oldtrailmaster's VirtualTourist Home Page

My first visit to Death Valley was in the fifty-fifth year of the twentieth century. I was four years old. Dad documented the visits with old 8 mm movies and some photos of mom and me here and there, at Furnace Creek, next to the Old Dinah steam tractor, and seated in front of famous Mushroom Rock. I grew up exploring the Mojave Desert and Death Valley territory with my dad, spending many delightful days in the sun and inspiring nights under the infinite star-lit heavens.

I came to know the desert and mountain regions well, and continued the nurture of my father once old enough to explore on my own. I evolved into a man with a deep love of the natural world and an eternal yearning for the serenity it offers. The Twenty Mule Team and ghost towns of Death Valley also sparked my maturing imagination, keeping the fire alive to get out here and carry on my communion with nature and history. This has become a pleasing habit, one I happily share with you now on Virtual Tourist. You may read much more about Death Valley National Park on my private website at: www.WildDeathValley.com.

For over fifty years now, I have been exploring the backcountry of DVNP, driving darn near every primitive dirt road out here, hiking many of the best locales, camping primitively under the pristine stars, and soaking up every bit of this magnificent natural world that I can. Few locations on Earth match the absolute solitude that this outback region has to offer. With 3.4 million acres of area, Death Valley is the largest National Park in the contiguous United States - you'll have to trek to Alaska to find a bigger one.

Within the Park, you'll find approximately 900 miles of primitive backroads to explore ... at least those are the ones on the maps. Some do not appear, which makes it all that much more fun. Immediately surrounding DVNP, are another 400+ miles, so if you add it all up, the good news is that about 1300 miles of vehicle adventure are yours for the exploring!

My passion is sharing my knowledge of the Death Valley realm with anyone interested in learning more. If you have any questions about this enormous National Park, the adjacent areas, or what to expect during a visit here, please don't hesistate in contacting me directly - I will happily take the time necessary to answer your questions to the best of my ability. I have helped numerous folks with Death Valley vacation and route planning, and made some great friends in the process. As time goes on, my plan is to continue with updates to Virtual Tourist, between the writings of my Death Valley books. So until then, ship me an email for your immediate needs (oldtrailmaster at aceweb dot com).