Bullnose camping trip to Death Valley (off topic)

[Ford F834]

Over Christmas my wife and I took the '81 on a trip to Death Valley to camp and explore some of the back country. We went a couple of years ago, but there is a lot to see in the park and much of it requires a high clearance or 4x4 vehicle to access. We saw most of the "usual" attractions last time (in our car), and wanted to visit the Racetrack Playa, Titus Canyon and Echo Canyon with the truck this trip. We also went to see the charcoal kilns and revisited Darwin Falls which was our favorite from the last trip. I realize this is pretty far off topic for a truck forum, but some of you may enjoy the pictures from my bullnose adventure, including some views with the truck in it.


Our Pyrenees watching us through the window. Sadly dogs don't have much place in National Parks, but we lost our pet sitter last minute.




Views of Titus Canyon from above






Remains of a model T at the Leadfield mining site






Corrugated metal buildings at Leadfield. The white coating is asbestos!


Mine entrance at Leadfield












Some views from Titus Canyon. It is magnificent and these lousy pictures are an insult to it, but it's what I could get. I would very much like to go back with more time for serious photography. With sundown at 4:30pm and darkness by 5:15pm every day was a race against daylight.




Teakettle junction on the way to Racetrack Playa. We did not realize that this is an attraction in itself. Travelers hang up kettles with inscriptions on them and photographs or other interesting contents inside. They were all dated 2017 so presumably they must be periodically removed to make room for new ones. Had we known we would have brought a kettle.








A few views from the Racetrack Playa. This place gets very mixed reviews. It is found at the end of 26 miles of washboard road. Washboard is really too nice a term. It is a violent ride in between patches that are much worse. Once visitors arrive, I believe the sliding rocks are underwhelming. Some even express disappointment because they expected them to me moving! (For those who are unfamiliar, the racetrack is a mud flat. When wet, the mud is slippery as snot and stray rocks on the playa are blown by the wind leaving a trail in the mud). The rocks are a neat curiosity but far from the real reason to go. The whole valley is stunningly beautiful, and standing on the playa is an amazing experience. It feels like another planet and is simply magical. I have been to Death Valley many times and this may very well be my favorite experience there. Pictures don't even come close.


Did I mention that we lost our pet sitter? The day that we went to racetrack was a little bit chilly. We just didn't feel comfortable leaving out iguana in the camper so she came with us. She really hated the rough road but was fascinated by the scenery rolling by. My wife jokingly called her my scratchy GF because she also had to sleep next to me in the bed at night. We planned a propane heater for her, but for some reason the bottles were only lasting a couple of hours (they are supposed to run for 6 hours). So I had company! It's a biologist's life.


Our little Christmas tree showing out our window on a memorable Christmas Day.






A couple shots from Golden Canyon. The day that I fixed the alternator wires I didn't feel like testing it in the outback so we strolled to this popular hiking spot.


A view of Corkscrew Mountain on the way to Beaty NV to get gas and supplies. One of my favorite land features in the area.




A neat old stationary Ingersol Rand tractor parked outside of the gas station at Stovepipe Wells




Beehive charcoal kilns. Again, horrible pictures, neat place. The view to the west was stunning but did not show up on the camera. It just got too dark too fast.




Darwin Falls on the expanded west side of the park. It is a gem and worth the scramble to get to it. Expect your shoes to get a little wet and muddy. No truck needed to get to the trailhead.




View of the Texas Springs campground, I think our truck and camper were the neatest looking rig in the upper loop but I am biased.














If you drive up Echo Canyon you will find the Inyo Mine site. This has some neat old structures and equipment, including a mixing tank cobbled together with a car differential and a stationary engine with four huge external cylinder housings and exposed valves. I can't help but wonder what that was like to see and hear running.


Cotton top cactus (Echinocactus polycephalus) in Echo Canyon. Common in the Mojave and one of my favorites.




Johnson's pineapple cactus (Echinomastus Johnsonii) a much less common species that I found in Echo Canyon. When backlit they glow red. This population had some with very vivid color.


Moonrise in Echo Canyon


A small natural bridge in Echo Canyon known as "needle's eye". Again, that darn 5 o'clock darkness!


Sunset over camp just because everyone likes sunsets and it always seems to make chronological sense to end a set of pictures with a sunset. I think I'm at 48 pictures now so I'll stop.

[1986F150Six]

Absolutely stunning, Jonathan! Thanks so much for sharing.

[NotEnoughTrucks]

Just added another destination to my bucket list. Beautiful pics!

[Gary Lewis]

Beautiful!!!  I'd like to see that.  Thanks for sharing, Jonathan.  

[PetesPonies]

Beautiful pics!! YOu couldn't get o to camp anywhere for anything this side of a Million Dollars  :)  Camping, not me or the wifey. Is there a Motel 6 nearby ? All the things to see, it would be fun. Closest I came was flying over it when leaving Vegas.

[grumpin]

Nice! Thanks! Definitely need to see.

[Don Claustro-2]

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[Ford F834]

Thanks for the compliments guys, I'm glad you enjoyed the pics. If I get a chance I will pull some off of my old phone from our last trip there, as we saw different things that time...

As far as hotels, there are private resort hotels at Furnace Creek and Stovepipe Wells, but they are quite expensive. There are other more normal priced hotels outside of the park in Beaty NV and Lone Pine CA, but it adds drive time to a park that is already huge and spread out. For those who may be flying in and cannot bring their own 4x4, there are Jeeps for rent. I'm sure they are not cheap, but it is an option if you want to see the back country.

For camping my favorite spot is Mesquite Springs campground, but a severe flood damaged it along with Scotty's castle and it will be closed until 2020.

[Gary Lewis]

I sent our user "Bret" a link to this thread.