DVNP - Sunrise at Dante’s View: Finding the Light the Hard Way
Sunrise at Dante’s View begins long before the sun even hints at the horizon. It starts in complete darkness, with headlights cutting through the silence of Death Valley and a quiet confidence that you know exactly where you are going. I didn’t turn on my GPS. I was sure I remembered the turnoff. I had seen the sign clearly the day before and trusted that I would spot it again just as easily in the dark. I didn’t. Instead, I drove all the way to the park entrance before realizing I had gone too far. I turned around and carefully retraced my route, only to pass the turnoff again and continue on toward Zabriskie Point. That was my pause-and-reset moment. I pulled over, dropped a pin on the map, and finally confirmed where I was and where I needed to be. As I approached the turnoff for the third time, I slowed to a crawl. Even knowing it was there, the sign was surprisingly difficult to read in the low light. Once found, the road climbed another 13 miles, winding steadily upward on ...