Darkest Places on Earth

It's been said that Death Valley has some of the darkest skies in the world. When you're all alone out there with only the stars to keep you company, it's pretty hard to disagree.

I have never in my life seen so many stars.

I had always wanted to try taking star photos and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to give it a go. So as night fell over the desert, I grabbed my camera and tripod and jumped in the car.

Death Valley is like a black hole for cellphones. No service whatsoever. And no service means no sat-nav. I was terrified of getting lost in the dark out there on my own so I only drove about 15-20 minutes from our hotel. I didn't need to go any further because the absence of city and artificial lights makes this one of the darkest places on earth.

Zabriske Point was the perfect spot to stargaze. The darkness changes the view so much from the daytime scenery.

The park was recently awarded an 'International Dark Sky Park' certification by the International Dark-Sky Association. Who knew such a thing existed?

I'm glad it does though because preserving spaces with a view like this is well worth it in my opinion.

I started to get super irritated with the very occasional car which would drive past and ruin my shot. And then I though maybe the cars would make a cool photo. Here's how that turned out.

The wind started to kick up a few notches and I swear I heard the howl of an animal not too far away. Time to head back to base camp. The dessert can be an eerie place at night.