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Having found it difficult to find accommodation in the Grand Canyon, we found it even harder to find anything in or around Death Valley, as unknown to us at the time it was their busiest time of year! We eventually found a motel in a town called Ridgecrest and getting there involved a very boring drive along Highway 40 (a very very straight road which seemed to go on forever!) across the Arizona border and back into California. Ridgcrest, although convenient, didn't have any character and really just consisted of food outlets and Motels/Hotels. But it was only 2 hours from Death Valley!
Setting off early (well, ish!!) we arrived at the visitors centre around midday and set off exploring the remote and desolate but very beautiful desert. Our first port of call was Dante's View which gave us spectacular views over the whole valley. After a very twisty drive down from the view point it was on to 20 Mule Team Canyon, a fun off-road drive through a rocky, sandy terrain (which our little rental car had fun with as all the others cars on the road were 4x4s!) which made us feel like we were driving across the surface of mars! Next was Zabriese Point, followed by the salt water flats at Badwater Basin (the lowest elevation in the US), and then on to the scenic Artists Drive which included the colourful Artists Palete. We had a quick pit stop at Furnace Creek Ranch to cool down (we were in the desert after all!) and then finished the day off walking across the Sand Dunes at Stovepipe Wells. By this time it was getting dark so we hit the road, travelling the 2 hours back to our motel in Ridgecrest.
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