple of hours away. And it’s been on my list of places to visit for much of my life. A quick check of the weather confirmed it would be much warmer. Easy decision. I headed west. The only concern was again camping since all sites were listed “First Come, First Served” but there were quite a few listed and Death Valley is not nearly as popular as the Grand Canyon. So I wasn’t too worried.

Much of the drive was along desert highways with few facilities along the way. I filled up again outside of Vegas, even though I still had over a ½ tank just out of an abundance of precaution. In Pahrump I stopped by a Walmart and loaded up on some food. More backroads later I saw a sign: Sea Level. By itself this might not be notable, but beyond it was a valley, clearly below sea level. I was there. I had made Death Valley.

I got to the campground and managed to find a beautiful site. At first I thought it was occupied because the receipt on the post was still there, but I confirmed it was an old one. It was this site or one 2 sites over which as basically a bare open sandy spot with no trees. I would have been fine with that, but this one had what I can only describe as a bower of trees bent over a nice pine filled flat circle. Ideal for a tent if I wanted to set mine up, or for simply my pad and sleeping bag.

After claiming the site and talking to a ranger I set out. First I checked out an old borax mining camp just a few miles away. Then I headed about 20 miles south to Badwater. This is where I reached a new low in my life. A low of 282 feet below sea level. This is the lower point in North America. And to be honest, I only new a couple of other Americans who have been lower than this and they’ve only done it in steel cans designed to sink (and later rise, a very important design criteria!) I walked out among the salt flats, and yes, I did actually taste some (for science, of course) and even dipped my finger in one of the tiny pools that dotted the flats. Not surprisingly the water was briny, but there is water that seeps up there.

From Badwater I worked my way back a long the road towards the campground. Several different stops and one 2 mile round trip hike and I had seen and walked a lot of Death Valley.

After dinner (and posting my Day 7 post) I walked over to the Visitor Center for a Night Sky presentation put on my Ranger Julianna. It was well attended and I finally learned a few new stars.

After that I made plans for bed. It was VERY windy at this point. It had been most of the day. I honestly saw no point in setting up a tent, even in the nice bower, because I’d have listened to it flap all day. And simply sleeping in my bag on my ground pad, while I’d have been warm enough, again the wind would have annoyed me. So, it turns out as beautiful as my site was, I didn’t take advantage of it. Instead I planned on sleeping in the car like I have been most nights. Though these nights, when my goal isn’t driving, it’s stretched out in back on the ground pad in a nice comfortable position.

Just as I was about to retire, a small camper van rolled up and one of the passengers asked me how they could find a campsite. I explained by now they were probably all full, definitely the ones in this area where. I gave them my copy of the campground map and wished them luck. As they drove off, I realized I could have split my site with them. I didn’t care. It was late, I was going to bed. I could have recouped some of the cost. Oh well.

In the middle of the night I woke up to use the bathroom. The sky was brilliant as ever and the wind had stopped. I decided to compromise a bit and pulled the pad and bag out of the car and put them on the sleeping table. This gave me great view of the sky to fall asleep by. And I did. And I woke  up to a beautiful dawn.

So I have reached a new low point and walked the Valley of Death and I’m pretty content.