BBC's crime drama Death Valley breaks ratings record - despite viewers 'switching off'
I tend to agree with this person 
one person wrote recently: "Shame #DeathValley had good potential. But it's so cringeworthy. Can't believe it was considered good Sunday night viewing. Can't wait for #Ludwig series 2!!!"
https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/bbcs-crime-drama-death-valley-35302009
A winding road through the vast, arid landscape of Death Valley National Park, California, with rugged mountains under a clear blue sky.
#BuyIntoArt #NationalPark #DeathValley #DesertHighway #California #NaturePhotography #mountains
https://john-twynam.pixels.com/featured/desert-road-in-death-valley-national-park-john-twynam.html
There's a single fire engine for all of Death Valley 
NPS: Two vehicle fires extinguished by bystanders
In the first incident on Tuesday, May 20, a motorcycle belonging to a Death Valley employee caught fire while he was attempting to start the engine. The fire was caused by a fuel leak that the owner believed he had repaired the previous day. At the time, the National Park Service’s fire engine was approximately 35 miles away, responding to a tractor-trailer crash and diesel spill. The motorcycle’s owner emptied a small fire extinguisher, then got help. Park rangers used two additional fire extinguishers to reduce the flames. They then utilized a garden hose connected to a spigot and a fire hose from a hydrant to fully extinguish the fire.
On Saturday, May 24, around 7:45 PM, a separate incident occurred at Dantes View, a popular viewpoint that sees thousands of visitors each year. An SUV was emitting smoke from its engine as it arrived. Other travelers quickly reacted by pouring ice and water from their coolers onto the engine, successfully extinguishing the small fire. Fortunately, the burn damage was limited to one section of the engine compartment.
https://www.nps.gov/deva/learn/news/vehicle-fires-may-2025.htm
Tourists visit Badwater Basin as an extreme heat warning is issued in Death Valley national park
Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images
“Plants in the Canyon” — A desert holly plant manages to survive on a gravel wash deep in a Death Valley canyon.
Winter is my favorite time to explore Death Valley. Occasional weather fronts pass by, producing interesting clouds and some precipitation. The temperatures are far more comfortable, and it can even be cold in the mountains. I usually time my visits for December or January, though I’ll visit as late as the beginning of April, by which time it is noticeably heating up. This year I went at the end of February, and I was pleased to run into fewer people than usual…continues: https://gdanmitchell.com/2025/05/30/plants-in-the-canyon/
If you've not watched Death Valley on the BBC as yet, then I can recommend giving it a go. It's not too bad 
“Reflected First Light, Panamint Mountains” — Shallow salt flat water reflects the first light on the Panamint Mountains.
During my late-February visit to Death Valley National Park, I spent two early mornings photographing the Panamint Mountains in the first light, with the salt flats and shallow water in the foreground. The water is not the ephemeral “Lake Manly” phenomenon that we saw in 2024. This is a slow, shallow flow of water that seems to continue all year, regardless of conditions. It is just enough water to produce these reflections…continues: https://gdanmitchell.com/2025/05/27/reflected-first-light-panamint-mountains/
https://www.europesays.com/uk/131511/ BBC Death Valley’s full list of Welsh filming locations #BBCWales #Britain #Cardiff #CynonValley #DeathValley #GreatBritain #GwynethKeyworth #JohnChapel #MountainAsh #Penarth #TimothySpall #UK #UnitedKingdom #Wales #WalesOnline
Really enjoyed #DeathValley. Great cast led by Tim Spall and Gwyneth Keyworth, very funny, doesn't matter that it's not remotely believable.
“Desert Holly, Dry Wash” — A desert holly plant, either dead or dormant, in the middle of a dry wash, Death Valley.
Desert Holly must be one of the must adapted and tenacious plans in Death Valley National Park. It grows in some of the least likely spots — places where there is barely any soil, where the sun bakes the land, and where water is rare. Desert Holly plants can occasionally put out a beautiful cover of pale green leaves, but more often the plant looks dormant or dead, with many dead leaves and very dry branches…continues: https://gdanmitchell.com/2025/05/25/desert-holly-dry-wash-2/
Truck driver dies in #DeathValley #NationalPark after crashing load of sodium sulfate into historic desert ranger outpost where song “Ghost Riders in the Sky” was written
https://www.sfgate.com/california-parks/article/truck-crash-death-valley-california-20341663.php
Yeesh, someone crashed a semi (and died) running into a historic structure at Death Valley.
"...Death Valley, CA — Around 2:12 pm on May 20, 2025, a semi-truck crashed into a building at Emigrant Junction in Death Valley National Park. The crash was likely caused by a brake malfunction. The driver was killed in the accident. No other vehicles were involved.
National Park Service staff responded to assist with scene management. A dry form of sodium sulfate mined in the Searles Valley, and diesel fuel from the truck spilled on the roadway. The truck was destroyed and the wreckage blocked the roadway. CA Highway 190 between Stovepipe Wells and Towne Pass was closed for 22 hours. It reopened at approximately 11:30am May 21st. A hazmat team arrived overnight to begin management of the spill clean-up at about 11:00pm.
The truck collided with the historic Emigrant Ranger Station. The stone structure was built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps. Stan Jones wrote the song “Ghost Riders in the Sky” while living in this building and working as a park ranger in 1947. ..."
#PhotoOfTheDay is along Racetrack Road, Death Valley, California.
You can plainly see an example of the 30 miles of lovely washboard dirt road. Most people get to do it twice - once in each direction - and hope their fillings don't get vibrated out of their skulls. 
“Base of the Red Cliffs” — Gullies, folds, strata, and morning shadows at the base of the Red Cliffs.
The title says “Red Cliffs,” but you might be thinking, “They don’t look very red to me!” In more neutral light the formations in the upper part of the photograph, and even more so the formations above the margins of the photograph, do have the familiar red rock quality — though it would be fair to say that they are as much brown as red. But in this stark early morning light, just after sunrise, the colors are warmed so much that they are more yellow or orange…continues: https://gdanmitchell.com/2025/05/21/base-of-the-red-cliffs/
desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni) in the Goler Wash, Death Valley, California. April 2021 #golerwash #deathvalley #sheep #bighornsheep #nature #animal #desert #nikon #photography
“Funeral Range, Last Light” — The last direct light of the evening shines on the Funeral Range, Death Valley.
Am I the only person who has a set of odd little personal spots where they like to stop — places that others might pass by without noticing anything special? Over the years I’ve collected quite a few: a rock outcropping in Tuolumne Meadows, a bench at the high point on a local trail, a particular tree in the Central Valley, and this place in Death Valley National Park…continues: https://gdanmitchell.com/2025/05/19/funeral-range-last-light/
“Canyon Light” — Direct light, reflected light, and deep shadows as a canyon winds through desert mountains, Death Valley.
We love fantastically narrow and twisty slot canyons, but those are more of the exception to the rule. You can find those in Death Valley, but more likely you’ll find a scene like this one, at least in canyons that run through steep, rocky mountain ranges, like this one on the east side of the valley. Through much of its length it is more than wide enough that a vehicle could pass, if they were allowed here. Note also the very rugged and broken rock formations — this is not your smooth-walled Utah red rock canyon!…continues: https://gdanmitchell.com/2025/05/17/canyon-light-2/
Badwater Basin at Mormon Point, Death Valley National Park, California.
https://alexander-kunz.pixels.com/featured/badwater-at-mormon-point-alexander-kunz.html
“Zabriskie to Rogers Peak” — Long morning view, from formations at Zabriskie Point to distant Rogers Peak in the Panamint Mountains.
Poor Rogers Peak doesn’t get a lot of respect. Despite being just under 10,000 feet tall, offering a rather impressive view from close up, and being snow-capped in the winter… it is eclipsed by its neighbor, Telescope Peak, the highest in the park. (You can see a bit of the shoulder of Telescope Peak at the far left.) It doesn’t help that a communications complex has been installed on its summit — which seems like a bit of an inappropriate insult in a national park!…continues: https://gdanmitchell.com/2025/05/15/zabriskie-to-rogers-peak/
#deathvalley #nationalpark #desert #mountains, #nature #landscape #photography
