Death Valley travel advice

I don’t think I would do Death Valley in June. More stuff will be open in Sequoia and Yosemite, though, than when I am there.I’m a little disappointed by the things still closed but the trade off is not quite as many people.

Did you get your entrance reservations for the parks? I think those are required starting around Memorial Day.

 

Driving out west some years ago, I slept in the car at an I-10 rest stop 15 or 20 miles outside of Fort Stockton, Texas. It was just a parking area with no lights. Laying in the backseat, looking up at the dark West Texas sky and seeing just how many damn stars were up there was incredible.

 

I jumped online and picked up an entrance reservation the second they went live last month. Yosemite's the centerpiece of the whole trip -- I'd probably just would have said the hell with it if we got shut out of there. Last I checked they still had reservations available for when we're going, so I guess my rush wasn't needed.

Have fun!

 

When my kid was in Scouts and I was an assistant Scoutmaster, we went to summer camp one year at Buffalo Trail Scout Ranch in the Davis mountains in west Texas. The sky was amazingly clear and dark (my kid took astronomy merit badge and I sat in on the classes ‘cause I’m a space nerd).

One night we took a side trip to the nearby McDonald Observatory, which claims to have the darkest night skies in the continental U.S. It was awesome even without the telescopes.

 

Lighten up, Francis.

 

If you are doing Sequoia/Kings Canyon, skip the 4 mile round trip hike at Mariposa Grove in Yosemite unless you have time to kill. The Glacier Point Road drive is awesome. I did it my last day but kind of wish I had done it my first day because the view from Glacier Point would have helped orient me. I wish Tioga Road had been open. It looks wonderful. Start your days as early as you can. It’s crowded. Hopefully the shuttles in the Valley will be running in June. Driving around looking for parking at various sites was a pain. Yosemite is amazing but I was a little overwhelmed by it. I think the crowds were a bit of a psychological shock, after a year plus of not seeing many people and coming directly from the very quiet Sequoia and even quieter Kings Canyon. Don’t plan on getting supplies at the market in the main valley area. Every time I went in, the checkout lines out were crazy long. I think more food options will be open in June so maybe those lines won’t be as bad. I did lots of unnecessary driving in circles between not realizing where things were and not finding parking. At least I was doing it when traffic wasn’t bumper to bumper, like it was in the afternoons over the weekend plus the scenery was always great. Plan your Yosemite itinerary better than I did.

Death Valley was fantastic. Do it on another trip.

I think my Yosemite experience was also colored by two of my dogs being sick the entire time I was there. It didn’t sound serious but was unusual, plus one is 14 and the other had been seriously ill last summer so I’m paranoid. Even knowing they were each with a great caretaker, I didn’t sleep much worrying about what was going on at home.

 

Anything outside of about 50 miles of a decent-sized conurbation should be pretty decent for night viewing.

I live smack on the north end of one and it sucks.

 

New word of the day: conurbation.

Thanks!