March 14, 2021 Echo Canyon Jeep Excursion

Sunset Campground Death Valley National Park Death Valley, California Day 3

This morning I was dragging…I walked a slow and easy, short walk. 

When I got back to the RV, we packed for our overnight Jeep excursion.  We stopped for gas at the park gas station.

We took the Echo Canyon Trail, a rough 4WD trail, for experienced drivers with high ground clearance and a short wheel base…hmmm.  There are some technical portions…but Tim had done his research and he was certain that we could do this trail.

We entered the canyon.

The Eye of the Needle.

Pretty…pretty

The Inyo Mining Site with lots of old abandoned buildings and mining equipment.

Now, to the interesting part of the trail.  First, up the hill.

Then lots of beauty.  The character of the rock formations continues to amaze me.  I really do wish I knew more about geology.

At the first real rock obstacle, Tim got out to assess the situation.  Yes, he thought it was doable.   He said: “Don’t worry, it will be fine.”  I stood below, taking video footage.  That Jeep is a beast and it climbed right up the rocks.  We made it through the trickiest segments and I said: “Sometimes, I think you’re crazy!”  His reply: “I’m not crazy, I’m happy!”  That’s Austin’s line!  Enjoy our videos.

Tim is a very good driver and he does carefully look before attempting any obstacle and I always feel safe with him.

We went up and over the mountains.  The views were spectacular.

We found a sweet camping spot in a small box canyon. 

We watched the last vestiges of sunlight on the top of the mountains.

We drank wine, listened to music, had a fire, and made omelets for our dinner…we were happy campers!

Tim saw pretty colors in the sky behind me and he made me go and look.  I am so glad he did.  As I was taking pictures, I caught movement out of the corner of my eye.  There were bighorn rams standing on the ridge, looking right at us.  We counted a total of nine.     Maybe they were coming to claim their sleeping spot.  We had noticed, earlier in the evening, scat and flattened grasses where the sheep might have lain.  The sheep were making their way down the steep and rocky slope.  We could hear the clattering of stones falling into the canyon below.  We watched until it was too dark to see.