We hoped to leave our hotel by 7 AM because we were facing a jam-packed day, but it was closer to 7:30 when we actually hit the road. On the way out of Beatty, we finally saw some of the wild burros that street signs had been warning us to look out for. They were just grazing on brush by the side of the road like deer in Tennessee, but unperturbed by the car slowing down opposite them to snap a picture.

The drive into Death Valley was beautiful, as the sun had not been up very long. It was awe-inspiring to see the light and shadow on the flatlands and mountains on such a vast scale.

Our first stop of the day was the Mesquite Flat Dunes. From a distance, it is so striking to see the sand dunes seem to abruptly mark the separation of the flat basin and the mountains.

I knew I would not be able to climb the dunes, so I stayed fairly close to the car to take pictures of the vegetation there. I was surprised to see a flowering bush, not only because it’s Death Valley, but also because it’s winter.

Jeff went farther out, and it was fun to watch him search for the perfect shots. He really is like a kid in a candy store when he has his camera.

Next we drove into the mountains to see Father Crowley’s Overlook and Rainbow Canyon, nicknamed Star Wars Canyon for its resemblance to Tatooine.

I’m not sure why this particular place got that nickname, as we saw lots of places that could have passed for that desert planet, especially when overlooking the basin: I quoted Obi-Wan more than once about the “wretched hive of scum and villainy” that was Mos Eisley. The military uses Rainbow Canyon for flight training exercises, but we didn’t get to see any planes. I was pleased that not too many people were up there with us, allowing us ample time to take pictures without worrying about keeping our distance.

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As we drove back down into the valley, we stopped at the Devil’s Cornfield for a couple of pictures, and then ate lunch at the world’s loneliest picnic table for a few minutes until the cold drove us back into the car to finish. It was just such an odd feeling to sit in such isolation eating ham sandwiches and Doritos.

I had hoped to be able to see the pupfish that come out during the winter and spring at Salt Creek, but the road was washed out from the rainstorms, and the only way to get there was a long hike. Jeff would have been able to do it without me, but we were afraid we would run out of daylight if he used that extra time, so we had to skip them. Instead, we drove on to Zabriskie Point, and, holy cow, this was where all the people were. Even if I had been up to the climb, I was far too averse to being around that big a crowd to get out of the car. Jeff made himself a parking place, masked up, and zigged in and out among the people to get some pictures. He made sure to get some hikers in his shots to give scale to the massive rock formations.

Next, we drove up another mountain to Dante’s View, where there was sufficient parking and space that I felt more comfortable getting out to take in the sights. It was well worth the drive, because it felt like we could see all of Death Valley in one vista. I had to laugh, though, because in the hottest place on Earth, we were bowing our heads against the wind and snow. It was all kind of magical, and this was probably one of my two favorite spots in the park.

Our next destination was my other favorite, Artist’s Drive. Pictures can’t do justice to all the colorful mineral deposits on this collection of hills. It was a one-way scenic loop with some tight squeezes that opened up onto swaths of greens, yellows, blues, and reds. I wouldn’t have minded going through the loop a second time, but we needed to be moving along to finish the park before dark.

We next took a little gravel road that had been graded with ridges that actually felt like a pretty good massage on our tired bottoms to an area called the Devil’s Golf Course. Apparently, this is a salt bed where water sometimes rises up under the deposits, evaporates in the heat, and leaves behind delicate soil structures. It really seemed otherworldly.

Our final stop within the park was Badwater Basin, and it seemed like everybody from Zabriskie Point and their brothers were there. Jeff again had to make his own parking place, and instead of going out to the main area of the salt basin where everyone else was going, we stayed on the outskirts to get a few socially distanced pictures of the rare sight of standing water in the valley. We figured salt is salt, and got a good feel for what the people in the crowd were seeing.

Once Jeff got us out of the nightmare traffic of Badwater Basin, he pulled over and asked me to drive for a while since he was pretty exhausted. I took us the two hours through the wilderness to Baker in the dark, where we ate supper at the Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives recommended Mad Greek restaurant. We ordered the spanakopita and beef and lamb gyros, which were a tasty change from what we had been eating. I was glad they had a drive-thru and we could eat in the car. Jeff drove us the rest of the way to our hotel in Barstow, CA, where we pretty much went straight to bed after a full day.