eureka sand dunes

DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK AND VALLEY OF FIRE STATE PARK

DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK AND VALLEY OF FIRE STATE PARK

Lots of driving this trip. We decided to take a drive thru Yosemite on the way to Death Valley and took a lunch stop at Tenaya Lake. The weather was perfect. We spent the first night at Eureka Sand Dunes in the northern area of Death Valley, the tallest sand dunes in California and maybe even the western US. The campgrounds are dry, meaning no running water and no flushing toilets, but there is a lonely pit toilet. One of the benefits of camping here is how remote it is. Once the sun went down, the night’s sky wasn’t subject to any light pollution. We sat out in our beach chairs and stared up at the sky for a few hours before going to bed. The next morning we drove thru Death Valley and out to Valley of Fire State Park. This is a random little park just outside of Las Vegas. The red rocks literally pop out of nowhere. We were supposed to camp our second night here, but failed to follow our itinerary and pushed on. The campgrounds there were pretty awesome too. Guess it will have to wait for another visit in the future.

- Allie and Jonathan