Fun things to do in Death Valley

Driving in Death Valley could be great fun, there is a paved road that runs right through the valley, however many interesting features are on side roads, which are unpaved gravel. We tried to drive a couple of these and fond that they were just too rough for us, we value our little Chevy too much, so missed out on some sightseeing, however while we have been here we have revisited Badwater.

As well as Badwater we took two other side trips when in Death Valley, on Sunday we drove out to the  Mesquite Sand Dunes. We drove 25 miles north along Death Valley to Sweetwater, not much of interest here, just a motel, restaurant, store and RV park, however just a couple of miles before reaching Sweetwater we visited the Mesquite Sand Dunes. These are a small area of sand dunes, maybe only a few square miles and relatively low, up to a hundred feet. They are very interesting though. They have been formed where the North winds are forced to divide between two valleys, Death Valley and its neighbour, when the wind slows down it drops any sand it is carrying and so the dunes form.
We had a quick walk to the dunes, where on looking carefully I was able to find some sand tracks, the ones I now recognise from Coral Pink Sand Dunes, of the Tiger Beetle, or similar, lizards and Kangaroo Rat. What I did find for the first time was the track left by the Sidewinder Snake, which moves across the soft steep sand dunes in a series of sideways hops, leaving a characteristic series of tracks.
From there we travelled further north hoping to visit Titus Canyon, a 27 mile unpaved road, we only planned to do the final couple of miles up to the canyon entrance, however after leaving the paved road the gravel track was so uneven that we turned back after about half a mile, so that was a canyon we missed. On the way back we took the Rhyolite Loop, which takes us up about a thousand feet above the valley floor, giving us a fine view of the North end of Death Valley.

On Tuesday we drove out of Death Valley as Dante’s View gives some excellent views of Death Valley. On the way we stopped at Zebriskie’s Point, the name alone is worth the visit, however is an overlook that gives lovely views of the rock strata within which the borax is found, being a very soft rock it has been easily eroded by the rain which falls there, producing some very convoluted dendritic rock forms. On from there we climbed 4300 feet up to Dante’s View, an overlook which is directly above Badwater. The views of Death Valley are wonderful, you can see as far as the Mesquite Sand Dunes to the north, look down on Badwater and across to Telescope Peak. On the way back we took the Twenty Mule Team loop which winds through the old road used by the mule teams a long time ago.