This was photographed during the now-famous “once in 100 years” Death Valley bloom in the spring of 2005. On this occasion there were flowers in many places in Death Valley where they are not often seen, and in others where typical flower displays are much less widespread.
This shot was taken out in the middle of the Panamint Valley on the road out of Stovepipe Wells and near what I think is called the Panamint Valley Resort. My youngest son and I were on a drive up the east side of the Sierra Nevada after dropping my daughter off at school in southern California. We had spent a good part of the day wandering around the floor of Death Valley in very cloudy and somewhat rainy weather, and we were about to head back toward Hiway 395 by the direct and rather lonely route.
One reason I stopped at this spot is that I had inadvertently spent an entire day here a few years ago. I was a parent chaperone on a week-long trip to Death Valley that involved an aborted pack trip, snow, a dust storm, cold, and you name it. On the last day we headed home from Stovepipe Wells… and the bus blew its transmission at about this spot. We ended up spending the day and a good part of the evening here waiting for a replacement bus. But that is a story for another time.
G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.
G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
Panamint Valley Hills. Death Valley National Park. March 28, 2005. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.