Have you toured Death Valley National Park yet? For many people the answer is no, and the reason is not necessarily surprising. Death Valley is one of the hottest places on earth, and holds one of the recognized hottest air temperatures ever recorded on earth at 134 degrees at the beginning of the century. Every year, that record temperature is challenged and comes close to being broken, and every year new heat records are set. Death Valley this year recorded more July days consecutively over 110 degrees than ever before in history, and the temperature records show no signs of stopping any time soon. Many people will answer that they haven’t visited Death Valley because it is too hot, and why would anyone want to visit a place that is one of the most extreme climates on earth?
The answer that we have for these people is that yes it is hot, but by touring it with Bindlestiff Tours you get to experience the completely unique climate in a way that is not uncomfortable and is not dangerous. Our tours are typically considered “adventure tours” where we will hike and explore for extended periods of time. Death Valley presents a different challenge however, in that you cannot be out in the extreme temperatures for the long periods that we would in other areas. For this reason we have created a version of our tour that is more of a sightseeing tour, where we move from point of interest to point of interest in our climate controlled vans and then spend 20 minutes or so exploring each of them. We allow you to get a sense of the area and see the unique features of the climate, but make sure that we do not spend extended periods of time out in the sun so as to avoid the issues that some may have with heat and sun. We spend longer periods of time when we are in climate controlled areas like Furnace Creek and The Borax Museum, but will generally limit our time at each stop to about 20 minutes. This schedule provides us with more than enough time to get a good sense of the extreme climate and see the unique features that have been created over thousands of years of baking sun, before cooling off in the van on the way to the next stop.
One thing that is worth noting is that Death Valley is not as barren as people think. There are actually thousands of species of plants and animals that live and thrive in these conditions, having adapted over hundreds of thousands of years to the heat and sun. Plants grow shorter to the ground with deeper stretching roots. Animals have developed thick skins and the ability to go without water for lengthy periods. The landscape is totally unique, and unlike anything that most visitors have ever experienced.
So are you ready to tour Death Valley? If you are, book your trip right now during the summer and see what it is famous for. We provide Death Valley tours year round.