Death Valley Super Bloom

The “super bloom” drew us all in, but the amazing people and remote corners of, and routes through, Death Valley National Park fueled our adventures. As a photographer I knew that I needed to go see the possibly once in a lifetime, major flower bloom that is happening in Death Valley. I made last minute plans and invited just a few friends, which I happened to be around at the time. In the end over 9 different groups of overlanders, nearly all of which I’ve called friends for some time, converged on Death Valley during 6 days of completely random and unplanned exploration, with 4 vehicles traveling together the entire time.

Death Valley

We ended up free camping the whole time in nearly all corners of the park. The camping setups ranged from million+ dollar Unimog builds to sleeping pads in the back of pickups, and included a variety of Dodge Ram Cummins powered truck camper builds, and a few roof-top-tents. Some vehicles were nearly stock, while others were built to incredible levels of off-road capability. The travelers also ranged from full time travelers to weekend warriors, and included Baja legends and a huge age and socio-economic range. The passion for travel, new experiences, being around quality people and in many cases photography brought us all together, and more than enjoying each other’s company.

Hightlights of this impromptu adventure had to be the mass gathering the first night at Echo Canyon, the group effort to change the 450 lb wheel/tire on Perky Mog, a full day of flower photography, camping and messing about at Rhyolite Ghost Town, driving through Titus Canyon, Yeager’s Birthday dinner at a remote Lippencott Mine campsite, the technical off-road and steep drop offs on Lippencott Road, soaking in the Saline Valley Warm Springs, enduring a huge wind storm in Saline Valley and helping out fellow overland travelers fix their Jeep road-side in a hail storm.

Know that the flowers are ever changing, in density, location and variety. They are incredibly beautiful from afar, and up super close, but in that middle distance they look very dispersed. The key is to realize that normally there is little in the way of visible life in Death Valley, and this colorful spectacle is an extremely rare and special event.

Keep living a #LifeOfAdventure and remember to seize opportunities for unique adventures when they present themselves, especially when they can be shared with fellow adventurers.

PS: The bloom is still in full effect and recent rains should make the flower viewing good for some time to come. Go see it!

A huge thanks to everyone who made this adventure so much fun: Xplore Baja, Adventure Driven, Traveling Trio, Perky Mog, The Road Chose Me, Operation Windmills, Exploring Elements, Cullen Johnson & Michael Franchek!

* OutdoorX4 Magazine – Promoting responsible 4×4 adventure travel and outdoor recreation