Report from Death Valley

Hair-raising perils dominated the Skeptoid Adventures trip to one of the deadliest places on Earth.

Most of our 50 brave souls who challenged Mother Nature

Last week, I was honored to lead the first annual Skeptoid Adventures trip, which took a total of 50 brave souls to Death Valley National Park. We visited the hottest place on Earth; the lowest point in North America; the no-longer-mysterious “sailing stones” at Racetrack Playa; a blazing-blue 87º natural swimming pool in the middle of the desert; and saw the protected Devil’s Hole, which has its own list of wonders as long as your arm; and a lot of other wild and crazy stuff.

And there are still many other extraordinary features there — some of which are not open to the general public — that we’re saving for next time.

The weather was quite pleasant, which was unfortunate for me, because I personally like to experience Death Valley at its best, >120ºF. Geologist Andrew Dunning provided a nonstop flow of historical and geological commentary, and astrophysicist Erika Dunning (one of only 15 people to have discovered a circumbinary exoplanet) got rained out and could only give a star talk instead of a star walk. While Death Valley is a place where the safety risks are very real, the only mishap we suffered was a single flat tire (for which you can blame Ben Radford, another of our special guest experts on the trip). This lack of more drama was also a disappointment, because we were all excited to use our extensive supply of recovery gear and emergency equipment, nearly all of which was sadly unneeded.

We also didn’t lose anybody. So, to make up for it, the next Skeptoid Adventure (July 7-11 2025) is going to the Bermuda Triangle, giving us another chance to come back with fewer people than we left with:

Get your reservation now! Click here

You have every right to expect just as exciting a trip as was Death Valley. We’ll not only challenge the legendary Triangle, we’ll also have a mini-skeptics conference on board ship; and have the opportunity to see some genuinely weird and wild places — the stuff famous mysteries are made from — on our shore excursions.

Please join us for Skeptoid Adventures: Braving the Bermuda Triangle, July 7-11 2025. You won’t regret it.