Death Valley Meditation
Story and Photos by Lee Daley
It’s early morning and I have spent the last 10 minutes admiring the light and shadows on a small brave bush somewhere alongside the road to Furnace Creek in Death Valley where my husband and I have come to de-stress and transition into the new year. This is a mystical place that has long inspired artists and awe. Soon we too are in love with the valley’s lunar landscape. Death Valley meditation rules as thoughts of schedules, appointments and deadlines banish. What seemed like an impending crisis back home now feels like a ridiculously insignificant issue in the grandness of this other-worldly moonscape. “Oh goody,” I say, as I send one more of these annoyances out into the universe.
The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science.” Albert Einstein
Meditation moments: As our spirits settle down, I feel the presence of the far- reaching horizon, the shifting light and above all, the overarching silence of the desert sending back its love. There is an earth aura here that defines infinity. Once more, I pay attention to the light on my little bush. I notice the play of shadows as the clouds shift. Ahead, sunlight illuminates the flanks of the mountains as it floats across them. Winter clouds gather. Patterns emerge and disappear as the shifting light paints its palette. This is why I have come here. Death Valley is working its magic.
One of the desert’s earliest and most ardent advocates, author Mary Austin, named Death Valley “The Land of Little Rain.” In her 1903 classic, she wrote, “Out there the boundary of soul and sense is faint as a trail in a sand storm.” Coming to Death Valley in winter — the early morning road unobscured by traffic — does indeed stretch the boundaries of soul and sense, visually and spiritually.
Death Valley’s moniker dates back to 1849 when a group of gold prospectors seeking a cut-off route to California’s gold fields became stranded.Two of the group struck out on foot, returning after a 26-day heroic journey to lead their fellow travelers out of the desert, known ever since for the near fatal tragedy that befell them there.
We had left San Francisco at dawn the previous day and overnighted in Ridgecrest. Starting out, our expectations were those of a barren terrain ahead. But, once our powers of observation took over, we found our senses overwhelmed. The silence became a companion, austere, powerful and omnipresent. By mid-day, relaxed and meditative, we approached the top of Panamint Valley where we found lonely Highway 190 and the northwest pass into Death Valley National Park. The land was declared a National Monument in 1933. Then, in 1994, President Clinton signed legislation establishing Death Valley as a national park, now 3.4 million acres.
As we neared a turn in the road from Route 178 to Route 190, two young coyotes watched and waited. They appeared hopeful but we knew it was best not to feed them.
Our destination for the night, Furnace Creek, fittingly describes the hottest place on the planet with normal summer temperatures reaching more than 120°F. Death Valley, hotter and drier than the Sahara, set the world temperature record of 134°F in July,1913. Ground temperatures of more than 200 degrees are common. That is, of course, in summer. Fortunately, in December, the furnace was turned off and our daytime temperatures hovered around 60 degrees, with nights a cool 40–50 degrees. In this desert oasis, we soon found ourselves staring in amazement as shimmering snow caps dusted the higher peaks of Panamint Mountain and an intermittent misty rain fell in the valley.
Arriving in Furnace Creek mid-afternoon, the sunlight was already fading behind the surrounding mountains.The greenery of this natural oasis stood in stark contrast to the many hues of brown, beige and pink of the desert. Life at the oasis is sustained by waters of a spring-fed creek flowing from the Amargosa Mountains. It was as though we had landed in the Garden of Eden. Soon, we were toasting our good fortune in the Lobby Bar with its stunning views and welcoming fireplace.
Opened in 1927, the original inn was designed in the spirit of other grand National Park and railroad hotels of the 1930s. Built originally with just 12 tourist rooms, the inn has been updated many times. The resort re-opened in 2017 with the addition of upscale villas, spa space and a refurbished dining room, kitchen and bar. Renamed the Historic Four-Diamond Inn at Death Valley, the look and feel of a 1920’s inn remains with the added amenities expected by today’s traveler.
Dark Sky Land: After dinner in the restaurant, we sat outside on the terrace and enjoyed the night air under a blanket of stars. Affected by only the smallest amount of light pollution, Death Valley is the largest Dark Sky Park in the country and center stage for stargazing. If you’re a stargazer, this is the place you want to be for a lunar eclipse or meteor shower.
That evening, we realized we weren’t the only ones appreciating Furnace Creek. Fortunately, the local coyotes who came by for a drink serenaded us early and their howlingly good social hour was brief. After a peaceful night’s sleep, we awoke ready for more exploration at the valley’s Artist’s Palette and Badwater Basin.
Furnace Creek: Before heading out we explored our immediate surroundings. The Furnace Creek community contains lodging, restaurants, a Visitor Center and the Borax Museum.
Housed in a vintage cabin, the museum offers a glimpse into the valley’s past, from the petroglyphs of the original Native Americans to historic gold digging tools used by miners. In the museum yard, we found remarkably well preserved 16-to-20 foot long “Twenty Mule Team” wagons and the steam engines of the Death Valley railroad. In the 1940s, a former railroad route brought tourists to the resort via Amargosa.
On this, our only full day in the valley, we explored several high points. (Although just being in the valley is really a very high point.) About 20 miles south of Furnace Creek, salt fields stretch off into the distance. Called Badwater Basin, this is the lowest place in all of North America. Attached to a cliff high overhead, a sign reads “Sea Level.” We craned our necks to view the sign while standing 282 feet below sea level. Death Valley’s annual rainfall rarely exceeds two inches and evaporates rapidly so we were lucky to see any at all. Information signage told us that the salt left behind after evaporation is so pure it can be used for table salt.
Artist’s Palette The drive around the Artist’s Palette nine-mile loop road wound through the foothills of the Amargosa Range as it took us through deep canyons suffused with rock formations in amazing shades of brown, beige, ocher, rose, pink, lavender and green.To name a few. Late afternoon sun’s lengthening rays deepened the rock’s varied hues. With few cars and people in the area, we comfortably absorbed yet one more artful, natural experience. Reflective, refreshed and full of meditative oohmm, we returned for dinner at Furnace Creek Inn. An eventful day was capped by a glorious sunset and the entertaining coyote happy hour.
After two days in Death Valley, we reluctantly needed to travel on without seeing Racetrack Playa (stones moved on the desert floor by wind and ice), Dante’s View, Eureka Valley or Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes. We’re saving those for next time.
Before departure the next morning, we filled up with gas, (there are only two gas stations in all of Death Valley.) We soon found a light mist falling that evaporated as fast as it fell. Disappearing before it hit the ground, it seemed more like a time-lapse photo. As we drove east, we had several more treats in store.
The marker at Zabriskie Point tells the story: “The otherworldly badlands around you are deathly silent and still. Yet this arid scene is the result of often violent action of water and earthquakes. Three to five million years ago — before the deepest part of Death Valley had formed — shimmering lakes filled a long, mountain-rimmed valley here. Fine silt and volcanic ash washed into the lake, settling to the bottom, ultimately creating the thick deposit of clay sandstone and siltstone that make up the Furnace Creek Formation. These once-level layers are being tilted by seismic activity and pressure that is folding the ancient valley’s floor. As the layers uplifted and were exposed, periodic rainstorms caused powerful gully washers that eroded the soft rocks into the chaotic yet strangely beautiful landscape we see today.”
Zabriskie Point’s sensuously creased cinnamon-shaded hills spread out in a panorama before us. Nature’s vast rumpled tablecloth, the rolling beige, yellow, green and rose-colored rock formations made me want to reach out and caress them. They were too distant and I too small, but with a camera, I gave them a brush. As we were walking back to the car, it started to drizzle and as we drove out of Zabriskie Point and onto the 2,000-foot gentle plateau south of Bat Mountain, a steady rain began to fall. The fresh scent of sage and clean, fresh air wafted in through the car windows. We thought we could hear the cactus, buckwheat and creosote bushes murmuring to one another, “Water! Ohmm.”
Death Valley meditation: Reflecting on all the obscure trails we had passed; each leading into new terrain and for me, uncharted ground, I pondered their possible metaphorical message: how entering a new trailhead in the right frame of mind, seeing each as one more potentially life-changing path with the possibility that it might even lead to purifying rain and possibly a personal flowering in the desert — ohmm. Yes, Death Valley had worked its magic.
If you go: Check ahead for clear weather and the schedule for Ranger-led programs, hosted by Death Valley National Park, complete with high-powered telescopes. Stargazers can view the moon’s surface, distant stars, and deep-sky objects at various park vantage points including the Mesquite Sand Dunes, Harmony Borax Works, and the Visitors Center. https://www.nps.gov/deva/
A version of this article was originally published in Epicurean Destinations.com.Visit www.epicureandestinations.com for worldwide in-depth coverage of travel destinations.
Related Articles: For my travel companion’s take on our trip, read the “Road to Death Valley Meditation” by John Sundsmo.
Read More on California’s Deserts here:: Palm Springs Indulges the Senses.
