Death Valley National Park: Our First Night at Texas Spring Campground
Death Valley is a little over five hours from our home, though our drive ended up taking longer after a few detours and a quick stop at Mesquite Spring Campground. It was a beautiful campground, but much colder than we wanted for the first night of our trip, so we continued south to Texas Spring Campground.
Texas Spring has two campground loops. The front loop is reserved for tents and had already filled by the time we arrived. We ended up finding a site in the back loop, which is more open and feels a bit like a large parking area with campsites arranged between paved roads.
Coming from Joshua Tree, we had become spoiled. Many of our favorite campsites there were tucked among giant boulders and Joshua trees, giving each site a little privacy and character. Texas Spring felt much more exposed by comparison.
Fortunately, we always packed a heavy-duty tarp to place beneath our tent, which helped protect the floor from the coarse gravel. Even our strongest tent stakes struggled to push through the rocky ground, so we ended up anchoring several corners with large rocks instead.
A Quiet December Evening
Since it was early December, the campground was surprisingly quiet. We had only a handful of neighbors, and after sunset the entire campground became peaceful.
As darkness settled over the desert, we built a campfire and settled into our chairs. Before long, we heard the unmistakable sound of a coyote howling somewhere above us.
Eventually we spotted it standing alone along the ridgeline overlooking the campground.
Every now and then we'd catch the reflection of its eyes in the beam of a flashlight as it watched the campground below. It paced the ridge, occasionally stopping to howl before continuing on through the darkness. The calls echoed across the surrounding hills for more than an hour.
It turned out to be one of the most memorable moments of our first evening in Death Valley.
Ready to Explore
The next morning greeted us with clear skies and crisp desert air. We brewed coffee, watched the first sunlight spill across the surrounding hills, and slowly packed up camp.
Texas Spring may not have become one of my favorite campgrounds, but it served exactly the purpose we needed. It gave us a comfortable place to spend our first night before heading out to explore the rest of Death Valley National Park.
Our real adventure was just getting started!
