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RVing Death Valley National Park
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o How low can you go in an RV? In Death Valley www.death.valley.national-park.com you can go to the lowest spot in the US at 282 ft below sea level. Badwater is the lowest of lows. (Interestingly, the highest point in the lower 48 states is just 100 miles away at Mt. Whitney.) At Badwater the salts and minerals have collected for thousands of years as the snow melt and rare rains have washed the materials from the surrounding Amargosa and Panamint Mountain Ranges into the great valley.
I searched the saltwater laden pool at Badwater for signs of life, but was unable to see brine shrimp or other salt tolerant organisms. If they are present, I didn’t find any. The Devils Hole pupfish is a living remmant of the fish populations that occupied freshwater Manley Lake that filled the valley about 10,000 years ago.
o Those who envision Death Valley as a desolate, ugly, dry, lifeless expanse of sand and salt, covered with the dried bones of animals and pioneers, are in for a pleasant surprise. The area around the Furnace Creek Ranch and NPS Visitor Center is bustling with hundreds of RVs, autos and trucks. RV campgrounds at Sunset and Furnace Creek are nearly filled with all types of RVs and tent campers this fall season. During the upcoming 60th 49er Encampment, Nov 4-7, ’09, every campground and boondocking area will be packed with attendees of this annual event. deathvalley49ers.org
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In late October, ’09, the Valley winds were blowing and my Saturn toad took a sand beating as I drove past the sand dunes to Stove Pipe Wells and made a short 1 mile hike into Mosaic Canyon. It was worth the drive to see the sand and water carved walls of the narrow canyon.
A visit to the Museum and a leisurely viewing of the Visitor Center slide show gave a refreshing and stimulating perspective of the extremes of this large and starkly beautiful national park. Extremes in temperatures, rainfall, ecozones, desert flowers and plants and geological forms are experienced within the park boundaries. Fall and winter are the best times to visit unless you enjoy temperatures of 110 to 120 F. The winds were actually cold in the valley and very cold on the mountains in late October.
Historical perspectives are interesting to me. Do you remember, as I do, listening to Death Valley Days, sponsored by 20 mule team Boraxo, when you were young? Ruins of the Harmony borax works remain as do several 20 mule team wagons that hauled tons of the processed borax on a 10 day, 165 mile, one way trip to the nearest railhead. Mules were later replaced by steam engines and then by the railroad spur line.
Many abandoned gold and silver mines are found throughout the Park along with warnings to avoid entering mine shafts and pits due to the dangers of structural decay. There are abundant natural wonders ranging from the huge salt flats, Artists Pallete, Dantes View, high above the Badwater area, Mosiac Canyon, Golden Canyon and others. During my visit much of the sand of the Valley seemed suspended on the blowing winds and the mountains to the west were obscured by the sand, giving an eerie, ghostly appearance to that range.
Hiking trails lead into the mountains and across the valley for those who want to experience a small bit of the danger, heat, thirst and starvation that challenged the 49ers of old who took the “short cut” route across the Valley to California. It was possible to learn to live in the Valley and surrounding mountains, as demonstrated by the Timbisha Shoshone Indians and assorted miners who survived for years in and near the few good water holes and springs.
RV boondocking is available at an abandoned RV park on Rte 190 east of the park (free) and in Sunset Campground at $6.00/day while RV campgrounds offer camping without hookups for $18.00/ or $9.00/day with an Interagency Pass or equivalent.
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