Death Valley in March with my Dad

[12valve]

My brother and I are planning a trip to Death Valley in March with my Dad. He is turning 90 in May and he mentioned he has always wanted to to there. I never knew that, quite a surprise. He is in good health and can walk, but hiking is not in the works, The Racetrack is Ok, but nothing rough. I have been there before, but I am looking for any ideas or places we can go that are not on my list. We will be in a Subaru Outback wagon staying in a hotel, no camping. Thanks for your help.

 

[Ted]

Good for you, 12valve. I grew up camping. When my Father could no longer go camping I would take him on short trips.

Many members here enjoy DV and I'm sure you will get many good suggestions. Click on "National Parks" under the Wander the West banner at the top and then on Death Valley. There you will find a list of DV points of interest, historic places, trails, etc. Each of these listings has comments and photos from many members' experiences. Reading through those should give you lots of ideas.

That is a good time of year to go there. Enjoy.

 

[ski3pin]

Sounds like a wonderful family trip! Since your Dad has never been,I'd suggest the usual highlights, Badwater, Scotty's Castle, Aguereberry Point, Artist's Drive. Last time we drove Titus Canyon we followed a brand new Mustang convertible. I'd drive Titus with the wife's Forrester, but I would call to ask about conditions. Generally if its open, its pretty smooth. Death Valley, as you know, is huge, and all of us reach our limits being in a vehicle so consider breaking it up with the short walks into Golden Canyon, up Natural Bridge Canyon, and along Salt Creek. Spring is one of the best times to go, hope for wildflowers! One of the neatest places in DVNP is Saratoga Springs in the south end. Hope you have a great trip.

 

[Missing Link]

My brother and I are planning a trip to Death Valley in March with my Dad. He is turning 90 in May and he mentioned he has always wanted to to there.

12valve - I don’t want to get too “mushy” here, but my parents (who live on the east coast) also expressed an interest in visiting Death Valley, so in 2006 I took them to many of the places mentioned by other members in this thread. We had a great time! I took this photo on the trail to Zabriskie Point. They are both now 91 and live in an assisted living facility. I had this photo blown up to almost poster size and it currently hangs in a prominent spot in their apartment so that they can reflect back upon that trip, and their lives together. If you have even half as good an experience as we did, you will all carry the memories of it with you for the rest of your lives. Have fun!

 

[Hittheroad]

Yes, do it.
A decade ago we took my parents on a 4 day houseboat tour of the Everglades for my father's 90th.
It turned out to be the last time we could do anything like that and the memories have matured well with time.
One "benefit" was that we learned a lot about what my parents' needs were going to be as far as support for living. You see things in close quarters that you miss under normal living conditions. One was that my mother was no longer able to pack her own bags and that my father did not have a clue.
So she came with some interesting things and a great deal left at home.
We had some close calls - try getting a 90 year-old from a house boat to a canoe in the middle of aligator infested waters.
But it gave them a boost that lasted many months and it has left us with memories to cloud out some of the more recent events.
(By the way, being a poor reader, I got into this thread for the wrong reasons seeing "death march". But I guess in a sense I was not that far off).
So do it now!!!

 

[generubin]

Very warm memories in these posts. It was my parents, when I was 4 years old, that got me hooked on Death Valley. Now 50+ years later, I have explored every dirt road and hiked every trail. At my parents of 70 years old, I finally dragged my parents for a long Baja trip. They are 86 years old, I'm still working on taking them into Alaska.

 

[12valve]

Thanks for all the replies and words of encouragement. Dad is all excited, researching areas he wants to go and check out. Reservations have been made, not easy this time of year. Just have to gather the necessary various types of drink and food, wait for the date and off we go. I will report later.