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Sunday morning we noticed that many people were packing up to leave. The campground would
definitely be less crowded tonight, although more people would arrive on Monday.
I had thought about hiking the sand dunes, but this morning it was quite windy. The prospect
of sand getting blown in my face didn't appeal to me, so we drove over to Golden Canyon
instead. There, we started off on a hike through
Golden Canyon to Red Cathedral.
After the hike, we drove to the store at Furnace Creek for (what else?) ice cream. We then
returned to camp. While the others took an afternoon nap, I headed out on a drive. I started
out driving north along Highway 190. I stopped to take some pictures of the wildflowers.
This was quite challenging considering the howling wind. The winds were blowing 30-40 miles
per hour at times.
Wildflowers in front of the Amargosa Range
Lowest point in the California state highway system, 242 feet below sea level
I turned around and headed south on Highway 190, then turned right onto the road for the
Harmony Borax Works. I stopped at some of the pueblo ruins to take some pictures, then continued
on the drive through Mustard Canyon. If you skip the canyon, you're not missing much. I drove
through, then returned to the parking area for Harmony Borax Works. Despite the wind, I decided
to make the short walk along the paved trail around the ruins.
Hills of Mustard Canyon behind pueblo ruins
Harmony Borax Works wagon
Harmony Borax Works exhibit
After taking my pictures, I returned to Highway 190 and continued past Furnace Creek along
Badwater Road to Artist
Drive. This is a one-way road into the mountains above the valley. It took me about an hour
to drive this road because I kept stopping for pictures, but you could probably do it in 20
minutes if you don't stop much.
Artist Drive
Artist Drive
Slopes of Artist Drive
I started the drive around 4:30pm, and this was perfect to capture the late afternoon light.
The road is paved and a bit steep in places, but it's an easy drive. I leap-frogged a few other
cars, as everyone kept stopping to take pictures. Take your time and stop often. It's called
Artist Drive because the mountains have splashes of green and pink. One of the best places to
stop is along the stretch of road descending down toward Artists Palette. It should be fairly
obvious. If you miss it and reach the parking area at Artists Palette (don't miss the right
turn), then you can hike back uphill a bit to get some nice views.
Artist Drive
Hills of Artist Drive
Colorful mountains at Artist Drive
Looking at the mountains at Artist Drive
Several photographers were set up at Artist Drive hoping to get some good sunset pictures, but
it was not to be today. Despite the forecast of rain, there wasn't any today,
and most of the clouds were gone by sunset, leaving the sunset looking rather pedestrian.
On the drive back to 190, I noticed a few clouds hovering over the top of Telescope Peak and
the Panamint Range, but nothing spectacular.
Clouds over Panamint Range at sunset
That night we had quesadillas for dinner before building a campfire. We noticed coyotes
howling nearby, and would hear them again in the middle of the night. We secured our campsite,
putting a lot of things in the car just to be on the safe side. They didn't bother our site
at all, though.
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