Travel Tale | The Angry Earth

Photo Blog: Death valley National Park

As we drove through the endless roads, laid flat over the barren, rugged surface of earth.. through dramatic clouds and ever changing vast mountains, little did we know that this would be one the most unforgettable road trip of a lifetime. Tomesha - A journey through the ground afire.

Much has already been told about America's hottest, lowest and perhaps the strangest place, the desert - where dust can turn a day into twilight, and rocks move unseen across the landscape. We were out to experience it, all for ourselves. 

By the time we entered the gates of the National Park, the topography had changed. It was hard to keep to the trails. The winding roads much steeper and difficult now, to drive on. Grabbing a map from the vistor center, we started our journey for the highest point of the valley - Dante's View.

My heart was drumming against my chest. The silence unbearable. I could have never imagined that such a vast stretch of barren - nothingness could look so breathtaking. Serene was an understatement here. All I could feel was the whistling of winds, as it crashed against the far away mountains and came hurdling back. As I looked down into the valley, 282 feet below sea level, the Badwater Basin, I could see meandering streams of salt water flats, now dried and shimmering in the sun. The sheer wonder of nature and geological significance of the landscape sent chills down my spine. 

The wind did too.

The wilderness of this land, runs in extreme contrasts. From the bone-dry badlands of the Devils golf course to the twisted and eroded ranges of Zabriskie Point. The unbelievable vastness of the Ubehebe craters, its depth and its surreal outstretch. We scored it all. We drove a mile into the mud, unpaved road creating storms of dirt and spurring stones, to reach the natural arches. We walked on, as the huge Mosaic canyons attempted to engulf us. Our car rumbled on, into this wide open space, as one of the oldest cities of Rhyolite, now in ruins began to emerge out of this brutally beautiful wasteland. The forgotten tales of Goldrush felt like a mirage set amongst the desert haze. A land of eerie, a land now taken over by nature, sprawled Joshua trees and an uncanny silence.

"Can you picture what will be, so limitless and free, desperately in need of some strangers hand. In a desperate land"  - The doors

Yes, "This is the end, beautiful friend" We moved towards the setting sun, the sky now blazing with color. Our last destination, barely visible through windblown sand, the Panamint Range looming over the Mesquite Flat dunes. The moving sand here takes in everything without a word.

Death Valley never leaves you.

Once you have heard the howling wind, laid footprints on the warm sand, wandered aimless in the ruins of ghost towns, caught a flaming red sunset and let the moon follow you home, you just want to go back and do it all over again.