Sunrise at Zabriskie Point

31 January 2026

After dinner and a hot shower (one of my favorite luxuries in the AEONrv), I collapsed into bed before our neighbors in the campground had even lit their campfires. My circadian rhythm syncs with the sun when we are traveling in the RV. 

The next morning, in the quiet of the pre-dawn light, we left the campground for Zabriskie Point, just a 15 minute drive down the road.

There are innumerable places to watch the sunrise, and the sunset, in Death Valley. The colors and rock formations of the landscape are best seen and photographed in the light of dawn and dusk. It’s not hard to get a panoramic view in a desert. Dante’s View, Mesquite Sand Flats, Zabriskie’s Point. Seeing a sunrise is on every travel guide’s must-do list. I saw more cars on the road at 6am than at any other time in the park. We chose Zabriskie’s Point because it was closest to Furnace Creek Campground. Also, the viewpoint is only a few steps from the parking lot, which was a concession to my aching quads and hamstrings.

The parking lot was already full when we pulled up about 20 minutes before sunrise. There were groups of friends, families with young kids, solo travelers with complicated tripods and camera equipment, international visitors, and honey-mooning couples - all clustered in the predawn chill. It was uplifting to see this motley crowd, waiting cheerfully and expectantly for an event that has happened every day since before humankind. And will continue to happen long after we are gone. The sun rises over the Valley.

You could stand looking west, and watch the ever-changing colors play out over the desert hills and the faraway Panamint mountain range. Or you could turn and face the rising sun. The brilliant light eventually overwhelms the photoreceptors in the eyes. Photographs are hard to take. But in this way, you can bear witness to the majesty of the light when the first rays pierce over the horizon, bringing yet another new day to this world. I chose the latter, and the moment she came over the mountains was as magnificent as ever. 

I am not unaware of the distressing news from Minneapolis, DC, and the wider world. NPR Morning Edition broadcasts in our rig most mornings while coffee is being made. One of the reasons I love the RV life is that it gives me permission to focus on the immediate problems before me. How much fresh water do we have, and is there enough solar power for me to heat water for tea? But that does not mean my soul doesn't hurt for things that have happened, or that I don't fear for things that may come. In addition to the audiobook Paul Cooper's Fall of Civilizations, I have been reading Rana Miller's Forgotten Ally: China's World War II, 1937-1945. Our generation's temptations, challenges, and follies are not unique in the long, dimly remembered, story of humanity. Oceans rise, and empires fall.

On a personal level, we remembered Won's mom on this trip, on the first anniversary of her passing. There is an unending well of sadness. Yet she was an indomitable soul.

Two things can be true at the same time. One can be joyous, and also sad. The desert lands can be both beautiful, and also tormented. Each day can dawn with immeasurable hope, even in the most troubled of days.

“Rede oft is found at the rising of the sun.” - Tolkien.