Having commented on the lack of police yesterday I am assured that there are plenty about later on. Clearly, I should have stayed out later! Comparing notes with the girls at breakfast, they were amazed by the number of young children that were out on the Strip in the evening and this was after the shows had turned out. Most were with adults but why take a child to Vegas in the evening? We left on time and almost immediately were out in desert countryside; a stark contrast. The sky was clear and the sun shining from the outset. In fact, startlingly clear visibility was very much a feature of the day. Our first stop was at a town called Pahrump. It had all the amenities one would expect but it was hard to see a good reason why the town was there at all.
A brief photo stop at the Death Valley sign and off into the real desert. Surprisingly there were loads of cyclists heading the same way, labouring in the same direction. They mostly looked extremely fit but it has always struck me as a masochistic pastime. At Zabriski Point we stopped to enjoy the overlook of Death Valley proper and I found conditions to be very pleasant; pleasantly warm with a cooling breeze.
However, the power of the sun was evident and it wouldn’t do to be out in it for too long. There was even a hiking trail here for the braver souls. The valley flattened out to a series of salt flats enclosed by mountains on either side; those to the north still snow-capped. A brief stop at Badwater allowed us to walk out on the flats, surprisingly cool compared with the adjacent bare rock. Here, a natural but brackish spring brings water to the surface. This is also the lowest point in the valley at 282 feet below sea level. A plaque on the valley side shows you exactly how far below sea level you are!
However, the power of the sun was evident and it wouldn’t do to be out in it for too long. There was even a hiking trail here for the braver souls. The valley flattened out to a series of salt flats enclosed by mountains on either side; those to the north still snow-capped. A brief stop at Badwater allowed us to walk out on the flats, surprisingly cool compared with the adjacent bare rock. Here, a natural but brackish spring brings water to the surface. This is also the lowest point in the valley at 282 feet below sea level. A plaque on the valley side shows you exactly how far below sea level you are!
From here we returned to Furnace Creek where there is an oasis largely taken up by a camp ground and the National Park Visitor Centre. Lunch was taken here. It was a bit like being in Morocco again, the place even had lots of palm trees. The final stop was at Mesquite Dunes before we climbed 5,000 feet out of the valley via Towne Pass.
I thought that it would now be downhill into California but was very much mistaken. A sort of Death Valley 2 had to be negotiated first before another lengthy climb over some of the most desolate landscape I have ever seen. It’s hardly a surprise that so many people died trying to cross the country by this route. After over an hour of climbing, we began to descend into the Owens Valley and headed north to Bishop, where we were to camp for the night. This leg of the journey also took well over an hour.
Compared to the first tour our journeys on this one have been relatively short and it’s amazing how quickly you can forget just how big America is. Bishop is in a wide flat floored valley with the Sierra Nevada towering, snow-capped to the west and another range of substantial mountains to the east.
I thought that it would now be downhill into California but was very much mistaken. A sort of Death Valley 2 had to be negotiated first before another lengthy climb over some of the most desolate landscape I have ever seen. It’s hardly a surprise that so many people died trying to cross the country by this route. After over an hour of climbing, we began to descend into the Owens Valley and headed north to Bishop, where we were to camp for the night. This leg of the journey also took well over an hour.
Compared to the first tour our journeys on this one have been relatively short and it’s amazing how quickly you can forget just how big America is. Bishop is in a wide flat floored valley with the Sierra Nevada towering, snow-capped to the west and another range of substantial mountains to the east.
After eating were viewed the DVDs of Jenna and Vanessa’s parachute jump in Vegas. They clearly enjoyed it! Not for me.
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