Riley’s Death Valley Jeep Adventure

Because the park is so big, you can put in some serious miles just to see a fraction of it. Many areas are accessible by car, but some of the best parts require high-clearance 4-wheel drive and that’s where the jeep rental comes in. For slightly less than the down payment on a house, you can pick up a jeep at 8am and have it until 6am the next morning! The best part – this was something Riley could enjoy too!

Riley gives the Jeep 2-paws up!

We were first in line at the jeep rental bright and early Wednesday (4/18) morning. We opted for the larger 4-door version and put the back seats down so Riley had plenty of room to stretch out. On the recommendation of the rental staff, our first stop was Rhyolite, a ghost town just outside the park in Nevada. It has some interesting art installations and old buildings.

Art in the desert!

The 1905 Tom Kelley Bottle House.
Yep, it's built out of bottles. Somebody drank a lot!!

The ruins of several old buildings remain.

Our real objective was Titus Canyon, a 26-mile one-way 4-wheel drive only road we had heard was not to be missed. It was awesome!! The scenery was just spectacular – huge volcanic formations, the aptly named Red Pass, and a very fun stretch of slot canyon. Definitely a highlight of our trip!

Titus Canyon - 26 miles of 4WD fun!

Red Pass.

Riley is loving this!

Some of the best scenery in the park.

Interesting and colorful geological features.

And the canyon narrows...

How cool is that?

A jeepy slot canyon.

After Titus Canyon we made our way to Ubehebe Crater – a 600’ deep crater that was formed by an explosion hundreds of years ago when magma hit an underground spring. The winds here were terrifying. You can hike around the crater, but since I could barely stay on my feet that got a pass.

Ubehebe Crater.

Our second high priority 4WD bucket list item was the Racetrack. To get there it’s 2 hours and 27 miles down a washboard gravel road, so you really gotta want it. The payoff at the end of this bone-jarring trek is a 2-mile long oval playa (dry lake bed) with the “Grandstand” jutting like an island in the center. Huh, you say. But wait that’s not all! The really, really cool thing here are the mysterious moving rocks. For decades scientists have tried to figure out what causes certain rocks, some weighing up to 600 pounds, to scoot across the lakebed leaving shallow trails in their wake. The currently accepted theory is a very specific combination of circumstances involving rain, freezing temps, sun and wind. Me – I’m going with gremlins!

Joshua Trees in Death Valley.

Riley enjoying the views.

Tea Kettle Junction.
Why? I have no idea. :) 

The Racetrack.

The mysterious moving rocks. 

These guys get around!

The Grandstand at the Racetrack.

Lunch time.
Daddy has Riley's undivided attention, or at least his sandwich does! Lol. 

After the long teeth-rattling slog back to paved road, we headed for Furnace Creek and home. Since we are seriously considering a jeep as our next towed vehicle it was great to give one a day-long test drive and get Riley’s two-paws up. 😊 We reluctantly ended our 4-wheeling adventure and turned it back into the rental place around 7pm.

Enough excitement for one day, time for a nap.

Riley loved his jeep day, we got thank you kisses.

The weather forecast was cooler for Thursday, which sounded like a perfect opportunity for a hike. Riley got to chill in the coach while we hit a few more of the sights and did a bit of walkabout. We’ll see if we can manage to wrap up our Death Valley adventures in the next post.