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Published: April 26th 2016
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There is a good reason we did not roll out today and travel through the mountains on our original schedule: Winds... west 20 to 30 mph this morning increasing to 30 to 45 mph this afternoon into early this evening. Peak gusts of 55 mph through and below the mountain passes this morning will increase to 70 mph or higher this afternoon and continue through early this evening. Winds will begin to diminish after 8 PM PDT.......just sitting in the RV is like sitting in a rocking chair. Fortunately we got our trip to Death Valley in on Saturday and Sunday. For months I had talked about taking the bike to Death Valley only to find out that some of the main road from here to there was washed out in October and it was many miles of washboard dirt; activate Plan B. Inventory all that tent camping gear we brought and load up the Dodge for a two day trip. Glad we did as it opened up many miles of new dirt roads and allowed us to take our time getting to see much of what this 3.4 million acre national park had to offer. It was a good omen
that just after we spotted the first park service welcome sign we spotted our first coyote. We think it was the unofficial greeter, kinda like Walmart. To get from Ridgecrest to Death Valley you must pass through two mountain passes and Death Valley's little sister, the Panamint Valley. Not as pretty but more wide open and accessible to 4X4 and off-road vehicle on sand and dirt roads that criss-cross the desert and foothills. It just has a different feel about it. The national park is pristine, the Panamint Valley is like a desert playground for Sand Rats and there are a lot of them enjoying get away escape weekends many miles from nowhere. You should defiantly announce yourself before you sneak up on those evening campfires. We stuck to the main dirt roads inside the park and that was enough off road for us. When you enter the valley floor the first thing you find are the Mesquite Sand Dunes and that was number one on Michelle's list of things to see. Though we didn't walk to the farthest dune we did walk a ways into this giant sandbox until it got warm enough to turn us around. It was
fascinating to see these many 100 ft. dunes in the middle of the desert and we are all fortunate that they allow everyone to walk them without restrictions, just don't take anything when you leave except your empty water bottle. From the sand dunes it is a long drive to the Badwater Basin and the lowest point in the park and once you are there you can walk the long path to the middle if you think you have a need to do that....we couldn't figure out what that need could be so we took our photos, drank some more water and milled around for a while. When you look at the picture of the parking lot from the path take the time to find the "Sea Level" sign up on the hill, center toward the top. That gives you a pretty cool perspective on just how "deep" you really are. On the way back toward Furnace Creek you are able to take the 5 mile one way road known as Artist Drive. Once you are on the road it takes you back into some of the more isolated canyons and you quickly know where it got its name. The
rocks and canyon walls are a rich deep red and brown with blues and greens and yellows interspersed with golden colored boulders and enormous rock formations. Just when you think you have seen the most beautiful part of the park you round another curve, take another DIP, and find a cul-de-sac known as the Artists Palette that just takes your breath away. I hope the pictures I posted can instill in you some sense of the absolute beauty of these rock formations. I also noted that people viewing this area unconsciously spoke in hushed tones or did not speak at all as if they were in the presence of something or someone of immense importance and didn't want to break the reverie. Almost like they were in church. I personally found it almost overpowering as if I was seeing something could be almost "too" beautiful. After an extended stay we did manage to drag ourselves away and make the drive to Furnace Wells General Store only to decide that $4.50 was way to much to pay for what amounted to three teaspoons of ice cream. Besides we had a date at Mesquite Springs Campground which was another 34 miles up
the valley. We arrived in plenty of time to set up camp, have a cup of tea, eat our dinner and get a good fire started (we brought our own wood, no cutting or gathering). After a couple of cold ones by the fire we settled in for a much needed sleep. Yes, camping is still fun and yes the ground is still hard. I see some sleeping pads in our future before we do that again. Morning broke cool and crisp but not so bad that I couldn't get up and make fresh coffee with the old percolator. It's still the best coffee you can make. As with all good journeys this too had to come to an end so we retraced our steps back to the Panamint Valley but decided to stop at the Ballarat Ghost Town just to see what might be left there. Well this is a living ghost town complete with an old guy to tell history stories, that hates the BLM, and will sell you some moonshine if you ask. In this case the pictures will do it justice. So we made it back before the wind kicked up, filled the truck and we
are prepared to leave for northern California as soon as the wind dies down tomorrow morning. The good part about being stuck one extra day at China Lake is I got to catch up with this blog, we got all the wash done, the bike is loaded, the RV is loaded on the truck so in the morning all we need to do is pull the plug and we are off.
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Diane
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Great pictures you guys. I still can't understand for the life of me .....why you would want to lay in a tent overnight.... when you have that motorhome? :) :) Safe travels love, me