Death Valley National Park - 4/9/10

I took a day trip to Death Valley National Park on Friday, 4/9/10. It was a great trip. The weather was perfect...not too hot, not too windy. And there were plenty of wildflowers to keep me busy for hours. I came in on the Baker side of the park, on CA-127 and then took Hwy 178 East to drop down to Badwater. I had never gone that route before. It was a nice drive, and not too much traffic. The road had been freshly paved near Badwater, so it was smooth sailing most of the way. There were acres of Desert Gold blooming, along with purple Sand Verbena and white Gravel Ghost. I didn't venture out beyond the main road that runs from Furnace Creek to Stovepipe Wells, as there was roadwork being done on the road to Scotty's Castle, but there was still plenty to see.

I did venture up to Salt Creek to see the pupfish. It is their mating season, so this time around, I actually got to see the little critters, fighting, courting and mating - lol. It is hard to believe that in a place as hot and arid as Death Valley, that there are actually fish that can survive there. In fact, they are so heat tolerant, that, in the winter when the creek water cools, they have to burrow in the mud and become dormant to stay warm. They can also survive in water 2-3 times as salty as the sea. For a tiny fish, they are pretty tough!

I continued thru the park, driving up thru Panamint Springs and then headed over on the 190 to the 395 to get to Ridgecrest, which was a much quieter and relaxing route back home....until I reached Trona, when the winds begain to pick up. I got home pretty late and headed to bed, since I was going to Carrizo Plain and over to Pismo the next day.

I posted pics below. Enjoy!

Links to check out:

Pupfish of Death Valley
Death Valley.com
NPS - Death Valley National Park
Wikipedia - Death Valley
Wikitravel - Death Valley
Desert USA Wildflower Report 2010 - Death Valley