Scenes from Death Valley

The Mesquite Flats Sand Dunes in the afternoon light.

In late December of 2014, I was fortunate enough to be able to spend a day and a half discovering Death Valley National Park.  Turns out, I could have used a week and a a half and not seen it all as the park is huge (around 3.4 million acres of wilderness). Not knowing what to expect weather wise, I was happy with a high of 77 degrees on the valley floor in the afternoon and upper 30s in the higher elevations at daybreak.  Here are a selection of my favorite photos from the trip.  Click on an image for a larger file to view and thanks for stopping by!

Near Furnace Creek Inn, two road runners were hunting butterflies.

One road runner (who must be used to human activity) allowed me to get rather close for this portrait.

A lone Joshua Tree on the eastern edge of the park. I found it interesting to see the evidence of the last rain still scarring the ground.

Another shot of the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes.

Hikers on the sand dunes just before sunset.

Pre-dawn colors on the road up to Dante's View in the south central part of the park.

Soft morning light in the high desert.

A multiple image panoramic of Dante's View at first light.  The white in Death Valley is not snow but salt flats.  It is the lowest place in North America and hottest place in the world. What little water makes it to the valley floor has nowhere to go but into the air as evaporation... leaving behind salt.

Telescope Peak is over 11,000 feet in elevation and was sporting snow.

Shadowplay on the flanks of Telescope Peak as morning drew on.