Tupippuh National Park ?

 What’s in a name ?

Death Valley, California 

Each time we made a trip to Las Vegas we passed this town of Baker,California that boasts the world’s tallest thermometer. The road signs for Death Valley near Baker would prompt Abhay (my husband) to take a detour and I would discourage him every single time because it would be middle of summer and temperatures would be in 3 digits. 

Something about the name and its notoriety for record high temperatures made me hesitant to visit Death Valley.

Turns out I am not the only one who didn’t like the name.Before the white settlers arrived here, Death Valley was home to the Timbisha Shoshone Native American tribe. They came to inhabit the area about 2000 years back. They called it Tupippuh or “ homeland “. They had survived its hardships for over a 1000 years. They knew where the springs were located and therefore could find water when they needed. For them everything in this place had a spiritual significance. Timbisha itself refers to hematite, a mineral they used for painting. They named themselves after this mineral that signifies healing and protection. I can understand how distasteful they must have found when their spiritual land was named as Death Valley by the white settlers. And why did the new people name it so ? Because when the extreme heat caused them exhaustion, dehydration and delirium they didn’t know where to find water or a way out of the valley, and death became inevitable.

After almost three decades of avoiding this place I wanted to visit it. Planned it a few times in the last 3-4 years but it got stalled for one reason or another. This past weekend we wanted to get out and most other places on our list like Yosemite or Bishop were too cold with lows in 20s and highs in 40s. In contrast, Death Valley was showing a comfortable forecast; low in mid 40s and high of 85. Without prior reservations or any timetable we set out Saturday morning. 

3 weekends in a row we were climbing up the Tehachapi mountains going from eastbound California highway 58 to northbound highway 14 near Mojave. About 16 miles on Hwy 14 was the exit to Redrock Randsburg Road. From this point the entire route was completely new to us. The road becomes Garlock Road taking you past this seemingly ghost town of Garlock before reaching US 395. A brief 3 miles drive on the freeway going north then turning east onto Searles Station road which continues as Searles Station cutoff road . Again we turned northward on Trona road. Going over the vast expanse of the Spangler Hills in Northwestern San Bernardino County we saw several groups of youngsters with their ATVs and motor bikes enjoying the day. Literally these 57000 acres of public land is paradise for these adventures. Further northeast Trona Road continues past the Trona Pinnacles( more about it in an upcoming post). The entire area comes within the Searles Valley ( more in the next post).

We took a brief stop at a general store cum gas station in the town of Trona before proceeding. Trona road continued as Trona Wildrose Road. These roads are named after the towns they connect. The road descends steeply from the Sierras into the Panamint Valley. Indeed there are breathtaking views of the valley from higher elevations in this road. We saw a combat jet fly by as we stopped there for pictures. Taking advantage of the peculiar location I even managed to change into a different saree while parked on a turnout on the steep slope. 

From Trona Wildrose road we made a left onto Panamint Road. It is a rather fun road with dips and elevations running through the valley desert area along the tall Panamint mountain range on the right( east). This road culminated into Highway 190.  Going eastward Hwy 190 rose to an elevation of nearly 5000 feet before descending and taking  us right into the national park. It was about 2 pm when we reached there. 

Much to our surprise entering Stovepipe Wells we saw an Inn. First thing we did was go inside and enquire if they had vacancy. It must be our lucky day. We got a room though the check in would be only after 4 pm. Now we could spend our time relaxed in the park without having to rush home in the night. On the porch of the Stovepipe Wells Village ( the name of the Inn) we sat and ate the sandwiches we had picked earlier in Tehachapi. 

We were out on the road driving past the ranger station and the Sand Dunes, eastward on highway 190 towards Badwater Basin. We passed Furnace Creek, one of the prominent locations midway into the park. Here too there was lodging, restaurants and gas. A golf course too ! Suddenly in the middle of the desert it appeared like an oasis with date palms and other greenery. 

We made a right at the fork ahead . First stop was at Golden Canyon. Took the trail in the canyon. The moon was seen rising over the eastern mountains and was straight ahead as we hiked in the canyon. It felt rather hot and the shaded areas of the canyon were very much appreciated. Abhay was truly impressed by the canyon geography and kept saying “ feels like being on Mars”. Turns out this national park has been a favorite location for several films about The Red Planet.

Moving on from the Golden Canyon we took the 5 miles one way scenic drive at Artists Palette. The volcanic ash that erupted thousands of years back is believed to have mixed with the clay in the soil and led to several chemical reactions to create a spellbinding array of colors. The reactions are still a mystery to the geologists. 

The Badwater Basin was another 11 miles South from Artist Palette. It is where lies the lowest point in the whole of North America,282 feet below sea level. If we went there we probably couldn’t have made it on time to Zabriskie point. So we decided to skip this and turn back. 

Further east on  highway 190 is Zabriskie Point. The Borax Mining Company had a big presence in the history of the valley. The point is named after one of its executives. This site is an overlook for the magnificent mountainous formations in various shades caused by wind erosions. Below in the valley we could see the hikers approaching from the Golden Canyon trail. Witnessing a magnificent sunset more than fulfilled the visit. 

Earlier we had passed by The Inn at Death Valley, a four star resort, close to the bifurcation of Hwy 190 and Badwater road. As we returned from Zabriskie Point we decided to check out if this place had a restaurant. A guest in the parking lot affirmed that the restaurant is really good but usually requires a reservation. We walked upstairs and checked with the hostess. Again luck was on our side. She gave us a spot for 6 pm. The interim 30 minutes were happily spent in the lobby where for the first time we availed of WiFi and got in touch with the family. 

Dinner was a happy surprise in the desert. An elegant sit down restaurant in the heart of a national park is not such a common commodity. Abhay never cared for caprese salad until that day. It was just too good to escape notice. The chipotle pesto pasta that followed exceeded  the expectations set by the salad. And the prickly cactus pear margarita perfectly complimented the food. 

The 30-40 minutes drive back to Stovepipe Wells under the starry skies was a perfect finale for a beautiful day.

The hotel room was clean and kept well. It had all basic amenities. Much to my delight there was an ironing board with iron that came handy for a last minute press on the saree for the  next day as well as to put away sarees worn earlier in the day. Got a good night’s sleep and woke up early. Abhay wouldn’t wake up early so I just put on my jacket and left the room in my pajamas to catch a glimpse of the sunrise. 

Didn’t have to drive too far. Just a mile or so from the hotel are the sand dunes. Indeed these are a beautiful part of landscape of this national park.  It was about 45 degrees with a light breeze. There were already some people out there on the sands taking pictures. Some professional photographers had set their tripods and were ready on location. My photographer not being with me I was content with a selfie as reminder of this outing. The dawn skies were charming and so was the pre sunrise glow on the surrounding mountains. After all the eager wait finally the golden moment arrived and our beloved star, the sun peeped from behind one of the peaks and continued to make the grand entrance into the valley. Having witnessed this beautiful moment I happily returned to the room.

The shower was refreshing and hot water felt good.. Our pastries picked from Tehachapi the day before and tea in the room were perfect for breakfast. A quick stop at the gift shop across the street was fun browsing through the various souvenirs. I picked an interesting book there which had some very interesting trivia about Death Valley. 

Next stopped by the Park Ranger Station to pick up the official National Park Services map. The ranger was getting ready to hoist the flag. I was the lone witness to this early morning ceremony. It was 9 am and we were on the road back home. But with a promise to return here soon, hopefully with the kids and with my sister to enjoy the place more leisurely. Indeed Death Valley is full of life. The Native Americans knew better. There is a spiritual presence here. The silence in the valley speaks to the soul. The sunrise and sunset bring light to the heart. The colorful canyons inspire creativity. The long open roads and surrounding mountains instill a sense of hope and adventure. And the open starry skies fill the mind with joy. We returned completely rejuvenated in just a short time. I hope in my lifetime someone will change the name back to Tupippuh (The Homeland). 

Saree is a tussar Kotpad from Odisha. Also in the picture is another tussar from Odisha with a colorful extra weft weave on its pallu that I had draped when I left from home only to change midway because it didn’t seem to look bright enough in the light that day.