Sights Seen and Unseen in Death Valley

A few thoughts on leaving Death Valley.

We had only allowed a week to tour Death Valley and the area surrounding our RV park in Pahrump, NV.

After all, it was "just desert".

Well, another assumption has been challenged and has been found wanting.

Even though we have viewed and written about a range of sights in this National Park, we nevertheless have a list of places that we missed on this visit.

Scotty's Castle, the Saline Valley Dunes, the Racetrack, the ghost town of Leadfield, Stovepipe Well, Mosaic Canyon, Devil's golf course, Natural Bridge, Artists Drive, Darwin Falls, charcoal kilns, and Badwater top the surprisingly long list of missed sights.

But just to drive through Death Valley meant to be inundated with sights that go unnamed, but not unappreciated.

The contrast in shades of browns and blacks have a beauty to them as impressive--but certainly different--as the brilliance of the Southwest's red rocks regions.

From sand dunes to desert shrubs to mountains of contrasting colors, there is a quiet beauty to this otherwise desolate location.

The vastness itself is a thing of beauty.

The changes created by the variation in sunlight and shadows transform simple sights.

Although we left with many memories, we also left with a strong desire to return to collect more mental pictures of Death Valley.

Heading to San Diego, we caught these metallic splashes of "scenery".

We have settled in to our home for November and December--Santee Lakes RV Park, near San Diego.