Death Valley Super Bloom
Mar 14th, 2016, 11:47 AM
#1
Original Poster
Death Valley Super Bloom
My wife and I returned from Death Valley two days ago, our hiking boots covered in a layer of yellow pollen from the super bloom of flowers.
Thanks to several Fodorites who offered up suggestions for our trip, which was planned on the spur of the moment. Somehow we got lucky and managed to get a six night stay in the Park at Stovepipe Wells, from March 5-10. Except for that window other Park lodging was fully booked. We made the reservations, quickly booked a flight to Vegas, and the trip was in hand!
We ended up doing less than hoped, especially with regards to outdoor activities and hiking. Unfortunately my wife came down with a nasty respiratory infection just as we arrived, so she had to lay low for a few days. (She had attended a full day Master Gardener seminar a few days before our departure. The woman seated behind her was hacking and coughing incessantly during the lectures. She immediately showered and washed all her clothes when she got home, but we suspect that might have been the trigger.)
Also, it was extremely windy our first two days in the Park, with gusts that could knock you over if you weren't braced. We thought the flowers would be decimated by the wind, and while it did have an effect it was less than we feared. Not so for the non-native bougainvilleas growing in the garden at Furnace Creek Inn. Their leaves were scattered throughout the hotel lobby and bar.
But we did visit many of the usual Park suspects, some more than once, including:
Badwater Basin
Zabriskie Point
The Devil's Corn Field and Golf Course
Mesquite Dunes
Artists Palette
Salt Creek
Twenty Mule Team Canyon
Harmony Borax Works
Titus Canyon
The exhibits at the Furnace Creek visitor center were also well worth the stop.
While my wife was resting in the afternoon on a couple of days I hiked Mosaic Canyon and drove up to Emigrant Pass. I was hoping to get to one of the old mining sites like Skidoo or Eureka, but I quickly decided it was a bad idea to take a rental car on those roads.
Mainly we spent many hours just wandering around in the flowers.
Outside the Park we visited the ghost town of Rhyolite on our way in from Vegas, and the China Ranch Date Farm near Tecopa on our return. Both were worth more time than we gave them, especially the date farm which truly is an oasis. The stream there provides cover for many birds and other wildlife, evidenced by lots of scat. We'd plan to spend more time there on a return visit. We did split a delicious date shake and came home with a sampler pack of dates.
One regret is that we didn't get up to Ubehebe Crater. I planned to go a couple of times but it just didn't work out. Once, I'll confess, we decided to go to the bar at Furnace Creek for cocktails instead! I had a G&T and my wife tried a prickly pear margarita. Both were delicious. (maitaitom, if you stumble on to this the bartender turned me on to Uncle Val’s Botanical Gin, distilled in Sonoma, even more aromatic than Hendrick's. It was great with nothing but plain soda and a twist of lime). But, If we get back to Death Valley, I'd move Ubehebe to near the top of the list.
Anyway, back to the flowers! The best site for updates is this one, which was provided by Fodorite franny in my other thread:
http://www.desertusa.com/wildflo/ca_dv.html
Here is where we saw the best blooms, but this is a moving target. We saw changes in the 6 days we spent in the Park. Definitely things are moving up to higher elevations. For example as we returned to Vegas the best expanse of blooms was along the old Spanish Trail Highway beyond Tecopa, an elevation of around 1,500 feet. These were fresher than the ones we were seeing in the lower elevations of Death Valley.
- Daylight Pass, highway 374 We entered the park along this route.
- Badwater Road between miles 22-27. This was perhaps our favorite area and we went there a couple of times. Here is a photo:
http://nelsonchenkin.zenfolio.com/p7...f2bb#h6684f2bb
- The area around highway 190 and the Beatty Cutoff. Going up the Beatty Cutoff a few miles was especially good. In fact much of highway 190 from Furnace Creek to Scotty's Castle Road was good.
- Scotty's Castle Road was also excellent up to Titus Canyon, as far as we went. However, these lower elevation flowers were definitely getting past their prime as we left the Park on March 11.
- Titus Canyon. The flowers in the canyon were fresher looking than the ones out in the flats. My wife was feeling better on our last full day and we hiked about 2 1/2 miles into the Canyon. The flowers kept getting better and better.
- As we left the Park there were some great blooms between the Park entrance and Death Valley Junction.
- Finally as mentioned above, the Old Spanish Trail Highway beyond Tecopa was spectacular. Another photo:
http://nelsonchenkin.zenfolio.com/p7...7f44#h60867f44
It was a great trip, and we'd definitely return to that Park, preferably on a road trip with a better vehicle. It's a huge Park with lots to see and we barely scratched the surface. I've got a small photo gallery here, which has more flower pictures:
http://nelsonchenkin.zenfolio.com/deathvalley
Thanks again to Fodors forums for helping us plan this quick getaway!
Thanks to several Fodorites who offered up suggestions for our trip, which was planned on the spur of the moment. Somehow we got lucky and managed to get a six night stay in the Park at Stovepipe Wells, from March 5-10. Except for that window other Park lodging was fully booked. We made the reservations, quickly booked a flight to Vegas, and the trip was in hand!
We ended up doing less than hoped, especially with regards to outdoor activities and hiking. Unfortunately my wife came down with a nasty respiratory infection just as we arrived, so she had to lay low for a few days. (She had attended a full day Master Gardener seminar a few days before our departure. The woman seated behind her was hacking and coughing incessantly during the lectures. She immediately showered and washed all her clothes when she got home, but we suspect that might have been the trigger.)
Also, it was extremely windy our first two days in the Park, with gusts that could knock you over if you weren't braced. We thought the flowers would be decimated by the wind, and while it did have an effect it was less than we feared. Not so for the non-native bougainvilleas growing in the garden at Furnace Creek Inn. Their leaves were scattered throughout the hotel lobby and bar.
But we did visit many of the usual Park suspects, some more than once, including:
Badwater Basin
Zabriskie Point
The Devil's Corn Field and Golf Course
Mesquite Dunes
Artists Palette
Salt Creek
Twenty Mule Team Canyon
Harmony Borax Works
Titus Canyon
The exhibits at the Furnace Creek visitor center were also well worth the stop.
While my wife was resting in the afternoon on a couple of days I hiked Mosaic Canyon and drove up to Emigrant Pass. I was hoping to get to one of the old mining sites like Skidoo or Eureka, but I quickly decided it was a bad idea to take a rental car on those roads.
Mainly we spent many hours just wandering around in the flowers.
Outside the Park we visited the ghost town of Rhyolite on our way in from Vegas, and the China Ranch Date Farm near Tecopa on our return. Both were worth more time than we gave them, especially the date farm which truly is an oasis. The stream there provides cover for many birds and other wildlife, evidenced by lots of scat. We'd plan to spend more time there on a return visit. We did split a delicious date shake and came home with a sampler pack of dates.
One regret is that we didn't get up to Ubehebe Crater. I planned to go a couple of times but it just didn't work out. Once, I'll confess, we decided to go to the bar at Furnace Creek for cocktails instead! I had a G&T and my wife tried a prickly pear margarita. Both were delicious. (maitaitom, if you stumble on to this the bartender turned me on to Uncle Val’s Botanical Gin, distilled in Sonoma, even more aromatic than Hendrick's. It was great with nothing but plain soda and a twist of lime). But, If we get back to Death Valley, I'd move Ubehebe to near the top of the list.
Anyway, back to the flowers! The best site for updates is this one, which was provided by Fodorite franny in my other thread:
http://www.desertusa.com/wildflo/ca_dv.html
Here is where we saw the best blooms, but this is a moving target. We saw changes in the 6 days we spent in the Park. Definitely things are moving up to higher elevations. For example as we returned to Vegas the best expanse of blooms was along the old Spanish Trail Highway beyond Tecopa, an elevation of around 1,500 feet. These were fresher than the ones we were seeing in the lower elevations of Death Valley.
- Daylight Pass, highway 374 We entered the park along this route.
- Badwater Road between miles 22-27. This was perhaps our favorite area and we went there a couple of times. Here is a photo:
http://nelsonchenkin.zenfolio.com/p7...f2bb#h6684f2bb
- The area around highway 190 and the Beatty Cutoff. Going up the Beatty Cutoff a few miles was especially good. In fact much of highway 190 from Furnace Creek to Scotty's Castle Road was good.
- Scotty's Castle Road was also excellent up to Titus Canyon, as far as we went. However, these lower elevation flowers were definitely getting past their prime as we left the Park on March 11.
- Titus Canyon. The flowers in the canyon were fresher looking than the ones out in the flats. My wife was feeling better on our last full day and we hiked about 2 1/2 miles into the Canyon. The flowers kept getting better and better.
- As we left the Park there were some great blooms between the Park entrance and Death Valley Junction.
- Finally as mentioned above, the Old Spanish Trail Highway beyond Tecopa was spectacular. Another photo:
http://nelsonchenkin.zenfolio.com/p7...7f44#h60867f44
It was a great trip, and we'd definitely return to that Park, preferably on a road trip with a better vehicle. It's a huge Park with lots to see and we barely scratched the surface. I've got a small photo gallery here, which has more flower pictures:
http://nelsonchenkin.zenfolio.com/deathvalley
Thanks again to Fodors forums for helping us plan this quick getaway!
Mar 14th, 2016, 01:54 PM
#3
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Thanks so much for the trip report. Great photos.
I have a few questions you probably can answer.
What kind of vehicle were you driving? How were the non paved roads? My understanding is that the 'spur' roads to some of the sites are unpaved and questionable in a regular sedan type car. Especially Mosaic Canyon, Devils Golf Course, Natural Bridge and Twenty Mule Team.
Are there any roads you would advise against us doing (we will just have a small sedan)?
We will only have about 2 and a half days. What would you advise for that amount of time - what were your favorites.
The photos of Zabrinksi Point are gorgeous - where did you take them from, and what time of day.
Glad you had a great time and thanks for the help.
I have a few questions you probably can answer.
What kind of vehicle were you driving? How were the non paved roads? My understanding is that the 'spur' roads to some of the sites are unpaved and questionable in a regular sedan type car. Especially Mosaic Canyon, Devils Golf Course, Natural Bridge and Twenty Mule Team.
Are there any roads you would advise against us doing (we will just have a small sedan)?
We will only have about 2 and a half days. What would you advise for that amount of time - what were your favorites.
The photos of Zabrinksi Point are gorgeous - where did you take them from, and what time of day.
Glad you had a great time and thanks for the help.
Mar 15th, 2016, 07:18 AM
#7
Original Poster
Thanks all for comments on the photos! maitai, glad you stumbled on this, give Uncle Vals a try if you haven't yet!
isabel, try to answer your questions:
We were driving a Nissan Sentra, a compact sedan with ground clearance of about 6 inches. (It was brand new, just 100 miles on it. We were rather hoping to get something a little more beat up, but we took good care of it!)
The spur roads are all unpaved, a bit rough and wash-boardy at places, but just take it at a slow speed. I agree with Sylvia that Mosiac Canyon was no problem and it was probably the roughest of the bunch. None of them cost much time and they are all worth it. (We did not go to Natural Bridge, so I can't comment on that one.) There were many small and low riding cars on those roads.
The road to Titus Canyon was a bit rough too, and at 3 miles the longest. That was one of our favorite places, but we are hikers and went about 5 miles round trip. But I also really liked Mosaic Canyon. I think slot canyons are really cool to be in, so I'd definitely visit one of those. On a short trip I'd probably chose Mosaic as more bang for your buck in a short time. That said Titus is a pretty grand place and you'd get the feel for it even if you only went in a half mile.
More info here:
http://www.birdandhike.com/Hike/DEVA.../_Mosaic_L.htm
http://www.birdandhike.com/Hike/DEVA...Cyn/_Titus.htm
http://www.birdandhike.com/Hike/DEVA...A-Clickmap.htm
We really enjoyed Badwater Basin, very interesting being out on that salt flat and at the lowest point in North America. We were there late in the afternoon on a cloudy day with little or no wind, it was pleasant. We walked out about 1.25 miles from the parking lot and were the only people out that far then. Lots of strange crystalline formations in the salt, some rather large and others that were like hair. You don't see this stuff unless you walk out there a ways. We spent a couple hours out there, but we are easily entertained.
Of the others our favorites were probably Zabriskie Point, Devil's Corn Field, Artists Palette, and Twenty Mule Team Canyon.
Artists Palette would normally be best in the afternoon, and Twenty Mule Team Canyon in the morning. But all the places we visited are worth it and don't necessarily require much time. Except don't bother driving up to Emigrant Pass.
The photos at Zabriskie were taken at around 4:30 PM, just from the end of the paved walkway where everyone goes. Note that Zabriskie Point itself is backlit at that hour, that view is looking mostly west and a bit north. I used a telephoto lens to get the sun out of the picture and shielded it with my hat to remove any lens flare. Normally that shot would have better light in the morning, but thanks for your comments, I guess it worked. The other photo is looking southeast towards Twenty Mule Team Canyon, so it does have good afternoon light.
By the way, the photo of us at Jabba's Palace was in Twenty Mule Team Canyon, just a few feet from our car. Here is a site that shows where the Star Wars scenes were filmed, which is kind of fun:
http://www.panamintcity.com/exclusives/starwars.html
Hope that helps, let me know if you have more questions. Even with six days we barely scratched the surface of this huge park.
isabel, try to answer your questions:
We were driving a Nissan Sentra, a compact sedan with ground clearance of about 6 inches. (It was brand new, just 100 miles on it. We were rather hoping to get something a little more beat up, but we took good care of it!)
The spur roads are all unpaved, a bit rough and wash-boardy at places, but just take it at a slow speed. I agree with Sylvia that Mosiac Canyon was no problem and it was probably the roughest of the bunch. None of them cost much time and they are all worth it. (We did not go to Natural Bridge, so I can't comment on that one.) There were many small and low riding cars on those roads.
The road to Titus Canyon was a bit rough too, and at 3 miles the longest. That was one of our favorite places, but we are hikers and went about 5 miles round trip. But I also really liked Mosaic Canyon. I think slot canyons are really cool to be in, so I'd definitely visit one of those. On a short trip I'd probably chose Mosaic as more bang for your buck in a short time. That said Titus is a pretty grand place and you'd get the feel for it even if you only went in a half mile.
More info here:
http://www.birdandhike.com/Hike/DEVA.../_Mosaic_L.htm
http://www.birdandhike.com/Hike/DEVA...Cyn/_Titus.htm
http://www.birdandhike.com/Hike/DEVA...A-Clickmap.htm
We really enjoyed Badwater Basin, very interesting being out on that salt flat and at the lowest point in North America. We were there late in the afternoon on a cloudy day with little or no wind, it was pleasant. We walked out about 1.25 miles from the parking lot and were the only people out that far then. Lots of strange crystalline formations in the salt, some rather large and others that were like hair. You don't see this stuff unless you walk out there a ways. We spent a couple hours out there, but we are easily entertained.
Of the others our favorites were probably Zabriskie Point, Devil's Corn Field, Artists Palette, and Twenty Mule Team Canyon.
Artists Palette would normally be best in the afternoon, and Twenty Mule Team Canyon in the morning. But all the places we visited are worth it and don't necessarily require much time. Except don't bother driving up to Emigrant Pass.
The photos at Zabriskie were taken at around 4:30 PM, just from the end of the paved walkway where everyone goes. Note that Zabriskie Point itself is backlit at that hour, that view is looking mostly west and a bit north. I used a telephoto lens to get the sun out of the picture and shielded it with my hat to remove any lens flare. Normally that shot would have better light in the morning, but thanks for your comments, I guess it worked. The other photo is looking southeast towards Twenty Mule Team Canyon, so it does have good afternoon light.
By the way, the photo of us at Jabba's Palace was in Twenty Mule Team Canyon, just a few feet from our car. Here is a site that shows where the Star Wars scenes were filmed, which is kind of fun:
http://www.panamintcity.com/exclusives/starwars.html
Hope that helps, let me know if you have more questions. Even with six days we barely scratched the surface of this huge park.
Mar 15th, 2016, 07:37 AM
#8
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Thanks for the report and photos!
We were there in December when they were predicting early spring flowers and the super bloom. Beautiful park which we had more or less to ourselves in early December.
The road to Natural Bridge is dusty and a little bumpy but no problem for a sedan and it's short, half a mile at most. Windows closed of course!
We also went to Darwin Falls (a year round waterfall in DVNP! oxymoron?)
The dirt road is again rather bumpy and about 2 miles from the trail head. But no problem for a sedan.
Spectacular conclusion to this 2 mile hike
I'd suggest not googling the falls if you plan to do this hike. It's amazing to see it IRL for the first time.
We were there in December when they were predicting early spring flowers and the super bloom. Beautiful park which we had more or less to ourselves in early December.
The road to Natural Bridge is dusty and a little bumpy but no problem for a sedan and it's short, half a mile at most. Windows closed of course!
We also went to Darwin Falls (a year round waterfall in DVNP! oxymoron?)
The dirt road is again rather bumpy and about 2 miles from the trail head. But no problem for a sedan.
Spectacular conclusion to this 2 mile hike
I'd suggest not googling the falls if you plan to do this hike. It's amazing to see it IRL for the first time.
Mar 15th, 2016, 01:58 PM
#9
Original Poster
> we had more or less to ourselves in early December.
sassy_cat, we did not have the park to ourselves in early March, just as spring break was starting!
We could find solitude if we wanted to, but were surprised at the number of cars on the roads.
And yes, windows closed on those unpaved, dusty roads.
sassy_cat, we did not have the park to ourselves in early March, just as spring break was starting!
We could find solitude if we wanted to, but were surprised at the number of cars on the roads.
And yes, windows closed on those unpaved, dusty roads.
Mar 16th, 2016, 04:13 PM
#12
"give Uncle Vals a try if you haven't yet!"
You're a bad influence Nelson, and for that I am grateful. I'll give Uncles Val's (ahem) a shot! I've never made it to Death Valley in all my years living here. It's now on the list!
You're a bad influence Nelson, and for that I am grateful. I'll give Uncles Val's (ahem) a shot! I've never made it to Death Valley in all my years living here. It's now on the list!
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