BRIEFCASE EXCURSIONS
ANOTHER WORLD—
JUST TWO HOURS FROM THE STRIP
T
he next time you are in Las Vegas,
extend your trip to take an excursion
that is completely different (and we
mean completely) from the glitz of the
neon city. Within two hours, you can be
in one of the most remote, austere, and
beautiful places in the United States—
Death Valley National Park.
Death Valley became a national park in 1994, making it
one of the more recently designated parks in our system.
It is the largest in the contiguous United States, covering
nearly 3.4 million acres of desert wilderness. Death Valley
56 FALL 2012
offers extremes. Parts of it are below sea level, yet peaks
with winter snow surround the valley. Although it is one
of the hottest and driest places on Earth, spring brings
fields of wildflowers.
Despite the harsh conditions, there is something very special about Death Valley. Frequently, we are asked, “Why
would you want to go to Death Valley?” A great answer
came from a young man we met from the United Kingdom. He said, “This is my seventh trip here. I can’t explain
the draw. There is a spiritual quality in the starkness and
utter beauty. It is unique—unlike any other place I’ve seen
on this Earth.”
Pam Ellis and Peggy Edwards
Mountains over Death Valley
A full gas tank at the start of each day and a list of the very
Arriving from the east, stop at the Furnace Creek Visitor
few gas stations are essential (along with that map!).
Center to get your bearings. Pick up a map before you arrive. The reason is illustrated on the National Park Service
There are seventeen designated points of interest
website. It reads, “There is no specific street
in the park. While all are worthy of a visit, keep
address for the Furnace Creek Visitor Center.
in mind that each can be miles from the next
Many GPS users have had success using the
stop in your itinerary. It would take many days
street address for the Death Valley Post Office,
to cover even a portion of the park so we recomwhich is located about 400 meters south.”
mend you focus on these six exceptional points
Unlike many national parks, there are no buses
of interest: Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes rising
or park transportation available for sightseeing.
BRIEFCASE
EXCURSIONS
Briefcase Excursions are quick explorations of out-of-the-ordinary areas near cities you might
travel to for business. Designed to cover the highlights, they present interesting activities
and provide lodging and dining suggestions that are worthy of note.
THE BAR ASSOCIATION OF SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO ATTORNEY 57
majestically 100 feet against a backdrop of the mountains
that make Death Valley an actual valley; Zabriskie Point,
a favorite stop to enjoy gorgeous views either at sunrise
or sunset; Artist’s Drive, a one-way loop road that showcases the blazing colors of the minerals in the hills; Badwater Basin boasting the lowest place in North America at
282 feet below sea level; Devil’s Golf Course, a vast field
of salt crystal deposits that form spectacular and eerie
formations on the floor of the valley; and Dante’s View,
where on a clear day you can see both the highest point
in the continental United States (Mount McKinley) and
the lowest point.
Spending one night at Stovepipe Wells Village Hotel (a
motel-type complex) near Mesquite Flat Dunes and another in the Furnace Creek area will give you access to
our recommended points of interest. At Stovepipe Wells,
before you settle in for the night, enjoy the way the late
afternoon sun casts intriguing shadows on the huge sand
dunes. Rise before sunup and walk the cool dunes before the sun sizzles the sand. The dunes are different every
hour of every day with wind blowing designs in the sand
while sunlight creates brushstrokes of different lighting.
The venerable Inn at Furnace Creek is a lovely old hotel
with scads of Death Valley history. It is pricey but offers old-world charm and ambience. After a morning
of exploring, stop at the inn for a very civilized lunch.
The dining room comes with tablecloths and spectacular
views! A lodging alternative is the Furnace Creek Ranch.
The Furnace Creek area is as convenient to the points of
interest as it gets in Death Valley.
As you leave the park, consider returning to Las Vegas
via route 374 toward Beatty, Nevada. Just outside of the
park is the ghost town of Rhyolite. In 1904, when gold
was discovered, Rhyolite quickly became one of the largest towns in Nevada. Its success was short lived because
the mines failed with a lack of financing after the 1906
San Francisco earthquake. The Kelly Bottle House stands
today along with ruins of other buildings that conjure up
what Rhyolite must have been. Beatty itself is, as one local
person put it, a “one-horse town” with a few casinos and
working brothels thrown in for good measure.
Return, if you must, to Las Vegas. But we are betting the
memories and pictures of Death Valley will last much
longer than your money in the casinos.
Business partners Pam Ellis and Peggy Edwards developed
Briefcase Excursions after too many airport to hotel to conference center to hotel to airport trips. They decided to break the
cycle and add a day or two of exploring for their mental and
physical well being.
ARTISTRY IN THE SAND
ZABRISKIE
POINT
DEVIL’S GOLF COURSE
ARTIST’S
DRIVE
THE BAR ASSOCIATION OF SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO ATTORNEY 59