Death Valley Wildflowers & More Expedition 2014

wayoflife

wayoflife

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A few weeks back, I had read in a local paper that there was a decent wildflower showing going on in parts of Death Valley and this in spite of the fact that California is suffering from one of the worst droughts in 15 years! Needless to say, this was something Cindy and I had to see and fortunately for us, it was something that our good friends Moochie, Doug, Joshua, Tony and Stephanie and Ray, his father and brother would all get to see with us as well.

After meeting up with everyone in Big Pine, we headed out bright and early out to the Eureka Sand Dunes where there had been reports of Dune Primrose were in full bloom along with Apricot Mallows, Desert dandelions and an assortment of other flowers as well. From there, we made our way through Steel Pass, traversed the Saline Valley, worked our way up to the Lippencott Mine, set up camp and then spent some time exploring the Race Track playa. The following morning, we made a stop over at Tea Kettle Junction, climbed to the top of Hunter Mountain, left the park through Lee Flat and then made a final stop over at China Springs before heading home. Below are some of the photos we took along the way and I hope you'll enjoy them.

Celebrating the start of a fun filled weekend with friends - CHEERS!!
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All lined up and ready to go...
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Before heading out of town, we made a stop to enjoy the impressive view of the Sierra Nevada Mountains...
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Approaching the Eureka Sand Dunes. Rising 680 feet above the valley floor, they are one of the tallest dunes in North America...
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Making our first stop of the day to enjoy the wildflowers and climb the dunes...
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Flowers as far as the eye can see...
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Time to climb the dunes...
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Okay, we haven't gotten that far yet...
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Now we're making progress...
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Shot looking to the east from about mid way up...
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Come on guys, you can do it!
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Shot of the sand...
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Interesting water/mud seep in the sand...
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At the top...
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View looking north...
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At least it'll be a lot faster getting back...
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Pulling around to the south end of the dunes and looking back toward them...
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Climbing our way up Steel Pass, the only obstacle on the trail...
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Making a stop to enjoy more pretty flowers...
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Years ago, way back before Death Valley was as closed off as it is now, Cindy and I discovered some amazing petroglyphs in an unmarked canyon and on this trip, we decided to take a hike and show them to our friends...
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This way to the Bat Cave...
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After a nice lunch at Warm Springs, we made our way down to the valley floor and out to the Salt Lake evaporating ponds...
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View looking out across the evaporating ponds...
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View of our Jeeps next to the tram towers heading up the mountain...
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A parting group shot next to one of the old tram towers...
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Slowly wiggling our way up a narrow shelf road known as Lippencott Mine Road...
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Warning sign at the top of the pass...
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More pics below...
 
After setting up camp, we headed out to the Race Tracks, our final destination of the day. Unfortunately, the sun was being blocked by storm clouds but, I think they kind of added to the mood out on the mysterious playa...
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Of course, just as we get back to camp, the sun came back out and gave us a rainbow...
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Time for some grub!
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And what would an end to a great day be without some Honey - CHEERS!!
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Took a hike up to the mine the following morning...
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Here's a view looking back at camp...
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Signature of the mine scratched into a concrete pad...
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As we were heading out, we decided to make a stop along the northwestern shores of the Race Track so that we could hike out to an island inside of it known as the Grandstands....
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Circling around the back...
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Walking on the shores...
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Climbing up to the top for a better view...
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View looking back down...
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From below looking back up...
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Making another stop over at Tea Kettle Junction...
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Here we are at the top of Hunter Mountain....
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Looking down at Panamint Valley...
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Extremely low on gas, a stop had to be made over at the Panamint Springs gas station - Guess beggars can't be choosers and Moby likes premium!
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Before we head back home, there was one more stop we wanted to make...
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Ah, beautiful China Springs - a perfect place for lunch...
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Hard to imagine that there are goldfish in this desert oasis...
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And just like that, we stand at the end of another great time with good friends!
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I hope you all enjoyed following us on our recent wildflower and more expedition across Death Valley :cool:
 
That was a good trip!! Great pictures as always.
I like the clouds in the pictures. You don't see that in death valley that often.
 
Looks like your guys and gals had a great weekend. Hoping to get up there sooner than later. It always amazes me how well stuff out in the Mojave is preserved( Especially considered what asshats people can be these days). The history of the place, and the fact you can walk and drive amongst so many interesting historical artifacts blows me away each and every time.
 
Looks like a great trip with great people (excluding Moochie of course). I am sorry I missed it.
 
Glad you liked the pics and yeah, definitely need to get out and do some more exploring with you guys :thumb:
 
Wow the first picture you show the sand dune is cray epic! the dunes look so out of place or fake haha! Thanks for sharing your trip!
 
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