We drove through the Panamint Mountains as dusk was falling over the valley. We hit the valley floor, and were enveloped in a deep black sky punctuated by a million sparkling stars. We reached our hotel in the dark of night and checked in. I could hardly wait for morning, to see what was around us.

I awoke before first light, grabbed my camera and headed out. I saw a horse stable and a line of small trees about a hundred yards away. I followed a path around the stables and through the trees. This is what I saw. My first view of Death Valley.

Furnace Creek, Death Valley, CA

I'll be doing my best to catch up with you all soon. It may take a few days but I promise I'll be around.

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When I was a little boy, I used to watch a TV series named "Death Valley Days," with my grandfather. The episodes were filmed in and around Death Valley. My favorite thing about the show, and what I remember most, was the sponsor of the show, "20 Mule Team" Borax, a product mined in Death Valley. The commercial featured this cool 20-mule team wagon hauling the Borax to wherever they hauled it to. So, when I saw a sign pointing to a dirt road that rambled through a place called the "Twenty Mule Team Canyon," I just had to take it.

Of course we made many stops for photos as we journeyed through the canyon. This particular scene appealed to me because of the numerous layers of different geological formations and features that fanned out from where I was standing.

Check the comments box for a picture of a Twenty Mule Team in action. I shot this off the wall at the Salon at the Furnace Creek Ranch. Lastly, if you use Borax regularly, you will likely have scraped your skin to the bone ages ago.

Death Valley, CA

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This picture was hanging on the wall in the salon at Furnace Creek. it was so wide that I had to ask the bartender if I could stand behind the bar to get it all in the frame. He wasn't happy about it but he acquiesced.

Furnace Creek, CA

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This image is a long range artillery shot taken from Dante's Peak about an hour before sunset. What appears to be water on the valley floor are really just mineral deposits made up of calcium and sodiums.

The elevation at Dante's Peak is 5,476 feet above sea level. The valley floor is mostly below sea level, with Badwater Basin logging the lowest spot at -278 feet. There was a brisk wind at the peak, and the temps were in the chilly 40's, while on the valley floor the temps were hovering in the high 60's.

This is truly a land of contrasts.

Death Valley, CA

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No trip to Death Valley is complete without a cruise along the Artist's Drive. This scenic loop wanders through some of the most colorful rocks in the Black Mountains.

About five miles into the loop you'll come upon the Artist's Palette. Make sure to stop here. This colorful explosion of rock and mineral lies on the face of the Black Mountains. The colors are the result of the oxidation of different metals. The red, pink, and yellow colors are from iron salts, green is from decomposing tuff-derived mica, and manganese produces the purple. Just call me Dr. Science.

We took this incredible drive on two separate days as the colors vary with the light conditions. This zoomed shot actually doesn't do justice to the true sense of scale at this location, but I thought it captured the colors quite nicely.

Death Valley, CA

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