I open the lens wide open, wish for a tripod but none materializes, so I do my best, what with the mountains backlit with the setting sun. I pull over to do some star gazing. There aren't many places in California where the sky is truly dark, and fewer still where you don't have to worry about bears or mountain lions. If you ever are in the area, don't pass up this opportunity. The Milky Way really does look the way it does in those photographs.
Death Valley is a big place.
It takes nearly two hours to drive from one end to the other. NEF format converted with QImage 10.13. Curves adjustment and sharpening done with Adobe Photoshop.