With the COVID-19 pandemic looming over us every day and making us feel more isolated than any of the previous eleven months, we needed a day of adventure more than ever.  As the realities of COVID drew near, our plan of two weeks in the eastern Sierras with newfound friends flew out of sight.  With a service call scheduled for mid-April in Las Vegas, we settled for two-weeks in Pahrump, Nevada, about an hour west of southern Las Vegas.

While Pahrump wasn’t on the top of our list of cities to stay in, its location made a visit to Death Valley NP possible.  A couple of weeks before our planned adventure, we learned that the NPS had closed campgrounds in Death Valley.  The NPS website also announced closures for the visitors’ centers, public restrooms, many trailheads, and several parking lots used to access popular destinations within the park.  The website also warned to check back for updates.

As always, I researched a plan to see the park.  Knowing that there wouldn’t be a park ranger with whom to consult over my plan, I spent extra time reviewing the itinerary, making notes, and planning our day.  On the planned day of our adventure, I double-checked the NPS website to confirm there were no new closures announced, packed a picnic lunch, and gathered together some recommended personal bathroom supplies for us, and we headed out for our day in the park.

From Pahrump, we drove out Bell Vista Road/State Line Road to CA-127.  We took a quick jog north on CA-127 and past the Amargosa Opera House (something to explore on another trip) to the CA-190.  Essentially running east/west through Death Valley, the CA-190 led us first to the kiosk (around 3,000 feet in altitude) where one would normally purchase or show their park pass.  We stopped and picked up a copy of the park newspaper, which we were surprised to find available. 

We were disappointed to find the sign for the road leading to 20 Mule Team Canyon barricaded.  We proceeded to Zabriskie Point, also barricaded, but where we joined the leagues of about six or seven other cars parked along the road. We walked in through the parking lot and up to the vista point. 

From this vantage point, we had an awesome view of the badlands.

We also got close-up views of wildflowers blooming. 

We could easily have spent a lot more time just in this area between the wildflowers and the badlands, but we wanted to get a better idea of what else the park offers.  We continued down the road passing the lavish and currently deserted Inn at Death Valley on our way to Furnace Creek, the heart of activity for the park.  I had been fortunate to meet a National Park System employee earlier in the week who told me that these bathrooms remained open.  We stopped for a quick potty break, relieved to find that the bathrooms indeed were open, and disappointed that we weren’t able to visit the Borax museum or visitor’s center there at Furnace Creek.

We marveled at the land around Salt Creek (also barricaded off).  We were now at sea level, and the southwest side of the road revealed water in some areas.

Further up the road, we arrived at Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes, where we stopped amongst ten or so other vehicles to take in the views.   We enjoyed our lunch in the car while we watched others climbing dunes and enjoying the beautiful day.

From there, the road climbs to just under 5,000 feet in elevation at Towne Pass. We stopped a couple of times along the way to take in the views.

We drove through Panamint Springs, a privately owned section of the park, still open for camping, hotel rooms, and fuel.  We topped off our tank and drove a bit further along Rainbow Canyon until we arrived at Father Crowley’s Vista Point.  Rainbow Canyon, also known as Star Wars Canyon, is a place where fighter jets practice flying through the narrow canyon. 

From the open parking lot of Father Crowley’s Vista point, we followed the dirt track to the trail’s end for a great view of Panamint Valley.  Between COVID-19 and increasingly high winds, we didn’t find our odds of seeing anything very great.

We drove out of the park on the CA-190, the same route that we drove in on as park authorities had barricaded Bad Water Road at least on the north end, preventing us from driving out of the park on the CA-178 towards Shoshone.  Someday, when we return, I hope to explore this portion of the park, as it allows you to see the Bad Water Basin.  At 282 feet below sea level, Bad Water Basin is the lowest elevation in North America and one of the things for which the park is most famous. 

No surprise, there are many things for us to do the next time that we visit the park. Death Valley is the largest national park outside of Alaska, with a total acreage of 3,422,024 acres, over 3.1 million of these are designated wilderness. Obviously, there’s quite a range in terrain from sand dunes to badlands to mountains and we experienced almost 30 degrees variation from 87 degrees at sea level to 59 degrees when we were driving near Town Pass (over 4,900 feet in elevation).   

A few other things to keep in mind for future visits:

• Death Valley is an International Dark Sky Park offering opportunities for amazing star-gazing.
• In addition to seeing the Bad Water Basin and 20 Mule Team Canyon someday, Artist’s Drive, also accessible on from Bad Water Road, with a stop at Artist’s Palette, is one of the top suggested things to see in the park.
• Expect Scotty’s Castle currently closed for repairs to the area to reopen in the spring of 2021.

We are thankful that we went to visit when we did.   When I looked at the NPS website yesterday, it indicated that the park is temporarily closed except for pass-through travel on CA-190 and Daylight Pass in Beatty.