Death Valley National Park
I laid there staring at the ceiling. It had been a really great stretch. Ten days straight in real homes with real walls in big cities. Tomorrow was looming over my head causing all kinds of anxiety. We were headed to the wilderness. To Death Valley. How absolutely miserable sounding! Nothing inside of me was ready or wanted to go. I wanted to roll over and say to Ray, "Let's go home now." I didn't dare, though, as I knew the sailing stones were at the top of his list to see. And so, we set off the next morning towards Death Valley. Four hours from Los Angeles, we arrived to our campsite just before dark, as usual.
We woke up decently early the next day, ate our usual breakfast hash, and headed to the visitor center to get the details on seeing the sailing stones. Death Valley is the second largest national park at 3.4 million acres. It's home to the lowest dry point in America at 282 feet below sea level, but it also houses Telescope Peak – an 11,00 foot summit. The park also holds the record for the hottest temperature ever recorded in the WORLD at 134 degrees. Ok, I got a little sidetracked with the fun facts, but hopefully that gives you an idea of the absolute extremities of this mind-boggling landscape! It should also give you an idea of how many things there are to do in this park, yet we had our eyes set on one phenomenon only: the sailing stones.
I wish I could watch a recording of our faces as we spoke with the park attendant about getting to the sailing stones. I’m not sure why we thought they would be readily available and easily accessible to us, but let me tell you, they were NOT. We were looking at a 3.5 hour journey just to get to them, mostly down an unpaved, high-clearance road that we weren’t sure Blue could handle. We got in the car, considered a few other things that the park had to offer, and said, “Nope. We gotta do this.”
Off we went. One and a half hours on paved road through a giant sand storm and some of the most beautiful, mesmerizing landscape I've ever seen. Ubehebe Crater is conveniently located at the end of the road before the unpaved trailhead to the stones. We blindly marched up the path to the edge of this 600 foot deep hole in the ground and again, were taken aback with the park's unbelievable size and intensity.
Two hours & 27 miles is all that stood between us and the stones. We stumbled along the rocky path, doing our absolute best not to get a flat tire! As the sun started to set, a giant storm rolled in, and the already powerful winds of the park intensified as we stepped out of the car onto The Racetrack. The Racetrack is a massive, dry lake bed in the most remote part of the park and home to the mysterious sailing stones. It is incredibly flat, only raising an inch over 2.8 miles from the north end to the south.
Hoods up and heads down, we could barely talk to each other over the wind. I don't think I've ever experienced power the way I did on The Racetrack. I was completely convinced that if my feet left the ground, I would simply be lifted away. I was positive that the wind could carry that distant storm directly over our heads in a matter of seconds, and we'd be caught in the middle of a questionable situation. I've never felt more isolated or further from civilization. Scary sounding, I know, but there was also a peace surrounding this place that I can't really describe. I was honestly having a hard time just believing this place existed and that I was truly there in the middle of it.
I know, I know... What about the sailing stones?! We thought they would be all over the place! As we walked further and further along The Racetrack, there were none to be found. We came across rock after rock that had left no trail, or we'd see what we thought was a rock in the distance, only to be met by a shriveled up bush. We circled The Grandstand, an unusual rock formation in the center of The Racetrack, climbed through it and decided to head back to the car.
There it was in the distance. As we drew closer, it was unmistakably a rock. Not a bush. We were right on top of it, crouched down, and we shouted with joy as we noticed an incredibly faint but definite trail in the lake bed. Another of many simple, "we did it" moments that I'll never forget.
Out of 18 national parks, Death Valley completely surprisingly made it to my top three. Everything inside of me was screaming against going that morning in LA, and I here I sit six months later, dying to go back! Our experience may have been amplified with the storm coming in and the cool weather (it was February), but we obviously highly recommend the park! Last fun fact: Much of the early Star Wars movies were filmed in Death Valley! Trip to Tatooine anyone?