March 15, 2021 Titus Canyon

Sunset Campground Death Valley National Park Death Valley, California Day 4

We woke up at 1:30 in the morning.   It was bright and brisk.  Our little wedge of sky was glittering with stars.

This morning it was very chilly.  We were very grateful for our fire and coffee. 

After we had all our gear put away, we headed down through the Amargosa Valley, finally finding pavement.

We decided to take the Titus Canyon drive.  High clearance vehicles are recommended for this road but today, it was in fairly good condition.  First, we traveled through the Grapevine Mountains.  Breathtaking scenery at every turn and twist.

A mining ghost town.

Petroglyphs at Klare Springs.

These springs are the only source of water in Titus Canyon, a 30-mile stretch.  Sheep can be seen drinking here in the mornings and evenings. 

The last portion of the trail wove through narrow canyons.  I had a really hard time eliminating pictures.  This drive was amazing.  We have spent time in Death Valley before and we missed this trek…but if you come here…you must take this ride!  It is definitely among my top ten favorite drives!

The mouth of the canyon and the end of the tour for today. I was almost sad for it to be over…it was so pretty.

All afternoon, the wind had been picking up speed.  As we drove back to the campground, sand was blowing across the road.  Over the dunes, great plumes of sand and dust hung suspended in the wind.

Back at the RV, we noticed our slide-out cover had become mangled with the wind.  When you travel as much as we do, you know that this is just one of those things that sometimes goes wrong.  But it is fixable!  We will find a place to get it repaired and move on.  We saw that wind speeds were about 27 miles an hour and then there were great gusts.  We were glad to be protected in the RV…safe and warm.  The wind shifted directions several times and right now itis blowing from the dunes.   We are in the middle of a sandstorm!