We set an alarm to get up and started early because this is a huge park with no viable lodging on the west side of the park, the side we chose for this trip. Google Maps said it was 40 miles to the park entrance and 105 miles to the visitor center. I wish Google or any of the sources I checked would have told me there was a park visitor center at the corner of US395 and CA136 just outside of Lone Pine, where we were staying. So, I downloaded the park map on the phone just in case we couldn't find one.
On the way to the park, we drove by Owens Lake again. We drove past it on the way up, too. It looked like just another salt lake, but this one has a very interesting history. Owens Lake used to be a salt lake, similar to but smaller than the Great Salt Lake. That is, until the Owens River was diverted to fill the LA aquifer in 1913. The lake finally went completely dry in 1926. Since then, it has become the largest single source of dust pollution in the US. And that's not just any dust. This salt flat contains an alkaline powder dust that carries harmful levels of particulates and chemicals, including such carcinogens as cadmium, nickel, and arsenic among other toxic respiratory particulates. To try to mitigate this and provide habitat for the birds and other animals that used this previously healthy wetland as either home or as a migration stop, 5% of the water flow was restored in 2006. To further attempt to mitigate the air pollution, the state is using 3.5 square miles of managed vegetation covers, mostly saltgrass and gravel. LA is also “shallow flooding” 27 square miles of the salt pan. They hope this will minimize the alkaline dust storms, but I would think they would want to do more. There are multiple chemical extraction companies operating on and around the lake, so there isn't really much of a push to fix the issue at this time. The town of Keeler appears to be a company town dedicated to one of those mining companies.
It was a good thing I downloaded that map because the visitor center was closed that early in the morning, though it was apparently open when we were driving around last night. And the park entrance was just the sign. No fee station. No maps.
Soon after entering the park, we saw Rainbow Canyon and watched it all the way until we finally got to the Father Crowley overlook. It was beautiful. I love colorful canyons. Apparently, this one is used for flight training. I might have to watch Top Gun again just to see the canyon in action. They did a lot of filming in the area for that movie.
There's a LOT of driving in this park. We drove through Panamint Springs and saw the different wildflowers that were in bloom. There hasn't been enough rain for a super bloom, but there were pretty desert flowers. As we went downhill, the temperature was going up, and the landscape also changed.
We made it to the sand dunes, and I walked out and saw them. They are amazing! As far as can be seen. They are formed from the erosion of the mountains on either side, which gets trapped in this spot and just blows around from dune to dune. A couple of boys had an inner tube that they were trying to sled down the dunes with. It wasn't working. Probably because of the hole in the tube through which their butts dragged the ground. At one point, they lost control of the tube, which started rolling across the tops of the dunes. At times, it would start wobbling, but the wind would catch it again, and off it would go. It finally went down the hill and the kids were able to catch it.
We stopped at the visitor center and got a map and flat penny. They gave us another pass holder and said to display our pass on the mirror, but with the wind, it kept trying to blow off. I had planned to go down to Dante's View to see everything from one vantage point and then go down to see the individual things. It didn't work out that way. I told Bruce to take the turn to Badwatter, so we did all of those things first.
The salt on Badwater was kinda powdery. Probably a mix like that on Lake Owen, but they didn't say anything about other minerals on the signs. I looked it up, and the composition of the salts in Badwater does not have the toxic components – like arsenic – but does have other minerals – like borax. We walked out on it. There are special snails that live in the pools.
This is the lowest point on the North American continent at 282 feet below sea level. This is only 132 miles from the highest point in the contiguous US, Mt. Whitney.
On the way back up to the main drive from Badwater and the Devils Golf Course, we took the loop around Artist Drive to Artist Point. This area is known for its multiple colors and textures. This was one of the highlights for me, though definitely don't miss the sand dunes!
We stopped to see another friend in Sacramento on the way home and another overnight stop in Roseburg, Oregon. We had to kill some time before check-in in Roseburg so went to a park. There were lots of squirrels and geese and Rosebud trees. I was surprised at the number of acorn woodpeckers! I even got one in flight! I should have taken the time to get The Baby out (my camera with the big lens), but the Lumix did an acceptable job!