The Nissan Path

I've been going to Death Valley for the last 22 years now, mostly around the spring break timeframe. The drive from Salt Lake takes me diagonally across Nevada, mostly on highways that nobody uses. Here's my first step onto dirt since I bought my PF in February, right smack in the middle of Nevada in a once volcanic area:

On the edge of a playa:

I had to park and stretch the legs for a bit:

The actual crater the sign mentioned when I turned off the road:

One of the many mines in Death Valley:



Some of the other-worldly scenery:





Some of the local flora & fauna:




The small borax museum at Furnace Creek:





One of the handful of cabins one can stay in within the park, on the way to Mengel Pass:




Just shy of Mengel Pass. This is the first section that would have challenged my clearance (and underbody) without moving & piling up rocks to make it over the really large rocks. I walked on ahead a bit and noticed more sections much worse, so I decided to avoid spending most of the remainder of the day slowly making my way over by piling and moving rocks. That isn't my idea of fun, so this is where I parked the Pathie and hitched a ride with a lifted Tundra:





Charles Manson was apprehended here by over 100 various federal agents (this was his "home" at the time):

thanks for sharing. makes me want to take a weekend trip out there and do some offroding on the hot desert sand.
its less than 3 hours from Los Angeles.

Wonderful pics! Thanks for sharing!!! The Miss and I are off to DV for Memorial Day Weekend in just a few weeks, can't wait!

Carl or NVSteve,
I know its possible to do a one day trip in and sight seeing and out maybe in the evening, hit highway 395 or anoother one.
any good tips on where to begin and where to go?
I would love to drive up their for a day trip and check out the sights.
I climbed Mt. Whitney which is the highest point in 48 states and would like to add to that the lowest point, DV!!!

mtbpath wrote:Carl or NVSteve,
I know its possible to do a one day trip in and sight seeing and out maybe in the evening, hit highway 395 or anoother one.
any good tips on where to begin and where to go?
I would love to drive up their for a day trip and check out the sights.
I climbed Mt. Whitney which is the highest point in 48 states and would like to add to that the lowest point, DV!!!

That would make for an extremely long day. You can easily come in from the south, then exit to the west, which will throw you back on 395. But, that would mean pretty much driving straight through. Most of the sights in Death Valley, and I mean the easy ones that everyone visits off the highway, require walking & time. I would suggest leaving on a Friday after work, then returning on Sunday afternoon/evening. That would give you 1 full day to see the sights.

Time is the real key though. You need to give yourself enough time to actually see things & not be rushed. The other part of time that is a concern is that if you want to go there, try to go asap, or wait until the fall. It gets slightly warm in Death Valley. It was fairly cool when I visited a couple of weeks ago, mostly between 85-95 degrees. Then again, I've been there in June when the temperature was still 102 degrees at 3:00am.

If you do spend a weekend there & have interest in hitting the dirt, they sell topographic maps at the visitor center.

As to Mt. Whitney, did you know they have an annual footrace from Death Valley to Mt. Whitney? Truly insane. They go through a pair of shoes every so many miles because the asphault is so hot it melts the bottom of the shoes.

Let us know if it really is going to be just a day trip or not. I'm sure we can provide some good sightseeing info.

RacerZX wrote:Wonderful pics! Thanks for sharing!!! The Miss and I are off to DV for Memorial Day Weekend in just a few weeks, can't wait!

Thanks! Hopefully we'll see some shots from your upcoming trip as well?

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