A trip to Death Valley and Joshua Tree National Parks - Part One

Day One

We left San Francisco Bay Area at about 8:00 in the morning, took highway 5 south routing through Bakersfield to Las Vegas. It took us a little more than 8 hours of driving to get to Las Vegas.

On the way to Las Vegas, we saw a bunch of M2 Bradley waiting to be transferred at Barstow.

We stayed in M Resort Spa Casino for the night.

A roasted suckling pig in the buffet dinner of M Hotel in Las Vegas

Day Two

After checking out from hotel, we started heading to our first national park destination Death Valley National Park at around 10:30. It takes about 2.5 hours to drive from Las Vegas to Death Valley.

The Death Valley National Park map at the the east entrance to the park. No entrance fee was charged because of government shutdown.

The federal government shutdown also affected National Parks, but the park remained open. We didn’t need to pay the entrance fee though.

Zabriskie Point

Zabriskie Point is located east of Death Valley, about 5 miles away from Furnance Creek Inn and Visitor Center. It is composed of sediments from Furnace Creek Lake, which dried up 5 million years ago - long before Death Valley came into existence.

Zabriskie Point - Volcano activity influenced this landscape. The black layer across the wash is lava that oozed out the ancient lakebed. Hot water followed the lava, bringing minerals such as borax, gypsum and calcite with it. Hot water also altered the mineral makeup of the Artist’s Drive Formation, hydrothermally altering the rock into the psychedelic swirl colors on the hills beyond.

There is a parking lot and visitors need to walk uphill to the Point, a dramatic look-out there. A 2.6 mile hiking trail, Badlands Loop, lets you get a closer look at the otherworldly rock formations that make up Zabriskie Point.

A hiking trail, Badlands Loop, lets you get a closer look at the otherworldly rock formations that make up Zabriskie Point.

You'll have the option to extend the hike, like Golden Canyon trail, which leads you to the Golden Canyon exit.

The Ranch at Death Valley is located at Furance Creek, an oasis in the desert.

Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes

These dunes are the best known and easiest to visit in the national park. Actually, sand boarding is only allowed on the Mesquite Flat Dunes and prohibited on all other dune systems in the park to protect sensitive plants and animals.

Drive about 23 miles via highway 190 north from Furance Creek, you’ll see the sand dunes on your right. This dune field includes three types of dunes: crescent, linear, and star shaped. Since it is “flat”, visitors are easy to access and to enjoy the hikes towards any directions.

Most of areas in Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes are flat. We were able to go as far as we wanted to explore.

We didn’t climb up to the highest dune in Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes, but some people did. Can you see them on the way to the top of the highest dune?

Hiking in the area of Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes was pretty fun.

According to Death Valley website, mesquite trees have created large hummocks that provide stable habitats for wildlife. We didn’t see any during the day but did see footprints in the sand.

In Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes, we didn’t see any animal during the day but did see footprints in the sand.

Plants with long tap roots like mesquite flourish along with the fridge of the dunes

There are some “ghost towns” around Death Valley. The most famous and accessible one is probably Rhyolite, even though it's not actually in the park or even in California. It is hard to believe that in early 20th century it was known as the "Queen City".

At the Goldwell Open Air Museum in the town, there we saw "The Last Supper" and "ride a bicycle" in Albert Szukalksi's sculptures, which were installed here in the 1980s.

“Ride a bicycle” is one of Albert Szukalksi's sculptures at Rhyolite — ”Ride a bicycle” is one of Albert Szukalksi's sculptures at Rhyolite

The Inn at Death Valley

The Inn at Death Valley is a AAA-rated four-diamond resort. It is an elegant hideaway since 1927.

We stayed in one of the Inn’s Casitas, which is located in the shadow of the Oasis Gardens’ date palms. The Casita is over 500 square feet and comes with a complimentary golf cart for us to use to get around the property. It is only walking distance to the hotel’s spring-fed swimming pool.