Our First Trip to Death Valley

[turbodb]

Death Valley Day 4: You Don't See This Every Day

We were glad to have battened down the hatches on the tent, because the heavy winds continued all night, literally shaking the entire truck as though we were in a series of mini-accidents. Needless to say, our sleep wasn’t as great as it'd been the previous night when we were sheltered in Racetrack Valley.

And then, around 1:00am, the wind got significantly colder, and we started to feel moisture in the air. We didn't realize it at the time as we zipped up the remaining windows, but the moisture we were feeling was snow. By the time I rolled out of bed around 6:30am, even with heavy winds there was still a nice dusting of snow in the valley, and the surrounding mountains were white.

So yeah - we went to Death Valley to escape the cold, and we got snowed on. You don't see that every day.


Keep reading the whole story, and see all the photos of a day that had many surprises in store: Death Valley Day 4: You Don't See This Every Day

 

[turbodb]

Nice story and photos.

Great writeup and photos

Heck of a write up! Thanks for taking the time to put it all together

Nicely done! Death Valley is one of our favorite places.

Thanks, glad to hear you're all enjoying! Was a fun trip for sure, and one that's led to several more adventures into DV - now one of our favorite places in the winter!

Thanks for sharing your adventure. What is in the ABS tube on the side of the tent?
We saw some similar 'ghosts' at a castle in Italy.

That ABS tube is a truck shower that I put together a couple years ago, in hopes that it would make longer adventures a bit more enjoyable. The reality is that it rarely gets hot enough to heat up the water - the tube would need another clear tube around it to retain heat and cut down on wind-loss. Oh well, you win some and lose some!

Amazed at how much green is in the Panamints right now. I've never seen anything like it.

Well, to be fair, this is from January last year - so not "right now" . But I hear you - it was a pretty amazing sight. Not at all what we pictured before heading down.

Great job on the trip report! I really like the photography. We love to visit Death Valley as well.

Thanks! It's been fun to get to know the new camera and see how much better it is than my phone! hahahaha

 

[MCX]

One of my favorite local playgrounds...great pictures and story, felt like I was there with y'all!

 

[ChinaLakePW]

Well, to be fair, this is from January last year - so not "right now" . But I hear you - it was a pretty amazing sight. Not at all what we pictured before heading down.

I didn't even catch the date.

 

[turbodb]

Death Valley: Day 5 & 6 - Eventful Trip Home
January 21-22, 2018.

It was a clear, snowless night - not something you commonly have to think about in Death Valley! A big chilly out, but cozy under the down comforters in the tent. Morning light gave us a chance to explore our site a bit more - a big cave carved into the sandstone that had clearly been used by previous campers as well.

Read the full story and see what happened to us as we headed home - Death Valley: Day 5 & 6 - Eventful Trip Home