The Newport Family: Death Valley

The largest national park south of Alaska, Death Valley is known for extremes: It is North America's driest and hottest spot and has the lowest elevation on the continent at 282 feet below sea level.

It is amazing when looking at this vast countryside to know that many pioneers crossed the country in search of riches or land. It is so remote and barren. The mountains, valleys and canyons are immense.

Looking back at the Sierra Nevada's - snow on the peaks.

Crazy roads heading into Death Valley.

Rain in Death Valley - Death Valley is the driest place in North America, averaging less than two inches of rain per year. When it does rain, it can rain hard and fast. No precipitation was recorded in 1953, but the wettest year on record was between July 2004 and June 2005 at 6.44 inches.

This past October a flash flood impacted part of the park - sections of the park are still closed as roads have been washed away.

The silver lining to the October storm event - Super Bloom

Many desert wildflowers have a protective coating on their seeds that prevents them from germinating unless there is a very good chance that there will be enough moisture to bring them to maturity. Seeds may remain dormant for years, even decades. If a storm brings an inch or more of rain in Autumn, it can wear away this protective coating and allow the seeds to sprout. A storm followed by the gently winter rains of an El Nino weather pattern - perfect conditions for a superb wildflower bloom.

All the places to stay - either in the park, or anywhere near the park (there are not a lot of places)

were booked. So we planned to drive across the park, hit some sights and end the day in Vegas.

Golden Evening Primrose

The flowers did not disappoint!

Sand Dunes

We wondered what creature made these tracks.

The desert comes alive at night - kinda glad I won't be there.

Desert Gold - most abundant yellow flower on the valley floor.

Crazy Stuff!

Badwater Basin - 200 square miles.

The source of Badwater’s salts is Death Valley’s drainage system of 9,000 square miles—an area larger than New Hampshire. Rain falling on distant peaks creates floods that rush ever lower. Along the way, minerals dissolve from rocks and join the flood. Here, at the lowest elevation, floods come to rest, forming temporary lakes. As the water evaporates, minerals concentrate until only the salts remain. After thousands of years, enough salts have washed in to produce layer upon layer of salt crust - nearly pure white table salt!

I tried it 😝 and it was pretty salty!

The vast, surreal salt flats of Badwater Basin change constantly. Salt crystals expand, pushing the crust of salt into rough, chaotic forms. Newly formed crystals ooze between mudcracks, sketching strange patterns on the surface of the salt flat. Passing rainstorms wash off windblown dust and generate a fresh layer of blinding white salt.
Floods create temporary lakes that dissolve salts back into solution, starting the process all over again.

It was HOT!
Everyone says its not like Florida heat - its a dry heat.
It is kind of weird - you do feel hot, but it is not humid.
You don't feel like your sweating, but when you touch your arm, its wet-sweaty ... weird.

Artist’s Drive loops you up to the top of an alluvial fan at the base of the Black Mountains. The road at times is like a roller coaster, filled with ups and downs at every turn as you wind through the narrow walls. The colors in the rock is amazing.

Repeated volcanic eruptions deposited ash and minerals which were chemically altered by heat, water and oxygen and other elements. Chemical analyses have identified a paint pot of elements: iron, aluminum, magnesium and titanium. Some of the colored minerals include red hematite and green chlorite - a true natural artist's palette of color splashed across the slope.

Just Beautiful!

Roller coaster Roads.

Desert Five Spot

Dante's Peak

5,000 feet above the valley
The little white squiggly line at the bottom is the path we walked out to the salt flats.

These views represent basin and range topography that extends from eastern California to central Utah.
Steep elongated mountains alternating with flat dry desert valleys.
This results in a series of north south faults in the valleys - yes, that's earthquake faults 🙀