Death Valley Days

One of my very favorite places on the planet is Death Valley Nat'l Park. I've been going there for the last 17 years and each time I go, I become more drawn into its strange and wonderful spell.

It's 3 million acres of open wilderness, barely patrolled by anyone. It is larger than the state of Connecticut and there are 3 park rangers on duty at a time so that means 1 ranger for every 1 million acres.

Summer temps can exceed 130 degrees and ground temps can reach 200 degrees.

It contains the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere; bad water, -282 feet below sea level and is within 100 miles of the highest peak in the U.S; Mt Whitney, 14,100 feet.

The desert speaks to some people and is a depressing wasteland to others. If you have an interest in exploring the desert and seeing what it's like, start with Death Valley as it's the king of all the desert parks.