The Artist's Drive Loop

Death Valley National Park

The one-way narrow, curvy loop through the canyons of the Miocene Artist's Drive Formation was, by far, the highlight of our trip to this incredible national park.  It is only nine miles long, but expect to go slow and stop often.  We packed an ice chest with water, iced tea and sandwiches and made a day of it, hiking into the canyons for breathtaking views of the salt fields below.

 George Lucas filmed the opening scenes of his first Star Wars movie here.  Bravo to location scouts who discovered this place.  We walked among the red rock canyons where poor little R2D2 was zapped by Jawas and where Luke and Obi Wan finally connect.  The famous Sandcrawler scene where Luke and his uncle buy the two robots was filmed here, as well.  It did not take much of an imagination to believe we were on another planet.

A particularly colorful section of this area is called Artist's Palette.  A high concentration of oxidized minerals creates swaths of pink, green, yellow and blue on the mountain's face.  The formation is made up of gravel, ancient lake bed sediment and volcanic debris.  It is one of Death Valley's most scenic spots.

It's no surprise that other directors have found their way here.   Spartacus, King Solomon's Mines, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, The Greatest Story Ever Told--all great movies and all filmed here.   The Star Wars crew returned to Death Valley to film portions of  Return of the Jedi.  Will they return for the next movie, too?   (We're just thrilled another one is being made!)

May the Force be with them!