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It was indeed a very long journey from
Yosemite to Death Valley and we really thought that we would never arrive. We passed through long stretches of urbanised areas but also isolated farmlands and on the side of the road we noticed a sign which said ‘Speed Enforced by Aircraft’ - not sure how they operated this but we stayed with in the relevant limits.
We wanted to get as near as possible to the Valley and then camp up so that we could enter early in the morning before it started to get too hot. Most people we had met advised us to do this not just for ourselves but also vehicles heat up quickly in the valley and we did not want any breakdowns. Our camper van hire company had warned us that we were not covered by insurance in the area, even though we had taken out their fully comprehensive deal! - it all depends on what time of year you travel and apparently we were going in the ‘hot’ season so were not covered…..…..
As we both wanted really wanted to see the valley we thought we would take
the risk. Must be jinxed though because as we neared the outskirts of the national park looking for somewhere to camp for the night lights started ‘flashing’ on the dashboard. We pulled into a small RV Campground and a couple of locals residents came over to see if they could help. The light that came on indicated a problem with the engine. So we searched the manual and it looked like it might be something to do with the petrol cap. The couple informed us that there was a garage in Lone Pine a little further along the road so we continued on and pulled into Boulder Creek RV Campground which had showers and booked a space for the night with ‘power’ so that we could charge up our phone and computers etc.
The lady in the office said there were two garages in the town but said to go to
Casey’s as they were really good. It turned out they were ‘super good’ (Albert’s phrase) as they stopped what they were doing and hooked us up to their computer software and managed to get the light to go off. They were unsure what the
problem was though but thought it had to do with air in the petrol outlet which can occur after you fill up with petrol which we had just done so hopefully it was ‘fixed’. Whilst sitting waiting for the mechanics to check the van over I chatted to a lady from Switzerland who was travelling alone in a Juicy Camper and she had broken down earlier and had to be towed into the garage so I suppose we were lucky. Her final bill came to $600 whilst they only charged us $40…….The guys at this garage were so helpful if you ever breakdown near here be sure to drop by and say ‘hi’ from us.
We next encountered yet another problem ‘trying to get cash from an ATM’, only to find that one of our bank cards was not working - luckily we had another card that did but this left us with no backup card. We later called the bank on Skype from our campsite and they told us that it had been compromised and so they had put a stop on it and there was nothing they could do until we returned to
the UK for a replacement card! Seeing as we are not due back for many months this was no help to us but they insisted there was nothing they could do………..
Later that evening we chatted to an elderly couple in a huge Campervan who came over to see our small
‘Eyeball Van’ - we were attracting attention every where we went. already. They were fascinated that we were able to sleep, eat and live in such a small space compared to theirs. They showed us around their ‘vacation home’ which was complete with living room, kitchen with American style double fridge and oven, bedroom with a huge kingsize bed, Shower and separate WC - what, the lady even had a double wardrobe…… It was about the same size as my brother’s static caravan in Weymouth but I do not think Malcolm and Sue would like to tow their caravan around the lanes of England……….
We had a good nights rest and set off really early the next morning to enter the valley, it was so quiet and serene as we drove into the park. If
we did break down now not only would the expense be on us but apparently it takes quite a while to get rescued as well - we had plenty of food and water though and by the scenery all around us it was going to be worth it!!!!
You can probably guess what happened next - the engine light came on again - oh well, not much we can do now as were were half way down a long 6 mile, 4%!i(MISSING)ncline and the brakes were really struggling and making loud screeching noises as well……..We continued for mile after mile not seeing anyone up and down steep valleys - what a journey, although very short, we went from below sea level to 6000 feet and then back to sea level in just a few miles…
We drove up through
Towne Pass and dropped down again into Stovepipe Wells (sea level) where we stopped to check the car but apart from the light staying on the engine was not overheating so we continued on. We admired the views as we passed by
Mosaic Canyon, so many different colours
of rocks layered in unusual pinks, purples and greens as well as more traditional colours of grey, brown, white and black. We did not expect to see much by the way of wildlife and flowers but the area was indeed carpeted with some lovely wildflowers and birds flittered in the grasses and rocky outcrops. DV is actually home to about 50 mammals, 300 birds and 36 reptiles as well as 5 species of fish, we only ever encountered the Desert Iguana though…….…
We stopped for a short walk at
Mesquite Sand Dunes where huge 150 foot high yellow sand dunes dominated the area nearly completed surrounded by mountains. We needed the bathroom here but you had to hold your breath in the ‘long drops' loos…..… but we are in the middle of Death Valley and it was worth the stop for the views alone.
Our earliest recollections of
Death Valley are from our Geography lessons years ago when we were at infant school. It is a desert valley in Eastern California within the Mojave Desert, the lowest and driest area in the whole of North America and one
of the hottest places in the world - not sure how it compares to Dubai though it was really hot when we left there a short while ago! The depth and shape of the valley contributes to the hot summer temperatures as the valley is a long narrow basin 282 feet below sea level yet walled in by steep mountain ranges. The clear dry air and sparse vegetation allows sunlight to continuously blast the rocks and desert surface and keeps the heat trapped within the valley with no chance of escape. We were visiting at the end of Spring so not quite summer so hopefully it would not be too hot.
We did reach our campground known as
The Ranch at Furnace Creek which was ideally located to many geographic attractions with names like the Artist’s Pallet, Golden Canyon, Devil’s Cornfield, Dante’s View to name a few all waiting to be explored. Badwater was also nearby and this is the point of the lowest elevation in North America at 282 feet below sea level and astonishingly Mount Whitney the highest point with an elevation of 14,505 feet was only 84 miles away - truly amazing.
The campsite was also within walking distance of the national park’s
Visitor's Centre but it was so warm we used the car. The Centre was well laid out and informative and we watched a short orientation video on the area and the development of Furnace Creek itself which was really interesting. They even have rocks here that move all by themselves, in a remote valley heavy boulders scoot across a dry lakebed when no-one is looking and researchers and scientist are unable to fathom out why see photo............
Death Valley is the ancestral homelands of the
Timbisha Shoshone Tribe who have survived here for many years. We did not even appreciate that an American Indian tribe currently live and thrived in this NP. The word 'Timbisha' also refers to a sacred red pigment found in the area. The first white men to enter the park were a group of pioneers associated with the
DV Wagon Train seeking gold although the most successful mining operations in the region were extracting talc and borate and not gold. Borax deposits discovered in 1873 led to the development of
20 mule team wagons used to haul the mineral deposit
165 miles across the desert to the nearest railroad. It was in 1920s that DV became a tourist attraction when a borax company turned its workers accommodation into Furnace Creek Ranch where we were camped today. At the front of the campsite were a couple of examples of these 20 mule team wagons such a harsh journey in so difficult a terrain.
As we wandered around the campsite we felt as though we had been transported back to the 1800′s when the site was established as a working ranch - I was even called ‘baby doll’! We ate in the Forty Niner Cafe where we were able to pick up good wifi reception for free and drank in the Corkscrew Saloon where Paul enjoyed the beer and me the California SB which was lovely and cold. Our little fridge on the van had given up due to the heat and the battery running low. A little further along the road was the
Inn at Furnace Creek where you could expect much more luxury having served as an elegant hideaway for over 86 years but we were happy with the associated ranch.
John T the Inn at FC even had the world’s lowest golf course but apparently playing at 214 feet below sea level does interesting things to your ball…………..
Furnace Creek holds the record for the highest reported air temperature in the world 56.7 degrees C (134 degrees F). Indeed all the time we were there we were being blasted with hot air, it was like being in a furnace - which is quite apt as we were staying at ‘Furnace’ Creek………..The nights were particularly unpleasant with no relief from the intense heat, we slept with all the doors on the camper van open but still struggled to keep cool. The ground temperature on the valley floor is about 40%!h(MISSING)igher than the surrounding air temperature and apparently a ground temperature of 201 degrees F was once measured in Death Valley…………
In the daytime at least we had a huge
spring fed swimming pool to cool down in, you could sit with the water lapping up to your neck and admire the serene colourful mountain beauty all around you - bliss. My ankles were still sore and it was nice to do some
exercise without too much weight on them. This would hopefully improve my mobility so that I could keep up with Paul - as anyone that knows him will understand he is usually 'miles in front of me' - well now he is usually ‘hundreds’.
On our way out of the national park we stopped at
Zabriskie Point for one last view of the Valley stretching out beneath us, such a vibrant colourful badlands. The desolate moonscape from this view point will stay with us for a very long time as will all our memories of our time in Death Valley. A short while later we saw the sign that we were leaving the park and both of us gave a huge sigh of relief. Not only had we survived but so had our little camper van and would you believe but as we drove out the red warning light disappeared from the dashboard - I am not kidding you…….…
A short while later we were back in civilisation as we crossed the border into the
State of NEVADA. Never were two places so like ‘chalk and cheese’ coming out
of Death Valley and arriving a little while later in
Las Vegas.
We booked into the
Circus Circus Campground - the name says it all really. It was like being parked in a giant coach park with hundreds of massive RVs all around our small van. There was a good camp shop a few loos and showers but not many for the numbers of people camping here. You could walk through the main hotel and massive casino to get to
‘the strip’ and a $8 shuttle bus transported us along this well known street.
We walked along this famous boulevard passing through The Palazzo, Treasure Island, The Venetian (complete with gondolas), Caesars Palace, The Bellagio, Planet Holywood, the Eiffel Tower, Monte Carlo, New York as well as Luxor and Mandalay to name but a few. Each complex outdoing its neighbour in size and noise, the streets were thronging with people but we heard a local say that it was a very quiet day in Las Vegas!!!!! As it grew dark the city’s nightclubs and casinos were ringing with the noise of money being gambled away………….entertainers were out on the streets
with many Elvis ‘look a likes’ roaming the pavements combing their black hair, smiling and waiting for the passing tourist to pose with them for a photoshoot. We watched as a young couple came down the steps of a nearby wedding chapel within a casino having just got married it seemed a funny place for a wedding but here anything goes………
The next morning we left Las Vegas far behind us and headed off towards
Route 66 - we were really looking forward to this ride - see you there.
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Alan & Bronwyn
non-member comment
HaHa...
Your experience at DV was quite different from ours. I remember the sudden drops and rises in altitude, the great open spaces and in the distance the snow capped mountains! Can't remember what month it was but certainly not the temperatures you experienced. And we too stayed at Circus Circus! But we weren't camping - motel room for us. Are you going to Mono Lake? Eyrie and gorgeous.