Tag Death Valley National Park

Dust Storms

We aren't too alarmed when we hear about the wind advisory in Death Valley. After our December experiences with tornados in Kentucky and Kansas, we don't think much of winds in sunny California. Even so, we don't have to be in Tornado Alley for winds to whip up quite a storm. Rather than dropping tree limbs and flipping trailers, this wind kicks up a dust storm so great as to block out the surrounding mountain range and, later on, the sun. We wander Death Valley through a muted haze. Even in that midday twilight, we wear sunglasses and masks to protect our eyes and airways from the grit and dust kicked up by the wind.

Lexi Goforth
February 18, 2022

Artists Drive Scenic Loop

1970 Avion C11 truck camper driving through Artist's Road in Death Valley National Park.

Explore Death Valley National Park's colorful hillsides along the 9-mile one-way Artists Drive.

Lexi Goforth
March 17, 2021

Badwater Basin

Walk along the lowest elevation location in North America, 282-feet below sea level, at Badwater Basin in Death Valley National Park.

Lexi Goforth
March 15, 2021

Devils Hole

Finally, my new lens has come in handy to photograph the rarest fish found in the wild. The Devils Hole Pupfish only lives in a subterranean cave isolated in the Nevada desert. Technically, this site is an annex of Death Valley National Park but it is quite a distance from the main National Park. Think of it like Hawaii, relatively small and distant from the main 48, but a treasure unto itself.

Lexi Goforth
February 28, 2017

Overlanding Echo Canyon

Echo Canyon is remote in as much as it truly requires 4-wheel drive to travers the occasional patches of boulders. There's no driving around them when squeezed by the tight canyon walls. But that challenge makes for exquisitely exclusive experiences.

While rougher than the road to the Racetrack, Echo Canyon's 4-wheeling route was a much more fun drive both for the lack of washboard and the the brilliantly colored cliffs that flank the road.

Lexi Goforth
February 27, 2017

Overlanding Racetrack Valley Road

The road to the Racetrack Playa in Death Valley National Park is one long, brutal washboard past volcanic craters, Joshua Trees, and teakettles to a dry lakebed punctuated by a grandstand rock formation and sailing stones.

You all know about The Racetrack. You've seen it in pictures: the cracked earth scraped by trails of surreally moving stones. The majority of the distance to the racetrack is paved road. But the majority of the time spent getting to the racetrack is the slow going of the unpacked, high clearance, 4-wheel drive.

Lexi Goforth
February 25, 2017
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Return To Death Valley

We return to the bizarre world of Death Valley National Park at a much more reasonable time of year: Winter.

It's been more than half a year since we were back in Death Valley National Park. Then, the temperature was 120 degrees. Today, it is 64 degrees. Perfect.

Lexi Goforth
February 24, 2017
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Wildflowers of The Mojave

Deserts are often considered to be synonymous with desolation. They are seen as barren tracts of sand dunes to travers in flowing white robes astride a camel or stallion in Lawrence of Arabia style. Yet, deserts are incredibly diverse ecosystems and the Mojave spans a wide range of territory including parts of California, Nevada, and Arizona. Along with sand dunes and hot springs, the Mojave is home to a brilliant array of wildflowers.

Lexi Goforth
June 8, 2016

Summer in Badwater

I can tell you that we experienced 120°F, but I don't think a numeric measurement could convey what such heat does to a human body. Each step away from a cool air conditioned car winnows away energy, drive, optimism, and curiosity. The cool car becomes a recharging station, where one regains the will and ability to strive. The car is where a cool head can set priorities: how far I can safely travel and what pictures will I take. And when one comes to a point where cool air is no longer forthcoming, how willingly one will just give up.

Lexi Goforth
June 7, 2016
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