RHH's photos

While in Death Valley National Park we rented a four-wheel-drive Jeep for two days in order to explore some of the backcountry. One area we explored took us through Warm Spring Canyon, to Butte Valley where we saw several old prospector's cabins and Striped Butte, one of the striking features of this beautiful valley.

This cabin is in Butte Valley in the backcountry of Death Valley National Park. It is called the Geologist's Cabin but was built by a a prospector. It is available on a first-come, first-serve basis and is a rather comfortable and attractive accommodation. We had hoped to stay there but it had already been occupied. In the end that proved a good thing for us since we had rented a Jeep to exp;lore the backcountry and were able to see a lot more than we would have seen if we had spent the rest of the day in the area of the cabin.

This is Desolation Canyon in Death Valley National Park. We hiked there the last day of our stay in the park at the advice of a park ranger, and thoroughly enjoyed the hike. Because Death Valley is so often without vegetation the amazing colors of the rocks show and I trust the photos I've posted give some idea not only of what the canyons are like but of the colors of the rocks.

The last day of our stay in Death Valley National Park we asked a ranger at the visitors' center a out hiking and she suggested Desolation Canyon, a hike she had done herself. It wwas a hike we had not done previously and enjoyed it very much.

Darwin Falls is in a narrow canyon near Panamint Springs in Death Valley. In the floods of 2023 the road to the trailhead for the falls was washed out, turning a short hike of two miles into a much longer hike of seven miles. We decided to do the hike anyway and arrived at the falls to find that area much changed by the flooding. In 2018 when we were at the falls there was a large pool at the base of the falls which is now gone and the trees near the falls were also gone. The hike to the falls has become more of a scramble as well. The inset photo from 2018 shows the falls as they were and the second inset shows the washed-out road.

This was the road to the trail head to Darwin Falls in Death Valley National Park. The floods of 2022 and 2023 washed out much of the road. We hiked to the falls, but the hike is now seven miles instead of two miles.

The end of our day in Arches National Park we watched the sunset at the Garden of Eden Overlook in the Windows Section. The formation on the right is Ham Rock and Balanced Rock is visible in the distance.

This was the sunset in Arches National Park the day we spent there. The view is from the Garden of Eden Overlook and the mountains are the La Sal Mountains.

The Factory Butte area is a busy recreation area near Hanksville, Utah, used for camping, off-road vehicles and other outdoor activities. This is Factory Butte from one of the roads in the area. We were there to visit Moonscape Overlook.