The wind didn’t stop, although it didn’t seem to be blowing as strongly as it was yesterday. The temperature had dropped some more overnight, though, and 
it was very pleasant out – in the mid 70’s.
We decided to have breakfast at the buffet there at Furnace Creek – something I wouldn’t recommend to others. I’d say the food was “serviceable” and worth maybe $4 or $5, but not the $12 asking price. But, I was able to get a wifi connection at our table in the restaurant, and did some more diagnosing of our email problem in a chat session with a Comcast support tech. I’m able to receive, but not send emails. Didn’t get all that far, ending with the recommendation to reinstall Outlook. That’s not happening soon with the install disc 1000 miles away. But, this evening I set up the Windows Mail program, the successor to Outlook Express, and it seems to be doing the job just fine.
After breakfast we returned to our room to finish packing, and then headed south through the valley. The first stop was a trailhead at the “Golden Canyon”, where we could walk into a narrow canyon that was an obvious outlet during flash floods. The erosion patterns were interesting, and there were a few patches of asphalt a couple feet higher than the trail, the remains of a paved road that was washed out in a deluge around 30 years ago. Because of the high walls and narrow pathway, we were mostly in the shade and comfortable, although it was warming up somewhat to the high 80’s out in the sun.
Further down the valley was the Artist’s Loop, a one way route through some beautifully colored formations. An area with multiple colors together was called the Artist’s palette. This drive was probably 5 or 6 miles long, and was prohibited for any vehicle over 25 feet in length. There were several corners where we could see why this restriction was in effect.
As we drove away from the Artist’s Drive towards Badwater, we experienced something not all that common. Death Valley has an annual rainfall of less than 2”, but we drove through a rain shower - not a deluge by any means, but rain nonetheless, and the temperature dropped back into the 70’s. This was quite a change from the day before we arrived, when it was around 114 degrees. We were grateful for the reprieve.
Badwater is 282 feet below sea level, and the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere. We learned there are several areas further below sea level in other parts of the world, topped, or should I say bottomed, by the Dead Sea in Jordan at 1378 feet below sea level. There is a boardwalk at the parking lot that protects an area that was been rather trampled in the past. The area got its name when a prospector’s mule refused to drink the water back sometime in the 1800’s. The water isn’t poisonous, merely salty. In the distance we could see the rain shower we had passed through earlier, and it caught up with us just as we were leaving the parking lot, giving us a second performance.
We headed out of the park to the south, to the town of Shoshone, and from there went to the town of Baker, where we refueled. We had filled up in Bishop on the way in to avoid buying fuel anywhere in the park. At Panamint Springs, near the entrance, regular gas was a whopping $5.29, while at Furnace Creek, where we stayed, it was $4.79. It dropped to $4.74 at Shoshone, but we found it at $3.81 in Baker. We’re still getting over 30 mpg overall.
it was very pleasant out – in the mid 70’s.We decided to have breakfast at the buffet there at Furnace Creek – something I wouldn’t recommend to others. I’d say the food was “serviceable” and worth maybe $4 or $5, but not the $12 asking price. But, I was able to get a wifi connection at our table in the restaurant, and did some more diagnosing of our email problem in a chat session with a Comcast support tech. I’m able to receive, but not send emails. Didn’t get all that far, ending with the recommendation to reinstall Outlook. That’s not happening soon with the install disc 1000 miles away. But, this evening I set up the Windows Mail program, the successor to Outlook Express, and it seems to be doing the job just fine.
After breakfast we returned to our room to finish packing, and then headed south through the valley. The first stop was a trailhead at the “Golden Canyon”, where we could walk into a narrow canyon that was an obvious outlet during flash floods. The erosion patterns were interesting, and there were a few patches of asphalt a couple feet higher than the trail, the remains of a paved road that was washed out in a deluge around 30 years ago. Because of the high walls and narrow pathway, we were mostly in the shade and comfortable, although it was warming up somewhat to the high 80’s out in the sun.
Further down the valley was the Artist’s Loop, a one way route through some beautifully colored formations. An area with multiple colors together was called the Artist’s palette. This drive was probably 5 or 6 miles long, and was prohibited for any vehicle over 25 feet in length. There were several corners where we could see why this restriction was in effect.
As we drove away from the Artist’s Drive towards Badwater, we experienced something not all that common. Death Valley has an annual rainfall of less than 2”, but we drove through a rain shower - not a deluge by any means, but rain nonetheless, and the temperature dropped back into the 70’s. This was quite a change from the day before we arrived, when it was around 114 degrees. We were grateful for the reprieve.
Badwater is 282 feet below sea level, and the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere. We learned there are several areas further below sea level in other parts of the world, topped, or should I say bottomed, by the Dead Sea in Jordan at 1378 feet below sea level. There is a boardwalk at the parking lot that protects an area that was been rather trampled in the past. The area got its name when a prospector’s mule refused to drink the water back sometime in the 1800’s. The water isn’t poisonous, merely salty. In the distance we could see the rain shower we had passed through earlier, and it caught up with us just as we were leaving the parking lot, giving us a second performance.
We headed out of the park to the south, to the town of Shoshone, and from there went to the town of Baker, where we refueled. We had filled up in Bishop on the way in to avoid buying fuel anywhere in the park. At Panamint Springs, near the entrance, regular gas was a whopping $5.29, while at Furnace Creek, where we stayed, it was $4.79. It dropped to $4.74 at Shoshone, but we found it at $3.81 in Baker. We’re still getting over 30 mpg overall.
We headed east from Baker, first on I-15, and then onto a state highway that continued east where the freeway turned north. This was a narrow two-lane highway with a distinct red tone, no doubt from using
local materials in the mix. This area is part of the Mohave Desert, and for several miles there were Joshua trees on either side of us. These are unusual looking trees, not at all like most trees you would imagine. They are actually a Yucca plant, and were named Joshua trees by Mormon settlers, who likened them to Joshua raising his arms to pray to the heavens. The trees are slow growing and can be several hundred years old – they are also a bit top heavy, and we saw a few that had fallen or been blown over.We are currently in Laughlin, Nevada, where we decided to stop and take advantage of some low room rates as well as explore a casino or two. Although we’re staying at the Tropicana, we had dinner at the Riverside Casino, and we each donated $20 to the machines. We were holding our own for a bit, and while my stake eventually expired, Erin won a small jackpot so we came out a little ahead overall.
Tomorrow we’ll head to Sedona and/or the Grand Canyon.
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