Death Valley III: A Photo Safari

Whoa, it’s another photo safari in Death Valley!  It was to be a Subie CrossTrek adventure this time, and we did it in single day…up early in the morning, a 200-mile run to Death Valley, and then a long ride home.  I told good buddy Greg about our plans, Greg mentioned that even though he is a California native he never been to Death Valley, and we were off at 4:00 a.m. on a dark and cold morning a couple of days after Christmas in 2013.  I had just bought the CrossTrek, and it was a good way to put on a few breakin miles.  I could give you a detailed itinerary for our ride, but I’ll let the photos and a few short captions speak for themselves.

The Gleesome Threesome…yours truly, Susie, and good buddy Greg rolling into Death Valley on a cold and bright December morning.
A scenic and iconic Death Valley photograph: Badwater Basin. Look up 300 feet, and you’ll see the photo below.
282 feet above my vantage point. I must have used a telephoto lens.
The lowdown at Badwater Basin.
Exercising Photoshop. I stitched together a few photos from Badwater Basin to create this shot.
Another stitched-together photo from Badwater. That’s Greg off on the right. I should have left the polarizer off.
Somewhere in the Valley.
Greg pondering stacked rocks out on the desert floor. You see this (stacked rocks) frequently. I need to Google what it represents.
A road shot with the camera just a few inches off the highway. These sell. Go figure.
The CrossTrek at Artist’s Palette. The CrossTrek was a great car. I put about 120,000 miles on it and then traded it in on another Subaru.
We had lunch at the Furnace Creek Inn, and shortly before turning off the road, we saw this guy. He is obviously well fed.
As soon as we sat down for lunch at the Furnace Creek Inn, this guy landed a couple feet away. We had just seen the coyote. I asked the roadrunner if he owned anything made by Acme, or if he was being chased by old Wiley. He responded with but two words: Beep Beep.
Another panoramic shot I stitched together of the Death Valley desert floor.
Panamint Springs petroleum larceny.
A final splash of color as we left the Death Valley area headed for Highway 395 and the long run home.

I’m a fan of Death Valley National Park, and if you’re into this sort of thing and you enjoy photography, Death Valley is a magnificent destination.  That December day back in 2013 was long but colorful, and I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

Check out our other Death Valley stories here:

Death Valley:  The Prelude
Death Valley:  The Chili Cookoff
Death Valley:  The Day Hell Froze Over

6 thoughts on “Death Valley III: A Photo Safari”

  1. That splash of color in the sky is called a sundog (technical name is parhelion, but sundog is easier to remember). Don’t see them often in SoCal, but always an interesting sight when you do. That was a great trip, thanks for reminding me of it, Joe…

  3. Thanks for the trip and nice photo’s along the way! I like it when the pictures tell the story. I do need to go there on my next venture out west.

  4. Cool pics! Love the way “meters” makes everything seem bigger or deeper or whatever….. Just think you can drive 100kph and really be doing something. Again wonderful pictures and a good story. Inspires me to visit myself.

  5. Google Cairn. It has become popular for folks of a certain generation to plop them up everywhere they go for no particular reason other than to do it. Others of a certain generation come along and add to them.

    Better than a can of spray paint.

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