Tag Archives: visit

Commentary

Death Valley Delayed

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Earlier this winter I had evolved a plan to visit Death Valley earlier in the year than I usually do – I was planning on going later this week. However, as the season as unfolded it has turned out to be a very wet one in DEVA NP. According to reports (including this one) many roads are closed or washed out, including those to some of the places I was planning to visit. While the wet conditions also bring some special and unusual opportunities (including landscapes with reflections in ponds), at this point I’m going to hold off and reschedule my visit for the end of March.

By that time there is a good chance that more of the closed areas will have reopened. I have a hunch that this might also end up being a special year for wildflowers – and if I’m lucky I might manage to be there at right about the best time.

Commentary

Web Publishing Experiment – Draft of the Next Death Valley Post

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I decided to try a little web-publishing experiment with part 2 of my series of posts on photographing Death Valley National Park – I’m sharing the draft publicly as I write it. I decided to try this for several reasons.

  • It is prime DeVa photography season now and for the next couple of months, and some people may find the information useful before I’m ready to release the final version.
  • There are lots of you who have DeVa experience of your own, and perhaps your comments and feedback may improve the post.
  • Maybe, just maybe, someone might be interested in watching the evolution of the post. I can flatter myself, right? :-)

To find out more take a look at the current version of the draft, where I’ve added a few words of explanation.

Dan

Locations

Answering Some Death Valley Photography Questions

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“Dave” wrote to ask some questions about Death Valley in February, and I thought it might be useful to share my replies with others who are thinking about a visit to that localation.

• Jeep Wrangler good idea for the area and to get into the Racetrack?

First, I’ve posted here a few times about the logistics of visiting and photographing at the Racetrack – you might want to take a look at this post.

A Jeep Wrangler should get you out to the Racetrack Playa just fine. The main difficulties with the road involve very badly washboarded surface, some very gravelly spots (especially near the start), and the fact that you’ll cover 27 miles of this stuff one way. It is not a particularly steep or twisty road. In normal conditions I would feel OK doing it in a two wheel drive vehicle as long as it had good ground clearance and good tires – and the Wrangler should qualify.

Unless you want to drive (too) fast and risk tire damage, you’ll want to give yourself perhaps a couple hours one way. Continue reading Answering Some Death Valley Photography Questions →

Commentary, Locations

Best time to visit Death Valley AND Yosemite?

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I just saw and replied to a forum post asking about the best time to try to visit Death Valley, the eastern Sierra, Tioga Pass/Tuolumne Meadows and Yosemite Valley in one trip that starts in Las Vegas and ends in Sacramento. I’m reposting my reply here since I’ve heard others ask similar questions elsewhere. Note that despite the lengthy post, this doesn’t by any means completely answer this question. So, with minor edits, here is what I posted:

When to do a trip that includes Death Valley and Yosemite Valley and everything in between? This is a very tough question.

The “best” time to visit Death Valley is generally thought to be in the November to early April time frame – but that coincides with closure of the Tioga Pass entrance into  Yosemite National Park, typically lasting from possibly (but not always) late October or mid-November until (usually) sometime in May.

So, I think it becomes a question of which end of the trip you want to compromise. Do you want to deal with Death Valley during the very hottest time or do you want to deal with the potential for a very long drive around the southern part of the Sierra (and missing the “east side”) in order to get to The Valley after the pass closes?

I travel and photograph throughout this area a lot, so let me offer some ideas. Continue reading Best time to visit Death Valley AND Yosemite? →