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Travel: Death Valley - Plan B
Photographer Robert Ellis and his wife Tammy, the official Navigator on their adventures, have just returned from a quick tour of the American West, this time centered around Pahrump, Nevada, which gave them easy access to Death Valley National Park. Robert shares some thoughts about their trip, and will be sharing photos of their trip, which we'll link to this article.
By Robert Ellis, robertelliswoodworking.com
In planning for our recent trip, the weather "out west" would be the determining factor for which plan to incorporate. Plan A: if you would have guessed Utah again, you would be right. Only a week from departure, I cautiously approached the planner/navigator with the proposal of Plan B: Death Valley.
Initially, that notion was met with some slight disgruntlement. After doing some more serious research into that park, the plan soon shifted away from Utah. The main deciding factor was the temperatures for the two areas. Death Valley was expected to be warmer, with temperatures in the mid 60's to 70's; and with the current conditions of Kentucky's Arctic blast, Plan B would be welcoming!
Some of the upcoming photos of this series will be from some of the other locations we visited while out West as well.
In parting, I'll say this, we both loved Death Valley! It has now become one of our favorite trips out West. Modern travel makes it very easy to experience, both cheaply and quickly. Direct flight from Lexington to Las Vegas, then pickup the rental car and head to Pahrump, NV, an hour away. From that town you can reach two different entrances to Death Valley (more of that later) about an hour or an hour and a half depending on which way you enter. We experienced both. Hope you enjoy!]
This story was posted on 2026-02-13 09:07:59
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Travel: Badwater Basin (1 of 2)
2026-02-17 - Death Valley National Park, California - Photo by Robert Ellis, robertelliswoodworking.com.
Robert writes, "Another cool location in Death Valley National Park. Lowest spot in the United States, 282 feet below sea level. Water was present in the lake bed for our visit, with lots of folks taking off their shoes and wading in the ankle deep water.
Ironically, it is located less than 85 miles from Mount Whitney, the highest point in the contiguous United States."
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Travel: Artists Palette Drive (1 of 2)
2026-02-19 - Death Valley National Park, California - Photo by Robert Ellis, robertelliswoodworking.com.
Robert writes, "Another colorful place to visit in Death Valley National Park. It's a one-way, 9-mile drive that winds its way through scenes like this! I had stopped the car and headed towards the mountains to get a closer image, not realizing that just beyond the flat area where I was heading lies the road (unseen) that takes you right into the mountains...which we would later make our way, slowly, through."
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Travel: Artists Palette Drive (2 of 2)
2026-02-20 - Death Valley National Park, California - Photo by Robert Ellis, robertelliswoodworking.com.
Robert writes, "We stopped here along the Artist Palette Drive to do a small hike. Here Tammy is stopping to take a picture, staying on trail, and I ventured over to the edge of a drop off to take a picture of the desert flower, with attempts to use the natural colors of the mountains as a backdrop.
I quickly learned I had placed myself into a precarious predicament...I was on a slope, feet slipping, and next stop would be at the bottom of the drop off. I quickly fired off an image and thankfully was able to somehow make it back to the trail!"
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Travel: Golden Canyon
2026-02-22 - Death Valley National Park, California - Photo by Robert Ellis, robertelliswoodworking.com.
Robert writes, "This last hike of the day finishes day one of our visit. At this spot I think we are at the turn around point. The hikes goes on for more miles, connecting with four other trails. At this turn around spot we have already hiked around a mile (total walking/hiking for the day 5-6 miles) and we're flat worn out!
We visited the park using the entrance closest to the town of Parhrump. For day two we switched it up by traveling to Beatty, Neveda, which lies close to another entrance, albeit adding about an hour more driving time versus the Parhrump entrance."
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Travel: Rhyolite Ghost Town
2026-02-23 - near Beatty, Nevada - Photo by Robert Ellis, robertelliswoodworking.com.
Robert writes, "On day two of our visit to Death Valley, we used a different entrance. This time we would travel through the town of Beatty, Nevada. We stopped in Beatty to top off with gas (it is recommended to always fill up before you venture into Death Valley). The day before at the park we met some folks that had used this entrance and were told to look for the wild burros... 'You'll see them,' they said. We spotted some at a distance before arriving, but that was about it.
Leaving Beatty and heading towards Death Valley, suddenly a sign for Rhyolite appeared! I knew about the ghost town from watching several videos about it, but somehow I missed the part where it was so close to Death Valley...of course we will stop and pay a visit. You can read about the gold mining town at nps.gov
Before we could even make it to the old ghost town, we were greeted by this welcoming committee. What a start to the morning!"
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Travel: Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes (1 of 2)
2026-02-27 - Death Valley National Park - Photo by Robert Ellis, robertelliswoodworking.com.
Robert writes, "Day two of Death Valley. Finishing up exploring the surprise gem, ghost town Rhyolite, we finally made our way into the second entrance of the Death Valley National Park. First on the list would be to visit one of the five sand dunes. Mesquite Flats is the most popular due to the ease of getting there. Since we weren't traveling in a proper off-road vehicle, the others weren't considered. Something about sand dunes seem to bring out the kid in you... (wait for photo #2 of the dunes)
From a photography standpoint, the dunes are very popular, and you have to be willing to hike a good ways to eliminate any footprints in the photo; after a about a half mile I decided this is the spot I liked the most, foot prints or not. I loved the dunes!"
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Travel: Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes (2 of 2)
2026-02-28 - Death Valley National Park - Photo by Robert Ellis, robertelliswoodworking.com.
Robert writes, "While traipsing around the dunes looking for the right composition, I became intrigued with this group having fun on the sand. At times they were rolling down the hill, and later they started taking this type of photo.
Always on the lookout for street photography, I couldn't let this one pass. I lost count of how many times they replayed the scene, over and over. A large number of them were visiting the park via a tour bus, and this was just a handful from that group.
Backtracking... a night earlier at the hotel, I had noticed a tour bus parked outside. So the next morning, while heading to breakfast at the hotel, I noticed the same tour bus parked in the same spot again. I spotted a girl that had similar attire to the girls in the photo, and I had to know, so I struck up a conversation with her. I found out they were the ones jumping in the air. I did mention I was a ways off, and takings photos of them 'playing', and she said 'I saw you!' BUSTED!!!
Fortunately she didn't mind and laughed about it. Since I was so far away, and pushing the cell phone camera to its limits, the quality is low, but for me, I think the photo captures the essence of the moment."
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Travel: Mosaic Canyon (1 of 4)
2026-03-02 - Death Valley National Park - Photo by Robert Ellis, robertelliswoodworking.com.
Robert writes, "This trail was my favorite hike at Death Valley. We affectionately re-named it Marble Canyon for the polished white, 'marblish' stone that ran throughout the canyon. Turns out there's already another Marble Canyon in the park...oh well.
It's about a mile drive on gravel to get to the trailhead and after about a 20 minute drive over a washboard road, we found out there's no bathroom (pit toilet as they call it). The Navigator mentioned this a few times, while holding the park map; I should have turned around, but, the Driver was in denial. So, we had to backtrack and take the road for a second time back to the last known bathroom at Stovepipe Wells.
After round 3 of that little gremlin of a road we finally made it back to the trailhead. In the end, all the added drama was worth it, since it was such a cool hike. Left side of the image reveals the embedded stone from which the canyon gets the 'mosaic' name."
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Travel: Mosaic Canyon (2 of 4)
2026-03-02 - Death Valley National Park - Photo by Robert Ellis, robertelliswoodworking.com.
Robert writes, "Well into the hike, we reach this small hurdle. Tammy is seen here deciding, or rather pondering, which route to take over this slippery 'marble'. Since I was a ways back, I noticed others were having difficulty going any further. The easiest way seemed to be to get down on all-fours. Tammy chose the left, and I the right, both of us feet first. We both made it without falling down. Coming back posed a whole 'nuther problem."
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Travel: Red Rock Canyon
2026-03-06 - Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, Nevada - Photo by Robert Ellis, robertelliswoodworking.com.
Robert writes, "We finished our 2-day visit of Death Valley, and for our third day's planned adventure, we left Parahrump, Nevada, and headed back towards Las Vegas for Red Rock Canyon. I pulled over before we got there to take a picture of this scenic road. If you visit Las Vegas, and the weather is tolerable, this is a nice and quick place to visit, considering you're only about 17 miles west of the Vegas strip."
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Travel: Spring Mountain Ranch State Park (1 of 2)
2026-03-08 - Blue Diamond, Nevada - Photo by Robert Ellis, robertelliswoodworking.com.
Robert writes, "We took note of this park, passing by it on the way to Red Rock Canyon. If there was time, before heading to Vegas for the evening, we planned to check it out, since it was only about 5 miles from Red Rock.
Pulling up at the ticket booth I enquired what was the main attraction at the Ranch since you couldn't see it from that vantage point. The attendant told me that the famous Howard Hughes once owned the Ranch. That was enough of a lure to cause me to pay the entrance fee.
Turns out, after going inside the ranch, and speaking with one of the workers, Hughes never stepped foot on the ranch. That was okay, since the ranch was a beautiful place nestled around the red rock mountains, offering numerous hiking trails. The ranch house itself is now a museum, chock full of history for the history buffs! You can read about it at parks.nv.gov/parks/spring-mountain-ranch.
Above is an image from one of the trails. Honestly I enjoyed this park as much as Red Rock Canyon."
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