Something silly..: First camping trip of the year- Death Valley

**I haven’t been updating my blog lately. I’ve been half way across the world and back and I still have this post sitting in my draft waiting to be finished. Please enjoy this post which I started almost 2 months ago**

In the spur of the moment, we decided to join Jocelyn & Johann for a camping trip at Death Valley. Also, to take a break from all the house projects. We had a fantastic time. We did so much in a 2 days 1 night trip there.

The best time to visit Death Valley is winter due to their harsh summer weather. It is known as the hottest & driest desert in the United States.

Our first stop was the sand dunes near Stovepipe Wells. It was absolutely gorgeous. More amazing pictures can be seen on the internet when you google for sand dunes in Death Valley.

Oh, and I gotta show you this picture:What do you notice from the picture above? Well, if you don’t see it, it’s their shirt! They wore the same t-shirt on the same day. We didn’t notice it until they both took their sweater off when the weather started to get warm. It was funny that they would wear the same shirt on the same day! lol… John’s shirt looks so washed out but I think that’s how it was when we got it. It’s grey.

And then we continued to The Salt and Borax Flat. Here’s the history of this place if you are interested, which I just learned.

Next up, is the Golden Canyon. We took a short hike, enjoyed the beautiful sandstone rocks. The view from the entrance is amazing. You can see across Death Valley toward the Panamint Mountains. Absolutely breathtaking.

We continued on our journey to the Devil’s Golfcourse. I think it’s got its name from sharp crusted salt. We were warned to be really careful while walking across this salt formation. You could break your bones if you fall on these rock hard salt. Another must see in Death Valley!

Badwater Basin was given the name due to the thin sheet of still undrinkable water. At 282 feet below sea level, Badwater Basin is the lowest point in the United States. After a long walk across these wide path of muddy salt crust, we decided to be silly. I swear it was not my idea. :-)

Our jump shot was captured perfect, almost perfect (minus the crazy lion hair and my almost boobies flash attempt). At least we are up in the air. I tried to take Jocelyn and Johann’s jump shot, it didn’t quite turn out like ours. I have a shot of them getting ready to jump and a shot of them touchdown. None of them up were in the air. After a few jumps from them, they gave up. Luckily John got a picture of them up in the air with their camera. So their jumps were not wasted. Phew…..

And then, we went to Natural Bridge, another impressive hiking trail. That was our last destination before we called it a day and headed on back to our campsite.

Here we are.. laying our spread out, getting ready to make our fancy meal.

Looks yummy, doesn't it? The burger patties are homemade. :) The meat was juicy and it was really delicious. Love the recipe and would definitely make this again for future burger nights. I love grilled jalapeno and so I brought a couple with me.

Later that night, we made smores. Again, what is camping without it right? John’s a happy camper as long as there’s beer! :)

The next morning, we continued with more sightseeing around Death Valley. There is definitely so much to see and do at Death Valley.

We were all so tired from all the hikes we did. Taking a rest on these giant rocks.

We also visited Scott’s Castle, a historic spanish villa at the northern side of Death Valley.

Our last stop was Lake Playa- “The Devils Racetrack” famously known for rocks that sail across its surface. We drove about an hour on dirt road just to come see these mysteriously “moved” rocks. No one has ever seen these rocks in motion. So it still remains a mystery on how these rocks slide, although there are some very good explanations out there.