Death valley at night
Wall art decor of the night sky in Death Valley, California, USA. The milky way and the Harmony Borax Works wagons
Who would explore Death Valley California in July? The temperature soars to over 110 degrees on a regular basis. The unpredictability that lies in the Valley of Death is both dangerous and yes, unpredictable! Flash flooding is a common occurrence and sand storms are always lurking around the corner.
Most signs of life have left Death Valley, California for the summer months. That's why I am packing my bags and camera gear and heading to the center of Death Valley for 3 weeks.
For me it's a welcome change from the sub-zero temperatures of the far reaching arctic. Let's see if Death Valley can kick my butt. Iceland, Norway, Alaska and many other arctic locations have tried and failed, so let's give the desert a try at it.
I'm an avid hiker, but let me tell you that trying to hike in Death Valley is a monstrous challenge as well as extremely dangerous, seriously. I was able to do some short 1 to 3 mile hikes to capture some unique landscapes, but even crazy man Dean knows better than to push Mother Nature too hard, she will always bite back.
After a glorious week of profuse sweating and exploring all that the valley has to offer, I decided to take a boring, lazy day off. Sleep, rest, try to catch some Netflix if the Wifi signal would allow. Then head out to the famous Harmony Borax Works at Furnace Creek at 10pm and spend the night stargazing and photographing the night sky.
The conditions were perfect. There was no moon, no sand storms, no flash floods, no people, no light pollution and the temperature was a cool 101 degrees.
Setting up my gear was a breeze lol as the sweat dripped from my forehead. Searching through my backpack for the water, where is the water? I know I brought some. Finally, sit relax and sip some bathtub warm water.
All was good because now it was time for my camera to do the work. And what beautiful work it did!
I spent most of the night at Harmony Borax works, snapping shots of the ever eluding Milky Way, the thousands of twinkling stars in the calm night sky.
The sun was finally rising as I got back to my AirBnb and I was totally exhausted, but as usual, it was all worth it. Time for a shower and some sleep.
I hope you enjoy my Death Valley sky art. Enjoy it in your home in whatever room you decide to hang it.
From my camera to your home :)