Death Valley

On Wednesday we drove from Holbrook, AZ to Las Vegas, NV, in case any of you, like our grandchildren, are following us on a map. It was a 7-hour drive, with a stop at a truck wash, since our efforts at cleaning the RV in Santa Fe went for naught with the blowing dust we encountered on Tuesday. You are beginning to see how meticulous Mike is with this thing. It was quite mountainous as we approached the Nevada border, (around the Hoover Dam area, which we have been to previously so no pictures) but since we got the new turbo thingy, the RV has handled the elevation changes like a champ. There are always close mountains, silhouetted by larger mountains in the distance.

We arrived at the Las Vegas RV Resort at 2 local time (3 hours behind Michigan time, which all our clocks and watches are still set on. We’ve decided that when Mike returns from home next week, we will switch everything to the local time zone and hope our bodies do the same!) Mike had work to do to prepare for his meetings next week, so we spent the afternoon doing paperwork and trying to vacuum up as much dust inside as possible.

Thursday morning Mike had two conference calls and then we set off for Death Valley, California. The main purpose of going to Las Vegas was this day trip to Death Valley. The owners of the campground we stayed at in Oklahoma City told us about Furnace Creek and that it was a 2-hour drive from Vegas, so we added it to our journey. We are SO glad we did! Death Valley holds a trifecta – it is the hottest, driest and lowest place in the United States. In our drive to this National Park, we went from an elevation of 3,000 ft. above sea level to 282 ft. below sea level. As a side note – kudos to our Federal Government, especially President Theodore Roosevelt, for the foresight in preserving, via National Park status, these treasured areas around our beautiful country. Inside the Death Valley National Park is the Furnace Creek Inn and Ranch Resort – a green oasis in the midst of nothing. We came upon the Inn first and stopped for lunch. Walking into the lobby, I knew this was a little too fancy for us for lunch but by then the hostess saw us and was showing us to a window table overlooking the valley. It was pricey, but you get what you pay for, (I fear by the end of this adventure I will be the queen of clichés!) and our sandwiches were delicious and the French fries just might have been the best we’ve ever eaten. A mile down the road was the Furnace Creek Ranch. It is a resort, with a golf course (we should have asked where in the world they get the water as the course was as green as any), horseback riding, pool, etc. The Death Valley area is the home of borax mining, specifically the Pacific Coast Borax Company, founded by F.M. Borax Smith. Twenty Mule Team Borax gets its name from the teams that would haul the borax out of the canyon. The Borax museum is on the grounds of the ranch. Just past the ranch is the National Park’s Furnace Creek Visitors Center. I had a picture taken when I walked into the Center, and another one on the way out as the temperature rose 2 degrees while I was in there!

We then drove 17 miles to Badwater Basin – the lowest point in the valley. Looking out over the valley floor, in the distance, it looks like water. When we got to the Basin and actually walked out on the valley floor, it is the salt giving off the lighter color in contrast to the brown everywhere else. I illegally took a small chunk of the crystalized salt as a souvenir, so am asking for forgiveness right now.

We were surprised when our waiter at lunch told us the Inn closes from May to October, but the Ranch stays open year round and they are crazy busy in the summer. He estimated 95% of their summer clientele to be Europeans and Asians. At 83 degrees, it was hot enough for us – can’t imagine it in the summer!

As I type this, we are on the 2 hour drive north from Las Vegas to St. George, Utah, again on the recommendation of several people back home when they heard we were traveling out west. It is also close proximity to Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon. We hope it turns out to be a good recommendation as we will be there a week.

Just when you think the scenery can’t get any more spectacular, this drive is incredible. I can see right now that I am going to need a thesaurus because how many ways can I describe what we are seeing, especially when we know pictures just don’t do it justice? And we haven’t even been to the Redwoods, or the Grand Tetons, or Bryce Canyon or Yellowstone or Mt. Rushmore yet! I think you will get tired of the same descriptions: beautiful, spectacular, interesting, amazing. . .

Our large windshield on the motorhome affords us a panoramic view that you don’t get in a car.

Mike just informed me we are washing the RV when we get to our campground in St. George. The bright side is, it is sunny and warm out so can work on my tan! (you have to be thankful for the little things. . . )

Pictures today are: crossing the Colorado River, which is the border between Arizona and Nevada; what greeted us at the campground in Las Vegas; Mike in Death Valley; me in Death Valley. Notice the valley floor behind me; our lunch spot; the sign picture explains the wagon picture; several at the Visitor Center; on the Valley floor.