We left San Francisco in the evening and arrived in Death Valley at dawn. It was a thrill to be in the desert after the night’s journey – and a relief to be able to stretch my legs. (The seats on the Green Tortoise bus convert to beds but I was still feeling pretty crunchy).
We had stopped at the Mesquite Flat Dunes, the most accessible of the sand dunes in Death Valley. Sand dunes are not the dominant feature of Death Valley but it was a good place to start. After all, nothing says “desert” quite like a few sand dunes.
We had the opportunity for a stroll before breakfast. Half a dozen or so people set out for the highest, farthest sand dune. My husband and I, preferring some time to do our own thing, veered off to the left instead. The views were stunning, with golden dunes undulating across the valley. The wind had created ripples in the sand and also fashioned neat, angled peaks at the top of the dunes. I felt like we were mucking up the landscape with our footprints but I also knew that the wind would soon smooth everything out again.
We took our time to look around for wildlife. We didn’t see any animals but we did see a few snake tracks, one set leading into a little hole in the sand. We also saw some paw prints belonging to an unidentified animal.
This is part two of my series on Death Valley, which I visited in March 2010 with Green Tortoise Adventure Travel. Please read part one for an overview of the trip.
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