We continued our journey to Death Valley.  There are a lot of cool vistas in Death Valley that you won't see anywhere else, but we decided that it's a 10-year park...one that we'd visit maybe once every 10 years.  We stopped by Dante's View, Zabriskie's Point, Badwater, Devil's Golf Course, and Artist's Drive before pulling into Furnace Creek campground.  Each had a very unique look to it, almost unlike anywhere else on this planet.  I've always enjoyed visiting the extremes and Badwater as the lowest point in the United States was a highlight.  We definitely should have consumed more fluids, as we were all looking to guzzle water at the end of the evening.
     
Whereas most parks ramp up for their busy season in May, Death Valley enters its slow season.  Most of the stops and campgrounds are unmanned by NPS staff.  We just pulled into the relatively primative campground, found a friendly piece of dirt with a number (literally) and posted our self-service receipt.  The kids immediately went to work rolling in the dirt while we made fajitas.  I had purposely kept us busy until the sun was setting, as the air temperature was 100+ and I don't particular enjoy a camp atmosphere with that heat.  Jessica had to hose the kids off, literally, before bed because they were so grubby.

Bam, the sun nails you when you wake up and it starts cooking you and you start getting sunburned early in this park.  We packed up quickly, but not before taking a picture of the $4.24/gallon gas.  Crowley Point on the way out was an unexpected bonus.  Death Valley is one of those places I've always wanted to visit, but now that I've been there, it feels like one of those places I've crossed off my bucket list.