Theresa's Mixed Nuts: We Are Alive, Here In Death Valley

Wednesday, October 4, 2017

We Are Alive, Here In Death Valley

Jason decided that we were going to detour and take a little drive through Death Valley on our way into California from Nevada. It was only going to set us back a few hours and since I had never been, we shuffled it into our travel plans.

Death Valley

I'm the kind of girl who is always up for an adventure, so I didn't question going in the middle of July. But, after spending a few minutes in the scorching summer sun, it didn't seem like the brightest of ideas to go to freakin' Death Valley smack dab in the hottest month of the year. When we stopped at the guest center at about 10am, it was already hitting 112 degrees. Talk about a scorcher of a day! But, we had a case of water in the trunk and forged ahead. Since we were only wanting to detour off of our itinerary a little bit, we knew we were only going to be able to explore about 1/4 of the national park. We grabbed a map from the guest center and plotted out the points that most piqued our interest. Badwater Basin was going to be our first stop.

Badwater Basin

Badwater Basin is the lowest point in North America, with a depth of 282 ft below sea level. A springfed pool of water surrounded by salt flats make the water too saline to drink. An early traveler coming through the area on his horse took a sip from one of the pools of water here and declared it "bad water" and that's how the name came to be.

Badwater Basin, Death Valley

Badwater Basin, Death Valley

Living in the Midwest, we have nothing but flat land, so we were quite captivated by the valleys in the mountains.

Death Valley

My favorite stop was the Artist's Palette. Here you'll find gorgeous multi-colored claystones from ancient ashfalls of the Artist's Drive Formation.

Artist's Palette, Death Valley

As fascinating as the trip was at first, after about 2 hours I was ready to go. I mean, there's only so many mountains you can look at before you feel like it's all running together. I started getting paranoid that we were going to be stuck in the middle of the desert forever, but Mariah was hoping to visit one of the ghost towns before we left. So, I sucked it up another hour so we could hit up the Ballarat Ghost Town.

Ballarat Death Valley


Ballarat Death Valley

While it used to house close to 500 people, it's now deserted with the exception of  a full time employee that runs the little general store on the grounds. We ventured into a little two room shack on the property that served as both a hotel and a jail. The general store clerk told us that Charles Manson was a frequent visitor to grounds and even left some graffiti on the walls inside.

Ballarat Death Valley

Ballarat Death Valley

Ballarat Death Valley Charles Manson

It is rumored that this old rust bucket also belonged to Charles Manson and his murderous family.

Ballarat Death Valley Charles Manson Truck

There's even little cemetery where you can find the original proprietor buried.

Ballarat Death Valley
  
All in all, I am glad we made the Death Valley detour, but I am glad that we only decided to do a small portion of the park. The mountains and scenery are truly breathtaking, but in small doses. No matter what time of year you visit, make sure you are stocked with plenty of water and packed to survive the elements. We received no cell phone service once inside, so if you happen to get stranded, it could be some time before help arrives. Better safe than sorry.


Would you make a trip through Death Valley?




45 comments:

  1. I would not mind during the winter months

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I probably could have tolerated it a bit more if it weren't so damn hot

      Delete
  2. We made the mistake of going there during the summer months and it was so darn hot.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow, sure looks like quite the spot to take in. Or ship those people who never get off their cellphones lol Not sure I'd want to follow in the footsteps of Manson. Never knew that was the lowest point either.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can think of a few people I would like to dump in the middle of Death Valley ;)

      Delete
  4. It does look very dead :) wouldn't wanna end up there with dead car and phone.
    You look like a country music superstar in that first photo, fit for an album cover :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Seriously! We drove over an hour to the ghost town and didn't pass a single car. We were there for a while too and not one other person came through. It would totally suck to have a dead car. Our phones didn't even work out there so help would be a long time coming.

      It was super windy. My hair was all over the place. I probably should have pulled it up in the photo, but it is what it is :)

      Delete
  5. That looks like such a fun trip! I'd love to go for sure. Sign me up. I think your pictures turned out great!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Alissa. I think your family would love a little trip there!

      Delete
  6. Terry and I made the trip to Death Valley way back ~ maybe late 80s or early 90s. Only we went in March. Your post brought back many memories for me! Love the family photos ~ so sweet!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. March would have been a much cooler time to visit, I am sure. I hope you and Terry had a good time on your travels there. Did you camp at one of the sites? I saw several places for camping, though I wondered who in their right minds would want to camp there in July?

      Delete
  7. The Charles Manson things would give me the creeps. Interesting tidbit: My dad was murdered in California when my mom was 9 months pregnant (with me). Because the Manson trial was so extensive and long, they kept shoving back the dates on the man who killed my father. My mom took personal offense, and her Charles Manson repellent has rubbed off on me, I guess. I'd rather just avoid all things Charlie M. That's awesome that you stuck to the trip though, until you came across the ghost town!! I'd love to visit Cali. I've never been.

    As for Vegas, I thought of you instantly when Vegas hit the news, and was very glad your trip was over, you got to enjoy it, and were back home safe.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can see where Manson would be associated with angry feelings. How horrible for your mom to have to wait so long for justice :( I do hope once the trial was over, the murderer got a swift and just punishment.

      I am devastated over Vegas. Such a shame that a lunatic could tarnish a place that should be associated with good times, but now it will be forever remembered for such a heinous act :(

      Delete
    2. Agreed. It's heartbreaking, I can't even watch when they put the victims up on the news. :(

      Delete
  8. There are no mountains near you? That's a bummer :( But back on topic, I have never been through death valley, but I would have taken the detour, too. Our detour from Vegas was the Grand Canyon.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Found your blog though Dark Thoughts. Death Valley is place I like to see some day. I;ve know a few people who visit and said the plant life was great after a good rain.
    If you fine the time stop in at my blog for a cup of coffee.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I would love to take a trip through Death Valley with the family. I think that barren landscape has a certain beauty all its own.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Death Valley looks AWESOME! I've always wanted to visit, but I've never had the opportunity. This just makes me want to go even more.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Death Valley looks like a neat place to visit. I would want to go in the spring or fall, it would be too hot in the summer.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I would love to go, but not in the middle of summer. Maybe late fall/winter - I know it would still be hot, but maybe in the upper 90's low 100's vs. 112 plus. Yikes!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Death Valley looks so gorgeous. I bet my kids would love to visit!

    ReplyDelete
  15. I have lived in Las Vegas my entire life and still have yet to visit Death Valley. I definitely need to change that, especially after seeing your spectacular photos!

    ReplyDelete
  16. This is very interesting! I've never been to Death Valley but it sounds like an awesome adventure! Glad you made it through.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Death Valley looks gorgeous, I thought it would be more dreary just by the name! Love the experience you had and photos you shared with us! Gorgeous place, I must try to visit.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Gotta love Death Valley. Please is both fascinating and a shit hole at the same time. Camped out there once in the fall->winter time (can't remember the exact month). Woke up realize everything was frozen and literally broke my tent opening it.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Death Valley is so beautiful. I can understand how it got its name though, the elements are pretty extreme.

    ReplyDelete
  20. That's pretty exciting and I loved looking at the pictures you posted. I think it's awesome that decided to stop by!

    ReplyDelete
  21. It's really beautiful out there! I've never stopped there before but I'm definitely going to if we find ourselves traveling those roads. I think it's worth it!

    ReplyDelete
  22. I think the closest I am going to see Death Valley is through your gorgeous pictures. I do envy your ability to be so flexible with your schedule.

    ReplyDelete
  23. This looks like such a fascinating detour! I have never been to Death Valley, but I have always been intrigued. I would love to do some exploring here. It looks so beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  24. wow the sky and mountains scenery looks amazing but yeah I guess after a while, especially in the scorching heat, it starts to look all about the same hahaha...

    Ai @ Sakura Haruka

    ReplyDelete
  25. This seems like such a cool place to explore. I can definitely see how some of the scenery would blend together but it's cool that you at least got to check out a ghost town.

    ReplyDelete
  26. I've always wanted to visit Death Valley. what a beautiful place and memorable at that!

    ReplyDelete
  27. What an amazing experience! I would love to check it out sometime.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Looks fun. I want to take my kids and husband one day.

    ReplyDelete
  29. WOw your photos look so editorial. I will be honest I dont want to go to death valley but your family took some good shots there.

    ReplyDelete
  30. What an iconic place to travel to with your family. I love your photos!

    ReplyDelete
  31. Wow your photos are surreal. Looks like such a cool place to visit!

    ReplyDelete
  32. Looks like an awesome place to visit! I've never been there before.

    ReplyDelete
  33. I haven't heard about this place and I love to visit death valley someday it realky looks beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Those pictures are absolutely beautiful, especially of the claystones. I'm a big baby when it comes to extreme heat so I probably wouldn't have enjoyed it.

    ReplyDelete
  35. We did! Back in 2015 Theresa...one of the best spring break trips we have ever made :) It was super hot indeed but very rewarding..it's like another part of the planet..

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for your comments! I appreciate every one of them :) Except promotional posts with added links. Those will be deleted.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...