Death Valley National Park

Death Valley National Park
The last stop during our Spring break trip was Death Valley National Park to catch the wildflower bloom. Death Valley received one of the highest levels of rainfall recorded in the park this year and as a result, the wildflower blooms were spectacular. There's also a fairly large (but shallow) lake near Badwater and we saw kayakers paddling on it. We camped in the Sunset Campground because all the other campgrounds were full. It was also very windy.

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Wildflowers on Highway 178  |  Total images: 20
We entered Death Valley on Highway 178 crossing over Salisbury Pass. We stopped a few times after the pass to see clumps of wildflowers and I was beginning to think that a few clusters of wildflowers are what passes as spectacular blooms in the desert. I was fortunately proven wrong when we started descending into the valley. The ground is literally covered with blooms and is an amazing sight. I was particularly amazed because I had visited Death Valley a couple of times previously and it looked quite desolate.
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Badwater  |  Total images: 7
Our last stop on our first day in Death Valley was to the large lake near Badwater. Nancy took some great candid shots throughout the trip, and there's an especially good one here.
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Wildflowers near the Visitors' Center  |  Total images: 5
We stopped by the visitors' center at Furnace Creek the next morning. There were some pretty nice Desert Five-Spots (which bloom only in mid-morning) outside the visitors' center.
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Sand Dunes  |  Total images: 14
We did a short hike to the sand dunes near Stovepipe Wells on the second day.
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Wildflowers on Highway 190 towards Scotty's Castle.  |  Total images: 14
The last thing we did in Death Valley was to drive up Highway 190 towards Scotty's Castle.
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Camping  |  Total images: 2
It was very windy when we were in Death Valley. When we set up camp the first night, we had to camp in Sunset Campground, which is very dusty and windy. I got the stove going under the vestibule of my tent and prepared a quick dinner, which we ate while sitting in the car.