Death Valley - Artist's Drive
Blog: of heliotropes and silver strings - 30 August 2009
By: AmyR
Our trip through Death Valley is almost at its end. The sun is setting soon, but just enough time remains to travel down the twisty road of Artist's Drive. It's a little like a rollercoaster ride. One way, hilly, narrow, hairpin curves - but you're in a vehicle and can only go 15mph. You won't want to go any faster either. I hope you'll want to go slower, to soak up every inch of the scenery in its technicolor glory.
The drive continually reminded me of neopolitan ice cream. I don't know if it was because of colors or more that it was hot and ice cream would have been amazing. Blankets of pinks, reds, whites, purples, and aqua tones draped over the brown of the desert mountains. The beauty of the mineral deposits was almost past belief. The colors build up slowly build up along the drive and culminates in a grander than grand showcase at the Artist's Palette.
We got the palette about 2 minutes after the sun went down.
It was still dazzling. The curved bands of color fade into each other. These layers of mineral deposits are evidence of violent volcanic periods. This site breaks down the science. Most of the colors are iron oxides, but the greens are volcanic ash deposits. I confess that I am not as interested in the geology - I just know the result is astounding. I am content knowing that those rocks and deposits have been through a lot.
The drive is 9 miles, and it takes about 30 minutes to traverse. Longer if you pull over and wander.
This sadly wraps up my day in Death Valley. A few of you have asked how the national park got its name. It was given it's morbid name in the mid-1800s by a group of pioneers. They were lost in the desert valley during the winter. Records show that only one of their group actually perished, but they assumed they all would meet their ends in the desolate landscape. The party made it out of the valley though. As they exited over the Panamint Mountains, one of them turned back and said, "goodbye, Death Valley." The name stuck.
Goodbye, Death Valley...for now.
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