Death Valley Wander 2011

aeon

Adventurer
Day 10

This day started off with a pre-dawn trip to Badwater :)


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Next to Devil's Cornfield:
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Decided to go and check out 23 Skidoo (or what little is left of it):
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Aguereberry Camp:
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Aguereberry Point:
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Went and camped at Mahogany Flat again:
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Day 11 up next!
 

aeon

Adventurer
Day 11

We headed back to Beatty for more fuel, and then stopped at Rhyolite again.


This time the pics are from the main site:
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The Tom Kelly glass bottle house:
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A sculpture at Goldwell Open Air Museum that I missed the first time:
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Apparently, we have a hard time staying away from Death Valley :D
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On the Sarcobatus Flat Road:
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Very desolate out there:
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Hit the end of the road just in time for this cool scene:
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At this point, we knew we had to start making our way north...so we drove to Tonopah, and then headed for Lunar Crater to camp.



Last day coming up...
 

aeon

Adventurer
Day 12

We arrived at camp in the dark, so it was fun to see the view in the morning!

Lunar Crater, NV:
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When we got to Wells, NV, we decided to take a detour and find the abandoned town site of Metropolis.


Interesting place!
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A weird .gov installation:
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A cool sunset somewhere in Idaho:
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And I think that's about it, we drove straight through to home from there :safari-rig:
 

Xterabl

Adventurer
Hmm...tough call. Maybe coulda just winched the Titan...would've been serendipitous for the owner when they returned!

Great pics; awesome composition. You were gifted some nice cloud action, too!
 

aeon

Adventurer
Hmm...tough call. Maybe coulda just winched the Titan...would've been serendipitous for the owner when they returned!

Great pics; awesome composition. You were gifted some nice cloud action, too!
My husband was contemplating it, but it appeared as though an alarm was armed on the truck. Since we were on our way to the Eureka Dunes Camp, we figured there was a chance we would find the owner there. We didn't, but sure enough the next morning two tow trucks passed our camp on their way up :)


Thanks for the nice comments on the pics!
 

spressomon

Expedition Leader
Nice photos and write up! Crazy about the bat!

Dual density filter on some of those cloud/landscape shots?

Of recent years the fewest people I've seen in DV, specifically at Saline Springs, was in mid-September a few years ago. 115* during the day keeps some folks away!
 

timh

Explorer
Excellent trip report and amazing photos. I hope to make it to DV someday.

What happened to all the tea kettles?
 

JamesDowning

Explorer
Wow, really enjoyed the photos! This settles it, Death Valley is going on the bucket list. Looks like you could explore for weeks on end. I still enjoy every photo of the racetrack that I see.

Thanks for taking time to share!
 

spressomon

Expedition Leader
Wow, really enjoyed the photos! This settles it, Death Valley is going on the bucket list. Looks like you could explore for weeks on end. I still enjoy every photo of the racetrack that I see.

Thanks for taking time to share!

Most folks are not aware Death Valley is our largest National Park/Monument at 5,270 square miles (3.336 million acres)!!! It occupies more land than Yellowstone and Yosemite COMBINED!

Get there!

Dan
 

Xterabl

Adventurer
Haha, I love DV, but seriously, the fact that it is so huge doesn't mean it is ALL so great. How I see it: there's a big handful of wonderful places to visit, but they are all spread out by 6-10 hours of drive time. It's not like driving through Yosemite where every 10 minutes there is an awe-inspiring vista or place you just want to pull over and go on walkabout.
Unless you are naturally inclined to like hours of bland desert landscape, be careful about setting your hopes up to high.
But, at the same time, I cannot deny that my best camping trip in the last decade was to...death valley!!!
 

Karma

Adventurer
HI,
Terrific thread. It brings back many memories of our Death Valley trip back around 1965. I have always thought the Race Track is one of natures great mysteries. Subtle and great.

Over the years I have misplaced the photos of our trip. But I'll take yours as replacements any time. At that time I shot Ektachrome slides. Made the switch to digital many years ago. What camera and lenses were you using? I typically use Nikon and have a stable of zoom lenses.

I love your photographic style. You never settle for just a pretty picture (though they are beautiful). You always seek something that grabs the mind, puts a question in the mind of the viewer. Good stuff. I have a tendency to play with depth of field more than you do. Not a criticism, just an observation.

Thanks for this beautiful record of a wonderful place.

Did the Jeep make it home? I hope so.

And there is always zoom lenses. They cut down on the cussing! Lots of times I don't have the right lens on either. Chance can't be predicted.

Sparky
 
Last edited:

aeon

Adventurer
Thanks for the nice comments everyone, I'm very glad you are enjoying the photos! :)




What happened to all the tea kettles?
I'm not sure...I've heard the Rangers clean them off on occasion, which makes me wonder if there is a huge tea kettle graveyard somewhere?!


HI,
Terrific thread. It brings back many memories of our Death Valley trip back around 1965. I have always thought the Race Track is one of natures great mysteries. Subtle and great.

Over the years I have misplaced the photos of our trip. But I'll take yours as replacements any time. At that time I shot Ektachrome slides. Made the switch to digital many years ago. What camera and lenses were you using? I typically use Nikon and have a stable of zoom lenses.

I love your photographic style. You never settle for just a pretty picture (though they are beautiful). You always seek something that grabs the mind, puts a question in the mind of the viewer. Good stuff. I have a tendency to play with depth of field more than you do. Not a criticism, just an observation.

Thanks for this beautiful record of a wonderful place.

Did the Jeep make it home? I hope so.

And there is always zoom lenses. They cut down on the cussing! Lots of times I don't have the right lens on either. Chance can't be predicted.

Sparky


Hi Sparky, thank you so much for your kind words!


I mainly used my Nikon D7000, and had three lenses with me on the trip. 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6, 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6, and a 14-24mm f/2.8 wide.


The Jeep made it home safe and sound, and Jim now has plans to rebuild the entire fuel delivery system :smiley_drive:
 

suntinez

Explorer
One of the best picture trips I've taken through DV, thanks for bringing us along!

That bat is hilarious :D
 

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