I know, I know, the Wrangler was just in Death Valley! But, well, it's back! This time it's carrying my good friend Dave and I (hi, I'm Sara, aka HTML Manager here at Edmunds) for a relatively short, 2-day trip through the park. Not a ton of gear to carry, just us two and our (many) cameras...
Our first stop for picture takin' was on the road to Badwater. The windy, 50-degree weather wasn't enough to keep us from opening the top halfway and riding around bundled in jackets and hats! We stopped for about 20 minutes enjoying the whole standing up without getting out of the car thing, the near complete lack of traffic, and the quiet.
Finally we got to Badwater, but the Jeep's GPS claimed we were about 20 feet lower than the National Park Service. Anyway you slice it: it's the lowest I've ever been (ha ha). It's an interesting spot, but for real, kids, watch out if you decide to walk around the salt flats. You will come back with about four pounds of mushy salt caked to your shoes.
After Badwater, we hiked to the Natural Bridge, drove through the Artist Drive (stopping every 5 minutes to take more pictures). We checked into our room at the Furnace Creek Ranch and then ran back out to catch the sunset. Sadly: we missed it. Boo. On the bright side, we found the Hole in the Wall Road (no, I didn't make that up) and the Wrangler got to do a bit of off-roading. Dave, an experienced off-roader, claims what we were on wasn't that bad. Whatever! It was fun.
Tomorrow, we're off to Dante's View and the Eureka Dunes! and then the long drive back to L.A. (Ouch.)
Finally we got to Badwater, but the Jeep's GPS claimed we were about 20 feet lower than the National Park Service. Anyway you slice it: it's the lowest I've ever been (ha ha). It's an interesting spot, but for real, kids, watch out if you decide to walk around the salt flats. You will come back with about four pounds of mushy salt caked to your shoes.
After Badwater, we hiked to the Natural Bridge, drove through the Artist Drive (stopping every 5 minutes to take more pictures). We checked into our room at the Furnace Creek Ranch and then ran back out to catch the sunset. Sadly: we missed it. Boo. On the bright side, we found the Hole in the Wall Road (no, I didn't make that up) and the Wrangler got to do a bit of off-roading. Dave, an experienced off-roader, claims what we were on wasn't that bad. Whatever! It was fun.
Tomorrow, we're off to Dante's View and the Eureka Dunes! and then the long drive back to L.A. (Ouch.)
bennetpullen says:
11:18 AM, 02/ 1/08
Welcome Sara, nice pictures!
desmolicious says:
12:26 PM, 02/ 1/08
"but for real"
The correct usage is, "but for reals"..
;)
Sounds like for all the flack the Jeep has been getting, it's getting an awful lot of use. Was the flip top easy to use?
daytona_500 says:
12:34 PM, 02/ 1/08
Now this is what Jeeps were made for. Glad to see they're being appreciated for what they are and not criticised for not being sporty or fast.
ahightower says:
01:20 PM, 02/ 1/08
Great post.
Ditto, daytona. This blog has been very good lately. You're using Jeeps off road, hauling stuff with trucks, family vacations in the SUV's, going fast in everything else. Don't tell us what we "need".
We can see how big they are and how bad the gas mileage is. Y'all just test them on their own merits for their intended purposes. We'll decide what we want, rather than you telling us what we "need". Good work.
skierx420 says:
02:42 PM, 02/ 1/08
I love it when Jeeps get DIRTY! I can't wait to hear what it does in the Dunes!
dotsara says:
02:07 AM, 02/ 2/08
I think the Wrangler enjoyed the off-roading more than we did! I made sure to get some shots of it dirty. (:
@desmolicious
Ouch, my bad. I will use that properly in the future. (: We didn't fold it /all/ the way down, but yeah, opening it halfway was pretty simple.
darthbimmer says:
10:41 AM, 02/ 2/08
Sara, I always love reading and seeing pictures about backroads driving in Death Valley. It makes me yearn for my next trip -- maybe later this month.
Hole in the Wall road's a good introduction for offroad newbies. It's tough enough to separate the real SUVs from the posers. Car-based soft roaders can be nursed through it, a vehicle like the Wrangler can romp over it.
I'm looking forward to your next entry about visiting Eureka Dunes. If you're feeling a yen for more offroading, you'll take the road through Saline Valley, up the Steel Pass, and down Dedeckera Pass.
p.s. In case anyone's wondering, I own an M3 and a Jeep. And I drive them both like they were built for. ;)
estreka says:
06:42 PM, 02/ 4/08
First off, welcome Sara! Edmunds.com (staff and contributors, both) are a tight-knit family (with the proverbial abjective embarassing relatives) and new thoughtful members are always a wonderful addition.
Second, those are great pictures and I too love to see the Wrangler (or any vehicle) used for it's intended purpose.
Third, you guys should consider coming up to Glacier National Park. It's absolutely stunning and any pictoral aficionado needs to visit at least once.
dotsara says:
08:48 PM, 02/ 4/08
thanks for the welcomes, folks! (:
@darthbimmer
We ended up not getting to see much of the Eureka Dunes. *sniff* We got a wee bit of the tail end of the sunset there, but the trip down Leadfield Road took much longer than we expected.
But that's not a complaint. Leadfield & Titus Canyon were incredible and so so fun. An M3 and a Jeep? You have my cars, yo. :P
@estreka
Thanks so much! I do have a metric ton of photos of the Jeep, so watch out. (:
I would *love* to see Glacier National. We wanted to go last year but it never worked out. We've got the park pass, now, though... (:
stingray454 says:
12:21 PM, 02/ 6/08
Nice pictures! I've been to Death Valley a few years ago, and I love how you can see open road in front of you that seems to stretch on for hundreds of miles and you can see all of it with the mountains in the distance. Amazing scenery. I think you captured some of that especially with the first picture.
Also glad to see the Jeep being used for what it was built for.