A Hot Spot in Death Valley

Funeral Mountains, Starvation Canyon, Coffin Peak, Last Chance Range--all places in a piece of desert called Death Valley. I was nervous just making the reservation.

Luckily my destination was the park’s Furnace Creek Inn, where a swimming pool, tennis courts, golf course and elegant accommodations awaited--Death Valley’s answer to the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite. When my British-reared mother discovered that the resort even offered afternoon tea, she decided to join me for what would be the first visit to Death Valley for both of us.

So one weekend last month, we drove almost 300 miles northeast from Los Angeles in search of relaxation and nature’s beauty at the Furnace Creek Inn, which is kicking off its 75th season. The Mission-style architecture and old-fashioned rustic interior are reminders of the inn’s heyday, when Hollywood luminaries such as Claudette Colbert and Jimmy Stewart were guests. Opened in 1927 as a corporate retreat for Pacific Coast Borax Co. (now U.S. Borax), the building retains some of its original features, including adobe bricks handmade by Paiute and Shoshone laborers.

Our room ($155 a night plus tax and an energy fee) boasted two double beds with wrought-iron headboards, a brick fireplace and a wood deck with a view of the gardens and pool. (Winter rates start at $230 a night, and 75th anniversary packages and promotions are available. The inn has a sister property called Furnace Creek Ranch, which is more casual and has winter rates starting at $133 per night.)

The ideal months to visit Death Valley are October to March, because summer temperatures reach 130 degrees. The inn began staying open year-round only five years ago, catering to hardy souls seeking lower rates and foreign tourists who don’t mind the heat.

Despite the swelter, Death Valley has its share of admirers, logging more than 1.2 million visits annually. Its 3.4 million acres cover an area about twice the size of Delaware, making it the largest national park in the Lower 48, with varied topography, more than 1,500 campsites and about 900 kinds of plants and wildlife.

The thermometer read 107 when we arrived on a Saturday afternoon, so our first thoughts were of the inn’s 70-foot spring-fed pool. It looked peaceful enough, with a ring of palm trees, a view of rock formations through cobblestone archways and a stream gurgling a few yards away.

But the pool was 84 degrees, which did nothing to cool us down. As we were told at check-in, “There’s no cold water in Death Valley. Only hot and hotter.” We chuckled at the nearby sign for the sauna. We were in one already.

For dinner we went to the inn’s dining room, an elegant space with antique chandeliers and spectacular scenery framed in the windows. I skipped the rattlesnake empanadas and instead chose tilapia, a white fish that came with tomatillo salsa and tasty corn cakes. Mom had the Southwest grill, a sampling of grilled chicken, lime shrimp and steak. The prices were steep ($23 and $32 for our entrees), but we loved the food and were able to watch the sun set behind golden mountains, so I couldn’t complain.

Sunday’s itinerary began at 9 a.m. as we drove 17 miles south to Badwater, the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere at 282 feet below sea level. Salt pools are surrounded by 1.7 billion-year-old Precambrian rocks, which look like giant icebergs but in various shades of desert brown.

I looked for the Badwater snail, which is the size of a dime, but failed to spot one. The snail lives in the crevices of the salt crust and is endemic to Death Valley.

About an hour later we reached Artists Drive, a winding eight-mile loop off California Highway 178. Here you get close to vibrant mud hills in shades of green, purple, yellow and pink--variations due to differing concentrations of iron.

Up next was Dantes View, a mountain ridge 5,475 feet above sea level with a fine view of the valley. It was 25 degrees cooler at the top, so we relished the breeze as well as the solitude.

We pulled into Furnace Creek Ranch, a no-frills, family-oriented lodging a mile from our inn. That’s where we found the 49er Cafe, a casual place that was packed with German tourists that afternoon.

Mom and I shared gazpacho, followed by a decent portabello mushroom burger for me and a corned beef sandwich for Mom.

More interesting than the food was a photo on the wall of Marta Becket, a local woman in her 70s with a painted face and a red tutu. I learned she started the Amargosa Opera House in the ghost town of Death Valley Junction and performs a one-woman pantomime show. The theater lacked much of a crowd at first, so an audience was painted on the walls. Becket performs only in winter, so we were out of luck.

Instead we walked to the Borax Museum, the oldest building in Death Valley, constructed in 1883. The Shoshone were the region’s early inhabitants, joined by pioneers in 1849. Although gold and silver were never plentiful, prospectors later discovered borax, which was used in glass, ceramic glazes and household products.

The museum houses local minerals and artifacts such as stagecoaches, mining tools and a steam engine dubbed Old Dinah. An exhibit details the 20 Mule Team, which hauled tons of borax out of Death Valley in the 1880s.

We also checked out the hotel’s golf course, the lowest in the world at 214 feet below sea level. Golfers notice a difference in their swing because of the slightly greater gravity and barometric pressure.

Back at the inn, afternoon tea--a spread of scones, fruit, finger sandwiches and cookies--was enjoyable. Then I hit the pool again, figuring it would be more refreshing at 7 p.m., and it was.

Dinner choices around here are few; the closest restaurant outside Furnace Creek is 25 miles away. So we picked the Wrangler, the resort’s steakhouse, which has a lively exposed kitchen and large salad bar. We weren’t particularly hungry after the tea, so we split a filet mignon, which was just right.

Early Monday, Toni Jepson, the inn manager, sent us off with complimentary bagels and coffee. She also suggested a shortcut that shaved about 30 miles off our trip home and took us past the sand dunes where parts of the original “Star Wars” were filmed.

Before long we were back in the world of voice mail, e-mail and traffic on Wilshire Boulevard. But I appreciated our time in a remote locale, a place that made home feel so far away.

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Budget for Two

Furnace Creek Inn, two nights: $342.90

Dinner, Furnace Creek dining room: 69.23

Lunch, 49er Cafe: 29.36

Dinner, Wrangler Steakhouse: 38.24

Other meals: 35.94

Gas: 37.58

FINAL TAB: $563.25

* Furnace Creek Inn & Ranch Resort, P.O. Box 1 (off California 190), Death Valley, CA 92328; (800) 236-7916 or (760) 786-2345, fax (760) 786-2307, https://www.furnacecreekinn.com.

* Death Valley National Park, P.O. Box 579, Death Valley, CA 92328; (760) 786-2331, fax (760) 786-3283, https://www.nps.gov/deva.