Road, Twenty Mule Team Canyon, Morning. Death Valley National Park, California. April 2, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A gravel road winds through the curved hills of Twenty Mule Team Canyon in early morning light, Death Valley National Park, California.

I had never visited Twenty Mule Team Canyon (located just up the road from Zabriskie Point) before this trip, but thanks to Edie Howe’s recommendation I spent an early morning shooting there on this trip. Except for the lack of a single dominant feature like Manley Point, in some ways this little loop has as much or more to offer than Zabriskie Point. Many of the same curved and twisted landscape features are found here, and there is even a wonderful early morning view down across low hills and peaks into the heart of Death Valley itself. In this photograph the early morning light is hitting what is, to be honest, a mud hill near a curve in the gravel road that passes through the canyon.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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