Personal Narrative: Death Valley National Park Trip
Death Valley National Park Trip
My family and I arrived at the Death Valley National Park at the Mohave Desert in California, and saw the sign that said “Homeland of the Timbisha Shoshone”. We got out of the car to find it scorching hot. I hadn't realized that it would be this hot in the afternoon, even though it was July. We checked into one of the many hotels there, which was the Inn at Furnace Creek. It was one of the most charming hotels I've ever seen. My mom said to the friendly attendant, “Could we please have a glass of water, it's extremely hot out there”. The attendant replied, “ Of course; the weather does get very hot in the summer; springtime is the most popular time to visit because it’s not quite as hot, and lots …show more content…
of beautiful wildflowers bloom; also did you know the average is 113 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer”. My mom replied, “ No I did not; this is going to be a very hot trip for us”. The attendant smiled and gave us a few glasses of water and the key to our room. When we got to our room, I went straight to the balcony to, at my surprise, see an extraordinary view of the desert mountains.
After we unpacked our bags, we went to ask a worker to give us some
information about Death Valley since it was our first time being here. He said that, Death Valley is the largest National Park in the U.S. besides Alaska. He said that it is the hottest and driest National Park, that Native people have lived in the valley ever since the last ice age. He also told us that in 1933 the park was only established as a National Monument, and in 1994, Death Valley was established as a National Park by President Clinton, when he signed the Desert Protection act.
After, we decided to go hiking at the natural bridge canyon, which is
an upwards trail above sea level.
We decided to go there because I heard someone say that the temperature can be unbearable anywhere below sea level, While we were walking through the trail, I was surprised to see many different animals, such as a gray fox, a desert bighorn, a coyote, a bobcat, a mountain lion, a mule deer, and Ravens. we even saw a desert tortoise. I remembered reading that desert tortoises were low in number because of the non-native plants that have been developed there. We headed back to our hotel, and when we got there, I asked one of the attendants, “How did we get the chance to see a desert tortoise, since they are so low in number.” The lady replied, “Well, there have been, and still are, recovery plans to help increase the amount of tortoises here.” Later we went to eat dinner at the hotel, and then decided to go have a campfire. We went to the picnic area, and then started a fire. I told my friend the legend of Death Valley, which is, that once long ago during the California Gold Rush, pioneers passed through the valley, but few made it out alive because of the extremely hot temperature, and one of the 49ers on his way back out called out “Goodbye, Death Valley.” We watched the sunset that looked so amazing and beautiful behind the desert mountains. Later we came back to the hotel to sleep. The next morning we went to see the Borax Museum. It is the oldest house in Death Valley. Borax was found in the valley, which was a white crystalline. Outside of the Museum, we saw a 60 ton oil burning Locomotive. Inside we saw minerals from the Borax mining era. The next day we planned a camping trip at the Emigrant campground. First we went hiking along the Emigrant trails, then we went swimming and water skiing, and lastly we went boating and fishing in the Stampede Reservoir. We caught rainbow trout and kokanee salmon, and we cooked over a campfire for dinner. We setup our tents to sleep in, and lyed out in the grass to watch the stars. It was
our last day at Death Valley National Park, and we were sad to have to leave this place. We learned a lot of interesting information, and history from this visit, and it was one of the most fantastic trip I've been on.
My family and I arrived at the Death Valley National Park at the Mohave Desert in California, and saw the sign that said “Homeland of the Timbisha Shoshone”. We got out of the car to find it scorching hot. I hadn't realized that it would be this hot in the afternoon, even though it was July. We checked into one of the many hotels there, which was the Inn at Furnace Creek. It was one of the most charming hotels I've ever seen. My mom said to the friendly attendant, “Could we please have a glass of water, it's extremely hot out there”. The attendant replied, “ Of course; the weather does get very hot in the summer; springtime is the most popular time to visit because it’s not quite as hot, and lots …show more content…
of beautiful wildflowers bloom; also did you know the average is 113 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer”. My mom replied, “ No I did not; this is going to be a very hot trip for us”. The attendant smiled and gave us a few glasses of water and the key to our room. When we got to our room, I went straight to the balcony to, at my surprise, see an extraordinary view of the desert mountains.
After we unpacked our bags, we went to ask a worker to give us some
information about Death Valley since it was our first time being here. He said that, Death Valley is the largest National Park in the U.S. besides Alaska. He said that it is the hottest and driest National Park, that Native people have lived in the valley ever since the last ice age. He also told us that in 1933 the park was only established as a National Monument, and in 1994, Death Valley was established as a National Park by President Clinton, when he signed the Desert Protection act.
After, we decided to go hiking at the natural bridge canyon, which is
an upwards trail above sea level.
We decided to go there because I heard someone say that the temperature can be unbearable anywhere below sea level, While we were walking through the trail, I was surprised to see many different animals, such as a gray fox, a desert bighorn, a coyote, a bobcat, a mountain lion, a mule deer, and Ravens. we even saw a desert tortoise. I remembered reading that desert tortoises were low in number because of the non-native plants that have been developed there. We headed back to our hotel, and when we got there, I asked one of the attendants, “How did we get the chance to see a desert tortoise, since they are so low in number.” The lady replied, “Well, there have been, and still are, recovery plans to help increase the amount of tortoises here.” Later we went to eat dinner at the hotel, and then decided to go have a campfire. We went to the picnic area, and then started a fire. I told my friend the legend of Death Valley, which is, that once long ago during the California Gold Rush, pioneers passed through the valley, but few made it out alive because of the extremely hot temperature, and one of the 49ers on his way back out called out “Goodbye, Death Valley.” We watched the sunset that looked so amazing and beautiful behind the desert mountains. Later we came back to the hotel to sleep. The next morning we went to see the Borax Museum. It is the oldest house in Death Valley. Borax was found in the valley, which was a white crystalline. Outside of the Museum, we saw a 60 ton oil burning Locomotive. Inside we saw minerals from the Borax mining era. The next day we planned a camping trip at the Emigrant campground. First we went hiking along the Emigrant trails, then we went swimming and water skiing, and lastly we went boating and fishing in the Stampede Reservoir. We caught rainbow trout and kokanee salmon, and we cooked over a campfire for dinner. We setup our tents to sleep in, and lyed out in the grass to watch the stars. It was
our last day at Death Valley National Park, and we were sad to have to leave this place. We learned a lot of interesting information, and history from this visit, and it was one of the most fantastic trip I've been on.