Journeying to Death Valley

Departing from Yosemite National Park, we embarked on the longest drive of our All American Road Trip; a gruelling 7 hours behind the wheel… But boy was it worth it!

Leaving the Green Wilderness of Yosemite behind us, we headed further inland to our destination – Death Valley. Although long, the drive is one Road Trips were built for!

I loved driving through the old country towns, imagining what life’s like within them and how much it must differ from mine. All the while, drawing comparisons. For example, witnessing horses sheltering from the heat under desolate trees, made me think of how my pony takes refuge in the shadow of England’s bush-row on rare warm days.

The astounding heat within Death Valley however makes England’s summer feel like the Antarctic…. Stepping out of the car for a toilet break, I was instantly overcome by the insane temperature and the intense humidity. It was far too hot for a pathetic Brit like me!

Later, we stopped for lunch in a small town that had seemingly been frozen in time. The streets were like something out of an old fashion Cowboy film. In fact, talking to some locals we soon found out that it was indeed used as a filming location for such films!

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Getting back on the road, Yosemite was far behind us and there was no doubt now that we were in the desert. As the settlements became less frequent, a brief thought crossed my mind of what would happen if we ran out of fuel… inflicting nervous looks at the fuel gauge for the remainder of the journey.

Something that struck me was the flatness of the landscape (a far cry from the touring hills and rock formations of Yosemite). Highway 190 for example, boosts the longest straight road in America. Which creates a dramatic and powerful view, generating a sense of wonder and intrigue… Beauty in its most abstract form!

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Entering the National park, the flat landscape soon grows upwards again and the road begins to slice through Death Valleys unique rock formations. Metals within the clay rocks have oxidised over 1,000’s of years to creating vivid yellow, green and blue bands of colour – something which has to be seen to be believed.

We finally arrived at our Hotel, Furnace creek inn, around early evening (at which time the heat was still over powering) and took an early night, ready to explore the awe-inspiring National Park the next day.

My next post will feature the Top 5 Things to do in Death Valley so be such to follow Earth’s Magical Places for all the latest 🙂

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Have any comments on this post? Heading to Death Valley or have visited yourself? I’d love to hear from you so please comment below!

 

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9 Comments

  1. March 12, 2017 / 6:53 pm

    I have heard so much about Death Valley. You bring it alive in a lovely way. Though I have to feel the heat on my own skin to get the intensity of it I believe 😉

    • March 12, 2017 / 7:11 pm

      Thankyou for such a lovely comment! You have to explore it yourself… The heat was crazy! It hit 45°C while I was there in summer… 2 minutes in the sun and you have to run indoors haha

      • March 12, 2017 / 7:19 pm

        Hah, I might fit right in 😉 I have experienced up to 44 degrees in Delhi, India 😀 So, this is why I had to go through it. Life primed me while I was cribbing about it.

  2. June 6, 2017 / 11:50 pm

    Superior thinking denoestratmd above. Thanks!

  3. August 14, 2017 / 4:51 am

    I only know the Death Valley is extremely hot, but have no idea the road trip to Death Valley is so stunning. Love the flatness of the road, but I have to make sure I dont get to sleep during the driving.

    • August 14, 2017 / 2:43 pm

      I had no clue it would be so beautiful either! There’s just something pleasing about how it stretches on as far as the eye can see, that’s for sure… Luckily my dad was behind the wheel so I could take a nap haha

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