Death Valley

I can attest that the name of one of America's more bizarre National Parks is appropriate: there aren't many signs of native life.  For the 8th Park visited on my trip, I drove through Death Valley after saying good bye to Brad in Las Vegas.  I stopped for an overlook and nearly started sweating when I stepped out of my pickup and hiked up for the view.  From that point, located off the road on the descent into the Valley from the East, a visitor can essentially see the whole wasteland.  The "walls" surrounding the lowlands are jagged and rough, yet colorful, full of various shades of reds and oranges from the unique minerals in the soil.

The view from the road-side overlook looking down into the Vally and the lowest point in the United States.

The area was actually inhabited by a tribe of Native Americans for close to a 1000 years, how I don't know, but really gained it's fame during the California Gold Rush.  Prospectors dubbed the area its current nickname after having to cross it to get to the lands purported to be flowing with Gold.  I don't imagine they found anything flowing on their way through.  Development of the region began when Borax mines were discovered.  The mineral has many uses, including flux in welding, being an ingredient in laundry detergent, and fire retardants.  I just saw in a store the other day "20 Mule Team" brand borax laundry booster.  Early in the mining, large mule teams were used to haul the ore out to be refined and later were replaced by steam engines.  The roads that these loads followed can still be traveled for those adventurous enough to travel off the pavement and onto dusty gravel winding up bleak canyons.  When borax mining fell off, people still wanted to protect the area and rallied enough support to create a National Monument in 1933 and later convert it to a Nat. Park in 1994.  Now a literal sea of RVs pack the trailer park near the Visitor Center during the winter months.

I was worried about drowning after driving past this sign.

The coolest thing about driving in and out of the Park is the elevation.  If I remember correctly, you roughly descend from 4500 feet to 100 feet below see level and then climb back up to 5000 feet on the way out.  There are water stations all along the way to cool off over-heating vehicles.  I didn't stay very long in the Park but enjoyed the unusual scenery, the amenities of the Visitor Center, and even a parade for Veterans' Day.  To be honest I have now seen Death Valley, even driven below Sea Level, but am not in any hurry to come back: I don't imagine there will ever be snow there...