Dealth valley or Joshua tree national park.

[raymond_teng]

Hi,friends

I am thinking to go to LA for a week in april 12.I have three

days to go either dealth valley or joshua tree national park.Which

one you guy recommend.Last year i went to Zion and Bryce cayan,so

only come up this two parks.Thank for your suggestions.I am thinking

to leave my Nikon F3 at home and instead taking Canon digital camera

G2 with Tripod.What do you guy think?

[NK Guy]

Death Valley (no L in Death) has more dramatic sand dunes and salt pans and the like. Joshua Tree has more by the way of scrub, though there are some interesting areas - huge areas of cactus plants, large boulders sticking out of the ground which look golden at sunset, etc.

 

I'd say it depends on what you find interesting. Look up pictures online and see. As for taking cameras, what is the point of your trip? If you want to go and enjoy the scenery and take snapshots, the G2 sounds fine. If you want to record the images and blow them up for the wall then a consumer camera like the G2 sounds like a bad idea.

[the lone ranger]

i think Joshua Tree is probably more interesting, altho ive never

really been to Death Valley. Joshua has a wide variety of things

to shoot and its very big. The desert sunsets are incredible. I'd

take the F3 and leave the digital at home if i were going. So you

can use polarizers, graduated filters or whatever else you want. I

havn't been back home in a few months, but if there was a

decent amount of rain this past year, then you might see

wildflowers at JT.

[jay_piper1]

Joshua Tree has amazing rounded rock formations of weathered granite that can be a warm backdrop for the blue skies and Yuccas and Joshua Trees near the north and northwest entrances of the park. The landscapes are mostly close and mid-scale IMHO (only a few large-scale vistas that depend on air quality = lack of haze). There are a variety of things to see include an abandoned mine works and a 4WD geology tour road near mid-park and a canyon and palm "oasis" near the southeast entrance. There are a variety of desert plants (like "ocotillo flat") and spring rain could make them spectacular - check ahead at the www.nps.gov web site for links to current conditions and tips. JT is definitely "otherworldly" in places for a first visit.

 

Death Valley has an even greater range of elevation and scenery and has several choices of lodging within the park if that matters. In mild weather Sierra meadows could be open and there are the salt flats, and many panoramic views with interesting rocks nearby and vistas across the valley. The boardwalk at a salt spring is a small-scale favorite of mine for details (kids love it), same for the dunes of very fine-grained sand (unlike coarser beach sand - kids were engrossed by the fine, fluid sand).

 

You can't go wrong either way. Joshua Tree seems more compact overall even if you cover the entire park, it may be less of a drive to reach as well. On the way to or from Joshua Tree you might drive up (74?) into the mountains above Palm Desert to return to LA via Temecula or Hemet. Death Valley is larger, further from LA (and it's haze), but more diverse, just make sure it's realistic for your time and milage tolerance.

[david_henderson]

Having been to both I'd far, far rather spend three days in Death

Valley than Joshua Tree. Not only is there a lot more variety, it's

just a lot more interesting and challenging photographically.

[bkpix]

Death Valley. Bigger and more varied.<br><br>

Bob Keefer<br>

Keefer Photography<br>

<a href="http://www.bkpix.com">www.bkpix.com</a>

[qtluong]

In short, <a href = "http://www.terragalleria.com/parks/np.death-valley.html">Death Valley</a> has more vast and unusual mineral landscapes, while

<a href = "http://www.terragalleria.com/parks/np.joshua-tree.html">Joshua Tree</a> has more desert vegetation. While they are different,

DV has more subject matter. Follow the links to get an idea of

the possibilities. I would think that an SLR camera is a better

choice than a P&S for landscape work.

[lduchamp]

Another vote for Death Valley. I loved Joshua Tree but I definitely prefer death Valley (been there 3 times).

[chris_torek]

Besides the varieties, there is another consideration -- you say you have "three days" but is that "three days to spend IN the parks" or "three days total"? Getting to Death Valley takes a large fraction of a day from virtually anywhere. JTree is just out I-10 past Palm Springs, so depending on traffic, it is anywhere from 2 to 5 hours from LAX.

 

April 12 is just slightly late for flower season at JTree; could be good, could be bad, depending on how the weather has been. DV is actually all-season; you just need to pick an elevation based on the temperatures you like. :-) April can be very windy though.

[craig_gillette]

I was at Joshua Tree today (we started playing on the rocks at Indian Cove and then about noon walked in to 49 Palms Oasis - not primarily for photos and first real outing with a new Fuji S602 and an old 10 year old who would rather be in motion than watching me take pictures - go figure). Some flowers, it was cold in the morning so it seemed better in the afternoon. The beavertail cactus especially seemed to open up late, after about 1:00 pm. The hedgehog cactus had buds (saw one partial bloom), didn't really see any buds on barrel cactus. The belly flowers and many of the shrubs were starting to bloom although some seemed past peak. I'd say a week from now you'll still have flowers. Maybe even more than we had today.

 

I'd suggest Death Valley too but I've never been there. Much more varied scenery than Joshua Tree.

[vegasllew]

Recently returned from Death Valley; realized why I hadn't been back in 15 years. Not enough of interest to me as a biologist. I'd go the Joshua Tree route and extend into Anzo Borrego to the south. With the February rains, there should be a decent wildflower show and minimum pressure (good dirt roads get you away from the highways and allow you to do the "roadside botany" tour as you select images to capture). Leave the digital behind. But most of all, enjoy it!

 

--vegasllew