Death Valley Wandering Part 2

The next and without a doubt best spot we went to was the Artist's Drive where the Artist's Palette is located. It's a one way road with plenty of pullouts to stop along the way and wander around. Some areas have more pigmented colors than other sections that appear to be more pastel.

Every time we got out of the car we ran to a new playground of colorful chalked hills and crevices to explore. The amount of sun you have on the day you visit effects the vibrance and tone of the area. The majority of our time there was slightly overcast skies, but near the end of us walking around it became very sunny and we go to see the difference in colors.

If it rains while you are there, it is supposed to be the best time to see the colorful hills.

Artist's Palette

This is the view of the Artist's Palette when you are walking up to it. It looks like scoops of ice cream with chocolate sauce randomly placed in the middle of the desert. There are easy foot paths to walk along to be able to walk in the area and see the colors up close.

Artist's Palette

Once up close, the mounds of colorful dirt dwarf you in size. From teal to lilac there are a handful of colors that stick out in this area due to the minerals present.

Sunny sky lighting up the Artist's Palette

This is what it looks like when the sun is fully shining in the sky. Some of the lighter pink tones get a little washed out but it is still completely breathtaking to see this area.

After exploring most of the day we decided to go find camp. Death Valley has designated areas you can rent for the night, but I truly love going out and finding a nice spot to set up at. I like being in a spot that is more secluded or has a nice view to relax at while sitting around a campfire.

We drove just outside of the Death Valley park area to find a single spot with a fire circle which was perfect. Remember when I said get prepared for the wind - we thought we went crazy when we couldn't find a sleeping mat in the back of the car. Turns out it blew right out and we just saw a small blob of baby blue peaking out from some bushes. Lucky for us we got it back and we learned our lesson from the previous night. We put rocks in our tent and on the blanket we used to sit around the fire with.

Dante's View

In the morning we decided to visit Dante's View. There are some paths you can walk along in both directions for a fair amount of distance. From this view you can see the salt areas and the mixture of minerals across the valley. Even from this view you can't see the entire park. It extends behind the mountain range you stand in front of.

Twenty Mule Team Canyon/Road

This was a discovery from the previous night when we were driving to go find our camp spot. We both saw the drastic differences in browns of the sand and rock piles we decided the next day to check it out. It is a one way road with pullouts along the way to stop and explore. It looks like we drove through what was once a river.

We went from areas that were completely tan to areas with super rich chocolate and caramel tones. This area is just past Zabriskie's Point - a totally different environment you walk through.

Zabriskie's Point

This area has a walk up viewing section but then also allows you to tangent off onto different foot paths going in every direction. You could explore here all day. We did not leave enough time for this and this being our last stop were completely wrecked from previous days of climbing and hiking around.

The transition between the mountains and the rock formations was so incredible to see. They looked like veins or even lightning striking across the ground.

Our weekend of camping was so much fun and it's exciting to get to experience places for the first time with someone - their enthusiasm is at the same level as yours. There is so much of the park to explore once the roads open back up after the winter season and there is more time this is definitely a place to wander back to.

Thanks!