At the Racetrack - Death Valley NP

erich6

Last weekend I took my two boys and went tent camping in Death Valley. It was freezing! (A nice balmy 4 deg F at twilight). I still prefer that to 130 deg F in the summer.

Here are two of my favorite shots from this trip. Both were taken at the Racetrack. This is a dried-up lake bed where you sometimes find "moving rocks". What they are are rocks that slid across the lakebed after rain because of the slippery mud. But they leave these tracks that look really neat. The sun just came up over the mountains and made for very dramatic lighting. The rocks in the background are called the Grandstand.








Cheers,

Erich

Dixie

Erich,

I really like both of these - especially the second.

Isn't it also the grandstand area, but taken from a little to the left and zoomed?

I am planning on stopping by Death Valley for my first trip ever in March. Any leads on some must see areas are more than welcome.

Seneca

Wow...looks like a different planet with the sepia tone. Love it.

DavidTO

Gorgeous. Unique. Nice job.

JCDoss

The first one is great (and thanks for the explanation, by the way), but that second one is really spectacular! If you told me it was taken on Mars, I wouldn't believe you, but I bet some people would!

grimace

Beautiful shots!!

erich6

Dixie wrote:

Erich,

I really like both of these - especially the second.

Isn't it also the grandstand area, but taken from a little to the left and zoomed?

I am planning on stopping by Death Valley for my first trip ever in March. Any leads on some must see areas are more than welcome.

Thanks Dixie.

The second shot is indeed the Grandstand. I walked closer to it and a bit to the left as you determined.

In the spring you'll get a nice flower show around Jubilee Pass. Other than that I really like the view at Zabriskie point and the drive through Titus Canyon is excellent. I highly recommend going out to the Nevada entrance to get the full drive through the canyon in. I also recommend going to the Eureka dunes. These are quite a bit out of the way but they are worth it. Most people go to the ones near Stovepipe Wells but the Eureka dunes are much taller (about 800 ft!) and more secluded. Finally, I like the Racetrack and Ubehebe crater. I camped at the Mesquite Flats.

Erich

erich6

Seneca wrote:

Wow...looks like a different planet with the sepia tone. Love it.

Yes...one of the things I like about Death Valley is the other worldly feel to it. Both times I've been there I've arrived in the morning and the first thing I notice is how quiet the place is. You just can't hear anything!

Erich

erich6

DavidTO wrote:

Gorgeous. Unique. Nice job.

Thanks David!

erich6

JCDoss wrote:

The first one is great (and thanks for the explanation, by the way), but that second one is really spectacular! If you told me it was taken on Mars, I wouldn't believe you, but I bet some people would!

Thanks. There probably are more things in common between this place and Mars than we may think....

Erich

erich6

grimace wrote:

Beautiful shots!!

Thanks Adam!

saurora

Wow, those shots are out of this world, Erich!!! Simply fantastic! 4 degrees, huh? Brrrrr...and I thought it was chilly here!!!

Swartzy

Ooooooooh Yea!
What planet are these taken? Very cool, sci-fi type landscape and feel. I really like them. That second one is way cool. Great job!

coldclimb

Excellent shots, I'm gonna have to visit there someday!

jdryan3

After seeing these I went to Google maps just to see how far Death Valley is from Las Vegas. 2 1/2 hours + isn't bad. Next road trip when I'm out west!

Derno

im really loving the second shot! but both are great!

USAIR

Both awesome
Very cool colors

Fred

Jeroen

Absolutely gorgeous. Like they're shot on Mars

erich6

Thanks for the comments everyone! I really appreciate them. I like these shots and I'm glad to see others do as well.

Sometimes I like a picture and I post it for comments and I don't get very many responses and I start wondering if there's something wrong with the way I'm looking at them.

I try to be a harsh self-critic so I can improve and my worst fear is that I get caught up in the emotion of the moment and lose sight of the value of the photograph on its own.

Again, thanks for the comments.

Erich

tobers

Wow! #2 is amazing. Wow again.

Not many landscapes like that over here in England. Jealous!

Allen Maestas

These are absolutely wonderful, the light and dynamic clouds just set these over the top. Fantastic!

Al

Dixie

erich6 wrote:

Thanks Dixie.

The second shot is indeed the Grandstand. I walked closer to it and a bit to the left as you determined.

In the spring you'll get a nice flower show around Jubilee Pass. Other than that I really like the view at Zabriskie point and the drive through Titus Canyon is excellent. I highly recommend going out to the Nevada entrance to get the full drive through the canyon in. I also recommend going to the Eureka dunes. These are quite a bit out of the way but they are worth it. Most people go to the ones near Stovepipe Wells but the Eureka dunes are much taller (about 800 ft!) and more secluded. Finally, I like the Racetrack and Ubehebe crater. I camped at the Mesquite Flats.

Erich

Erich,

Thanks for the info. I did make it to Death Valley NP, but didn't make it north of Stovepipe Wells.

I saw the Charcoal Kilns, Harmony Borax Works, Zabriskie Point, Artists Palette, Badwater, the sand dunes near Stovepipe Wells, and several of the other gravel drives. I just ran out of time, but hope to get back there in the near future with more time. I still want to see the Racetrack, Scottie's Castle and a number of other locations.