Death Valley
Zabriskie Point Sunrise
Sunday, October 27
After a beautiful first night, the morning brought some wicked winds that almost derailed our sunrise plans. Heading out to Zabriskie Point, we planned to hike up a small ridge to setup for the shot. We started the hike in darkness and high winds that made it difficult to talk and nearly impossible to navigate. Being adventurists, we marched on with headlamps and hand signals adopted from action movies over the years. We soon found ourselves nearly blown off the ridge and making the first of many (boring) adult decisions for the trip. Turning around for a safer plan B, we setup for sunrise.
We then raced over to Artist’s Palette before the sun peaked over the ridge, snacking on the drive over. The road that brings you to Artist’s Palette, Artist’s Drive, is very windy with quick elevation gains. All I could think about was how much fun it would be to have my bike or a kart to waste the afternoon with.
Arriving with the place almost to ourselves. There was another couple and their dog that were super nice and fun to talk to as we shared our short stories. They were living the van life and exploring all the US has to offer. I am slightly jealous of those that can decide to do this with their lives.
With the morning behind us, we headed back to camp for coffee, breakfast, a shower, and to figure out what the afternoon would hold. Our campervan came with a “shower”, a 5gal black bag with a short hose to hold over you to rinse off. The black bag absorbs sunlight to heat the water up to a temperature that wouldn’t freeze your nipples off while you are out in the open for the public to see. While it wasn’t an everyday luxury, we felt refreshed and ready for the rest of the day.
The Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes were supposed to fill our afternoon but we were warned by several that it was unlikely due to the wind “event”. As we made our way to the dunes, it was nothing but a white out. Making the most out of the situation, we stopped by Stovepipe Wells General Store for souvenirs and grabbed a beer at the saloon across the street. There we met a couple that were riding (motorcycle style) through Death Valley. Great conversation was had and we went on our way…unfortunately passing the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes.
