Death Valley

A week-long family road trip for the 2020 end-of-year holiday

The trip begins at my parent’s house with my brother in Sacramento, and includes scenes of the Sierra Nevadas, Mono Lake, Alabama Hills, Death Valley, Mojave National Preserve, Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Salton Sea and California City.

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24 Dec
Driving through the Sierra Nevada Mountains, resting at Mono Lake

24 Dec:
Manzanar National Historic Site

24 Dec:
Alabama Hills

24 Dec:
Driving into and through Death Valley. We were meant to stay at a hotel inside the park, but California shut down all lodging and most services due to the pandemic, so we entered into Nevada and lodged in Beaty.

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Zabriskie Point

On Xmas day Phil and I went to Zabriskie point at Sunrise. We explored other spots including the Kelso Dunes.

25 Dec:
We were about to drive to the the Racetrack, known as perhaps the most visually interesting spot in Death Valley, but it’s incredibly difficult to get to, and very bumpy in our vehicle. So we forewent it and instead explored Titus Canyon. We also hiked through the Hole in the Wall, and ended the day at the Mesquite Dunes, where I photographed anonymous models against a perfect backdrop.

25 Dec
Driving back to Beaty for the night. Most things were closed, so we had our Xmas dinner at a Denny’s inside a casino lol

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Dante’s Peak

Dad and I enjoyed the most sublime part of Death Valley

26 Dec
Playing golf at the Furnace Creek Golf Course

26 Dec.
The Devil’s Golf Course (because the terrain would be so unfriendly to golfing), and the Artist’s Drive, featuring the Artist’s Palette, since the rocks are kind of colorful.

26 Dec
Badwater Basin. We just arrived at sundown, which was unfortunate because it was shrouded in shadow. But the sunset was nice as we drove out of Death Valley, from our final point of interest.