(light music) - Even in perfect conditions, this is a rugged place to travel.

(wind howling) Third night in a row, high winds.

This is kinda demoralizing physically and mentally.

So I want the guys to have a good night of sleep and rest.

There's gonna be a lot of ground to cover tomorrow, the next two days, to cover Death Valley.

But like most things in life, the payoff is greater when the journey is a struggle, and coming to film in Death Valley National Park during a late winter storm means dramatic landscapes like this will come with a cost.

It's a little cold up here.

It can be chilly up here.

Right now, as you can see behind me, we've got lots of storm activity.

But on this desert road trip, mother nature isn't the only one making it rough.

Do they have diesel there?

- They didn't answer.

So we don't know on that.

- Travel isn't always smooth, but when you push through and roll with the punches, incredible things usually happen.

These are the adventures of travel.

That's why it's fun, roll with the punches.

And those incredible things are almost always better than what you could have planned on your own.

All right, Zack.

How'd it go out there today?

- I found the droids we were looking for.

(Jeff laughs) - He did.

(upbeat music) (thunder crashing) When you travel, the world becomes a smaller place.

When you explore with friends who share a love of photography, destinations come to life.

This water is emerald green.

We tell the stories and travel with our cameras, capturing some of the most beautiful locations on Earth.

But every adventure reveals more than what's in the frame.

Thunder boomer.

We see it popping up right now.

(thunder crashing) The people, the food, and unexpected turns in the journey.

Now they're gonna swim right with us.

(group laughing and howling) Brings the full experience of travel into focus.

(bright music) (dramatic orchestral music) - [Announcer] "Outside Beyond the Lens," brought to you by Visit Fresno County.

Nature, diversity, found in the heart of California's Central Valley.

Stay in Fresno or Clovis and drive to three nearby national parks.

(light music) By Hedrick's Chevrolet, supporting the spirit of travel in each of us.

Every journey has a first step.

Start your next adventure here.

By Fresno Yosemite International Airport.

Rediscover your love for travel with more options, more flights, more connecting you to the people, and the places you love.

And by Visit Yosemite Madera County, California's gateway to Yosemite National Park, explore the outdoor magic of Madera County, and be inspired to discover more.

And by viewers like you.

(bright music) (dramatic classical guitar music) - Death Valley may be the most inappropriately named national park in America.

This is a place I've visited many times before and every time I come here, I see a valley bursting with life.

(dramatic classical guitar music) I get it.

It can be a rough place to skip around, when the mercury is pushing 120 degrees, and summer heat here does greatly limit what you can safely do in the park.

But if you come to Death Valley any other time of the year and you learn how to take a closer look, you'll discover a landscape rich in everything life is all about.

(dramatic classical guitar music) For this run to Death Valley, Dave, Zack and I have made the long drive from a recent trip to Valley of Fire State Park, over in Nevada.

(dramatic classical guitar music) We cut west from Interstate 15 on Highway 95, through a part of Nevada known for the nuclear weapons testing that started here in the fifties.

You know, the place where this house was famously vaporized.

(house exploding) If you've ever wondered what the desert floor where these tests took place, looks like today, wonder no more.

Google Earth reveals bomb craters scattered across the Nevada test site, now known as the Nevada National Security Site, about 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

(dramatic classical guitar music) Ironically, on our drive to Death Valley, the intense winds hitting the side of the Battle Van felt like a bomb blast at times, and made for a slightly stressful white knuckle ride.

(wind howling) This is not a fun day to drive the Battle Van or any high-profile vehicle, and we're traveling in a day where there's just high winds.

There's a cold front kinda blowing over California.

It's affecting part of the state we're in right now.

Dave, how strong would you say these winds are blowing?

- I don't know, man.

If I had to guess, probably gusts up to 50 or.

- Yeah.

- 50.

50 or 60, maybe.

- Starting to pick up some raindrops now on the windshield, and closing in on the, you know, the eastern entrance of Death Valley National Park.

We are not expecting to have good weather.

So as a group of photographers going to shoot the beauty of Death Valley National Park, it will present challenges which we're gonna face, and also opportunities, I think.

You know, when we get a little break in the intense action, you have a mixing sky with dramatic clouds and dramatic desertscapes.

It can make for some really good photography.

So that's what we're hoping for but we have to sorta weather the weather.

(dramatic music) (wind rushing) After a quick stop in Beatty, Nevada, we make the last lonely road pull into Death Valley National Park.

A winter storm hitting California has made its way here with cold temps and an angry-looking sky, perfect for capturing dramatic desert landscape shots.

As we begin our descent into Death Valley, it's time to get our park pass, which here, in a remote access point like this, means a quick stop at the park pass automated drive-through thing.

We just got to Death Valley and Zack.

- Get our pass here.

- Yeah.

Zack has his military, Zack is a former sniper in the army.

And so he's using his military pass, putting it in.

(machine beeping) Pulling it out.

Is it working, Zachariah?

- Let's see.

It's waiting.

It says please wait.

- So kinda, kind of a cool deal if you're not familiar with it, but the Trump administration made it possible for all military veterans to get into all national parks for free for the rest of their lives, except for Zack Allen.

Is it working, Zack?

- It told me invalid again.

- Oh, Zack.

Can you hold up the card for the people?

That's pretty cool.

All right.

We thank you for your service, Zachariah.

- Well it's all my pleasure.

(dramatic music) - I don't care how many times you've been here or if you've never been here before, actually gazing into the immenseness of Death Valley always amazes.

Death Valley is the largest national park in the lower 48, and it's the hottest, driest, and lowest, of all the national parks in the United States.

It's a place where two massive deserts, the Great Basin and Mojave Deserts, meet with more than 90% of the 3.3 million acres of the park protected as wilderness area.

And on this day, as we drop down the giant alluvial fans of sediment towards the valley floor, howling winds from the south, make it clear, shooting here will be no walk in the park.

We are facing some really strong winds this afternoon in the valley.

It's blowing easily sustained 30 to 40 miles an hour right now.

And it's making it hard to get the cameras out of the van.

There's a lot of blowing dust.

I'm gonna hop out of the van here.

Let some traffic go by.

It's really really (wind drowns out speaker).

And walking around the Battle Van.

So we're gonna be shooting from the Battle Van.

We'll stop.

We'll slide the door open.

You can see Zack in there right now.

Zack's getting the shots.

We'll just shoot through the glass or we'll roll the window down, at least just to document what's going on here.

But it really trashes equipment quickly when you're in blowing sand and dust.

We do have some great light right now.

The lighting is really cool.

So we're gonna try to capture as much of that as we can and document as much as we can before heading back to the motel.

(gentle music) This section of Death Valley National Park along the Badwater Road is lined with many of the park's top attractions.

The popular Golden Canyon Hike is usually packed in late afternoon, but on a day where winds are sandblasting the valley, only a few brave souls venture into this uniquely carved canyon.

(pleasant music) Death Valley is known for quite a few natural attributes but none is more popular than it being the lowest place in the United States, and the second lowest in the Western Hemisphere, at 282 feet below sea level.

(gentle music) This makes our next stop one of the favorites for Death Valley visitors, a walk onto the Badwater Basin.

(gentle music) A boardwalk and interpretive area leads to a salt flat that gives this area its name.

Long ago, Death Valley was a massive lake, nearly 80 miles long and 600 feet deep.

But as the geology and climate changed here, lack of water flows, and millions of years of evaporation cycles left the salt-covered valley floor we see today.

(gentle music) (wind howling) Even though the wind here right now is brutal, watching the sunset over Telescope Peak and Badwater Basin makes for a memorable moment to capture in camera, and a signal that this day is coming to a close with hopes of better shooting weather tomorrow.

(gentle music) (wind howling) Morning in Death Valley is always worth the early wake up call.

And one of the top spots for photography in the entire park is here, sunrise at Zabriskie Point.

(gentle music) A paved path leads from the parking area to an overlook of Golden Canyon below, and a specific feature called Manly Beacon watches over Death Valley from the east.

For professional photographers to park visitors armed with smartphones, everyone is lined up and ready for sun's first rays of the day, to paint the muted tones of a waking desert.

- I've been trying to catch a superbloom, but I, I've never actually seen a superbloom in person, but it's beautiful.

I love Ubehebe Crater, Zabriskie Point, Dante's View, Badwater, the Artist's Palette Drive.

You know, that's all those beautiful areas.

It's spectacular here.

I grew up in Southern California as a kid and I never even thought Death Valley was a place I'd wanna go until I came here and seen all this beauty.

It's awesome.

(pleasant music) - With a mixing sky still in play from the storm hitting the West Coast, but a calm morning with regards to wind, the shifting light and shadows dance across the desert floor, and give what every photographer here was hoping for, a rare view of Manly Beacon below Zabriskie Point, with clouds, sun, and rock, all posed for the perfect frame.

(gentle music) Death Valley is generally a dry desert landscape where storms are infrequent events.

(dramatic music) Every time I've been here before, the sky has been cloudless, bright and blue.

So seeing the storm clouds work over this rugged terrain is a real treat for David, Zack, and myself, as we make our way high above Death Valley for an unforgettable vista of the park below, from Dante's Overlook.

(dramatic music) At a height of just over 5,400 feet along the crest of the Black Mountains, Dante's View is a must-see for any Death Valley visitor.

(gentle music) All right, so we've had the pleasure of spending about an hour and a half up here at Dante's View, overlooking beautiful Death Valley down below.

This is really, I've been here probably three times now, four times now.

It still takes my breath away.

It's a dramatic overlook.

It's really high up and really close to the valley.

So it's almost like you're looking over a giant cliff, down to Badwater below.

It's a little cold up here.

It can be chilly up here.

Right now, as you can see behind me, we've got lots of storm activity.

We've got some snow falling in on top of Telescope Peak behind me.

But we spent a good amount of time up here and the payoff on that was we let Zack Allen set up his time-lapse equipment.

And Zack found a really cool place to set up for a beautiful time-lapse shot with clouds moving over in the blue sky and the shadows on the desert floor.

And you know, this show is about getting the shots and sometimes slowing things down a little bit, staying for a couple of hours up here at Dante's View in the cold, is worth it, because Zack pulled a beautiful time-lapse shot at Death Valley.

(dramatic music) One thing I've noticed being at Dante's View for most of the morning, is that the temps are really starting to drop, and the clouds all around us are growing darker and more ominous.

This is a special time to be in this desert.

(gentle music) A rare moment where snow is now seen falling from clouds in the distance.

A chance to move into this landscape to not only find a memorable frame, but to simply appreciate the beauty of this place, on this day, with friends to share on this journey.

Pulled over, driving down from Dante's View because it's not often that you get to see rain and snow falling in the desert.

It's a, it's a desert, so rain and snow doesn't fall very often here.

So when you see it, it's a special photographic opportunity.

And we've got, you know, all three of us out of the car right now, with basically different lenses on to capture the different views.

I'm shooting it with a really long lens.

Zack's got a medium lens, and Dave's probably a little more wide than that.

So it's just beautiful back there, watching the desert, thirsty for any kind of moisture, get it in a storm like this.

(dramatic music) (vehicle rushing) Death Valley National Park is big, wide open, and requires a lot of car travel to get to the various stops the park is known for.

With the winds calmed way down from the day before, we decide to take a quick drive back down Badwater Road to look at something we passed on earlier, the Artist's Drive Scenic Loop.

(gentle orchestral music) The beautifully paved path winds into the Black Mountains on Death Valley's east side, towards an area called Artist's Palette.

When you see this for the first time, you'll know why this popular stop got its name.

Here on the face of the Black Mountains, oxidation of the base minerals found in this rock group, paint the desert red, pink, yellow, green, and purple.

(dramatic orchestral music) This is also geologic evidence of Death Valley's most active volcanic period.

Some 10 million years ago, massive eruptions here deposited debris, perhaps 5,000 feet thick.

Now exposed over time through geologic upheaval and erosion to reveal these fantastic colors in an otherwise monochromatic landscape.

(gentle orchestral music) With the day winding down, our plan is to drive to the far western edge of the park into the Panamint Mountains, about an hour's drive away.

But as we head north, towards the Mesquite Dunes, the skies have darkened and a strong storm has formed directly over our path out of Death Valley.

(thunder rumbling) Local reports of heavy snow falling on the pass above us and a thirsty Battle Van in need of diesel fuel, forces a stop at Stovepipe Wells to assess the situation.

(dramatic orchestral music) All right, so we're gonna chalk this up to a lesson-learning opportunity.

When you travel to remote places like Death Valley National Park here in California, it's good to know ahead of time where there is diesel fuel.

The Battle Van takes diesel fuel and we thought, I'd been to Stovepipe Wells before.

I thought it would have diesel.

We passed by the diesel station at Furnace Creek, drove over here, we're, you know, about a quarter tank left, get to Stovepipe Wells in a pretty good thunderstorm and sandstorm, only to find out there's no diesel here.

- Here comes our guy.

- Okay.

So now we're gonna go back to Furnace Creek where the guy from the, the gas station here was gonna tell us if they have diesel back at Furnace Creek, 'cause we heard that they were out of diesel back at Furnace Creek.

So I'm listening right now.

Dave's out talking to him.

- [Man] Furnace Creek, they're out 'til tomorrow.

- Furnace Creek's out of diesel 'til tomorrow.

I just heard him say it.

We would, in a normal situation, just backtrack 27 miles to Furnace Creek and get diesel, and then turn around and come back out.

But they're out of diesel in Furnace Creek 'til tomorrow, apparently.

So we're gonna make a plan right now.

What'd we learn, Dave?

- Well, the deal is Furnace Creek is out until tomorrow.

(car door thudding) - [Jeff] Okay.

- Panamint, which is like 30 miles up the road here.

- Yeah?

- 30 minutes up the road.

He said it's dumping snow really good.

So, you know.

- Do they have diesel there?

- They didn't answer.

So we don't know on that.

He said the third option is to run 30 minutes back up to Beatty where we came in.

- And fuel up in Beatty.

And by the way, it's snowing up there now too.

- [David] He said, it's nothing as bad, he said that- - [Jeff] It's snowing really bad here.

- Well, that's what he said.

He just said the pass isn't as bad, going back to Beatty, as it is over here.

So whatever that means.

So.

- Okay, option D, is we just camp here in Stovepipe Wells tonight.

You can see everybody, looking out there, there's a beautiful, lovely campground, on a big old flat piece of rock and dirt.

And got a little bit of rain and wind and dust mixed in there too.

It doesn't look like the best place to camp but we're gonna have to make a plan.

So let's do that.

Let's give this some thought and we'll get back to you on what we decide.

(light music) After weighing all the options and considering the worsening storm conditions, and figuring there would be a run on the diesel shipment coming into Furnace Creek the next day, we make for Beatty, Nevada to fuel up, and sleep for the night.

(bright music) (vehicle revving) The next morning, first light reveals a light dusting of snow on the hills surrounding Beatty and temps in the mid thirties.

All right, good morning from the Motel 6, in Beatty, Nevada, where Dave, Zack, and I stayed last night because the weather was just too nasty to try to camp out.

With the Battle Van topped off and a good night's rest for each of us, we head back into Death Valley National Park to make up time and head towards a more obscure location to film at Darwin Falls, just west of Panamint Springs.

Along the way, the effects of last night's snowstorm are seen as we pass by Mesquite Dunes.

Right now we're, we're a good mile away from the big, the big dune out there, but that- - See the mountain trail going up, right?

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

If you had the one with the trail going up and get that snow in the, you know, have sand and snow in one frame, that'd be pretty cool.

- A fine grain of each extreme.

- Yep.

That's it.

- It'd be pretty neat.

- [Jeff] Well, let's go up closer toward the parking areas and see what we think.

And we'll take a look at the clock and see what we think we wanna do here.

- The sun feels good.

It's nice and warm.

(light music) - The Mesquite Dunes near Stovepipe Wells are a favorite with park visitors.

This massive dune field sits on the north end of Death Valley, and is an inviting first stop for most people entering the park from the west.

The winds that swirl in this valley collect fine sand particles from the desert floor.

And as these winds slow and collide with the nearby mountains, the sand falls from the sky and over hundreds of years have been deposited in this spot to form these dunes.

Okay, Zack is just getting back from a long walk into the deserts of Tatooine.

(Jeff laughs) "Star Wars" nerd alert joke.

All right, Zack.

How'd it go out there today?

- I found the droids we were looking for.

(Jeff laughs) - He did.

Zack not only found the droids, he and Dave also found a few great frames on their walk into the dunes.

With the road now clear of snow from yesterday's storm, we make the long pull of a giant gray, as we leave Death Valley proper.

The park boundary is still over an hour to the west but as we top out on Highway 190, the rare sight of snow beginning to fall on the pass means another pull over to grab footage of this seldom seen event, snow falling in one of the hottest, driest places on earth.

(gentle guitar music) (dramatic orchestral music) Our last stop on this Death Valley road trip is found by taking a pretty rough dirt road that leads to a place where the stark ruggedness of the Panamint Mountains give way to a small oasis hidden deep in a canyon.

A relatively flat one mile hike leads to Darwin Falls, a year-round spring and series of cascades that bring life to these arid hills.

So if you're hiking through the desert in country like this, where it's just rock and dry and hostile sort of desert environment, and then you were to come and walk into a little canyon where this was, you would be clicking your heels with happiness.

- Yup.

- That's deep enough to take a perfect little bath in.

- Would've been a welcome sight, that I'm sure.

- Zack.

I've been wanting to tell you this the whole time.

You could use a bath.

- I could finally get in there.

- Why don't you get in there and knock the big chunks off buddy?

As these canyons narrow, trees, grasses, and more pools are encountered on the final push up to Darwin Falls.

I've been lucky enough to visit a few natural oasis in my days, but I've never seen this kind of life literally thriving in a desert as rough as this.

Our last few steps to the headwall of the canyon frame Darwin Falls as it cascades 20 feet to the pool below.

(water rushing) Darwin Falls is the perfect way to reflect on a trip that tested all of us.

(water rushing) (gentle music) The perceptions of a destination never before visited are often reset after you see them for the first time.

Death Valley National Park is a place that may seem barren, hot, and devoid of the things that usually draw people to wild places.

But actually immersing yourself in this landscape and feeling what it can do to all your senses will leave you a little surprised, a little awestruck, and definitely wanting to come back for more.

(gentle music) (wind howling) (dramatic orchestral music) - [Announcer] "Outside Beyond the Lens," brought to you by Visit Fresno County.

Nature, diversity, found in the heart of California's Central Valley.

Stay in Fresno or Clovis and drive to three nearby national parks.

By Hedrick's Chevrolet, supporting the spirit of travel in each of us.

Every journey has a first step.

Start your next adventure here.

By Fresno Yosemite International Airport.

Rediscover your love for travel with more options, more flights, more connecting you to the people and the places you love.

And by Visit Yosemite Madera County, California's gateway to Yosemite National Park.

Explore the outdoor magic of Madera County and be inspired to discover more.

And by viewers like you.

(bright music) (plane engine rumbling) (upbeat music)