2022-12-26, 11:03 AM
My apologies for the delayed update. My November trip now feels so long ago. I very much appreciated all the advice here. As far as I can remember, this is how things played out.
On day 1, I woke up well before dawn in Las Vegas and started driving to the park. Wow, seeing the mountains in the distance change color with the brightening of the sky was an experience in and of itself! They were interesting shades of lavender, lilac, and violet. I had breakfast at The Inn once I arrived, and then I went to Furnace Creek to see the exhibits. I spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon driving Twenty Mule Team Canyon Road and hiking Mummy Canyon. I checked into Longstreet Inn afterwards.
On day 2, I woke up very early to drive to the parking lot of Dante's View well before sunrise. I saw the sun come up there, and it was truly an experience. Afterwards, I drove to Zabriskie Point to see the latter part of the morning, but by the time I arrived, it seemed like the most spectacular views had already diminished. It was still beautiful, though. Since I was on east coast time, I was already anticipating feeling sleepy early in the day, so I drove out to Badwater right afterwards instead of waiting for sunset to approach. I did a quick detour at Devil's Golf Course. At Badwater, I walked about 2 miles out to see the salt polygons and get away from the crowds, but again, the view was less than ideal because of the mid-day sun. On the way back, I did Artist's Drive.
On day 3, I did sunrise at Mesquite Sand Dunes, and it was gorgeous. The road to Beatty had just opened up right before my trip, so I took it out to Beatty and saw the Rhyolite ruins and sculptures. Then I had breakfast at Gema's Cafe. I drove back to Longstreet Inn, stopping at Big Dune on the way, which was an unplanned detour, but I saw the signs along the highway, so I said, "Why not?" Wow, it was a hidden gem.
On day 4, I checked out of the hotel and drove back to Las Vegas.
It was all great!
On day 1, I woke up well before dawn in Las Vegas and started driving to the park. Wow, seeing the mountains in the distance change color with the brightening of the sky was an experience in and of itself! They were interesting shades of lavender, lilac, and violet. I had breakfast at The Inn once I arrived, and then I went to Furnace Creek to see the exhibits. I spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon driving Twenty Mule Team Canyon Road and hiking Mummy Canyon. I checked into Longstreet Inn afterwards.
On day 2, I woke up very early to drive to the parking lot of Dante's View well before sunrise. I saw the sun come up there, and it was truly an experience. Afterwards, I drove to Zabriskie Point to see the latter part of the morning, but by the time I arrived, it seemed like the most spectacular views had already diminished. It was still beautiful, though. Since I was on east coast time, I was already anticipating feeling sleepy early in the day, so I drove out to Badwater right afterwards instead of waiting for sunset to approach. I did a quick detour at Devil's Golf Course. At Badwater, I walked about 2 miles out to see the salt polygons and get away from the crowds, but again, the view was less than ideal because of the mid-day sun. On the way back, I did Artist's Drive.
On day 3, I did sunrise at Mesquite Sand Dunes, and it was gorgeous. The road to Beatty had just opened up right before my trip, so I took it out to Beatty and saw the Rhyolite ruins and sculptures. Then I had breakfast at Gema's Cafe. I drove back to Longstreet Inn, stopping at Big Dune on the way, which was an unplanned detour, but I saw the signs along the highway, so I said, "Why not?" Wow, it was a hidden gem.
On day 4, I checked out of the hotel and drove back to Las Vegas.
It was all great!