Sunny and hot in Death Valley during the day. Temperature just shy of 100 degrees ! Cool and windy at the high elevation of Wildrose Canyon in the evening. Today was Day Two of my cold, and I was feeling ... poorly.
This morning we departed our boondocking spot in Twenty Mule Team Canyon and continued on the one way loop gravel road for the final mile or so of it until we once again reached Hwy. 190, the main road through Death Valley National Park. We drove to Furnace Creek, one of the two villages in the park, and into Texas Spring Campground, one of the three National Park campgrounds at Furnace Creek. We checked out the campground, then used their dump station to refill our freshwater holding tank and dump our waste holding tanks.
From Furnace Creek we headed south on Badwater Road seventeen miles to Badwater Basin, the lowest elevation below sea level in North America. We had previously visited Badwater Basin, and I wasn't feeling healthy enough today to want to go hiking across the salt flats so we just viewed them from the parking area. I wanted to conserve what little energy I had for some other hikes I had in mind.
We drove back north on Badwater Road to Natural Bridge, a canyon area with a natural rock formation "bridge" from one side of the canyon to the other. To get to the Natural Bridge requires an uphill hike for half a mile. Normally, not that much of a challenge, but ... on Day Two of a cold ... and with the outside temperature at 97 degrees ... WHEW ... I was huffing and puffing something fierce. The hike downhill back to the parking lot was a lot easier.
We continued driving north on Badwater Road to the Artist's Palette one way, nine mile long scenic drive through "multi-hued volcanic and sedimentary hills" ... like painted mountains ! This was Joanne's primary interest on this visit to Death Valley.
We stopped at the picnic area at Furnace Creek to have lunch. After lunch I napped briefly with Sully. Since there was cell phone service at Furnace Creek Joanne phoned her sister. We departed Furnace Creek about 3 PM, heading north then west on
Hwy. 190 across Death Valley towards Stovepipe Wells, the other village in the National Park. The temperature remained at 97 degrees throughout the afternoon crossing Death Valley.
Shortly after Stovepipe Wells was the road to Mosaic Canyon, a hike through a marble walled canyon. I wanted to hike Mosaic Canyon, but ... I had already done one uphill hike at 97 degrees suffering from a cold, and I wasn't willing to do it again ! We passed by the road to Mosaic Canyon and kept driving.
About eight miles southwest past Stovepipe Wells we turned onto Emigrant Canyon Road for the twenty-one mile trip through Emigrant Canyon, Emigrant Pass, Nemo Canyon and Wildrose Canyon to Wildrose Campground. We were now on the west side of Death Valley in the Panamint Mountains. The elevation rose from below sea level to above 4100 feet. And the higher we got, the thicker the wildflowers became. WOW ... really lovely !
When we arrived at the remote and unserviced Wildrose Campground we were a bit surprised to find that most of the twenty-three campsites were occupied. After getting parked and set up in a site we went for a short exploratory hike. It turned into a much longer hike than we had planned, but we hiked slowly, and it was much cooler here. Bo really enjoyed a long, leisurely hike, as he had spent the entire day in the truck with Sully. Like all U.S. National Parks, Death Valley doesn't allow dogs ... well ... anywhere, it seems !
As we hiked, I noticed a rattlesnake on the side of the road. Oh ... it's dead ! Must have been injured by a car as it crossed the road, although there were no visible crush injuries. A few minutes later as we re-entered the campground ... WHOA ! ! ! A big rattlesnake ! ALIVE ! Good thing I saw it before Bo did. Joanne pulled Bo away and as
I approached slowly to get a better look ... it slithered away underneath a Creosote Bush. Rattlesnakes are shy, and would just as soon avoid a confrontation.
As the sun set, the wind picked up, and the temperature dropped quickly. Chilly evening !
Monday ; Sunny and warm, nice at this elevation.
1. Death Valley is an excellent place for stargazing, because of the clear atmosphere and absence of light pollution.
2. Tonight ... shortly after midnight ... there will be a total lunar eclipse visible here !
I was very interested in seeing the total lunar eclipse, especially since the positioning of our campsite was such that the moon is visible out our camper's front "picture window" while we are in bed. We can watch the eclipse from bed ! And since I have a cold, a "day off" would be welcome.
So ... this morning we got a lazy start to the day, then ... refilled Elsie's freshwater tank. This is an unserviced campground, but there are a few water spigots throughout the campground. We drove out of the campground and a short distance down a nearby isolated gravel road to dump our grey ( shower wastewater ) tank. As we returned to the campground I decided, on impulse, to drive up to see the 1879 charcoal kilns about eight miles away ... all uphill, from 4100 feet at the campground to something like 8000 feet at the kilns.
On the drive up I had to come to a complete stop to allow a very large snake to slither across the road. From what I could see, I believe it was a Copperhead.
The last two miles of the road to the kilns were extremely rough gravel, violating the decision I had made before leaving Yuma that we would have to forego any rough road / off road adventures on this trip home because of the heavy storage chest on top of the camper and the heavy items packed into the "children's bunk bed" storage area above the dinette table. I need to be better disciplined !
The kilns built in 1879 were used to produce charcoal for a mine thirty miles away ! They used the wood of the abundant Piñon Pines in the surrounding area. It took two weeks to turn the wood into charcoal ! Since the kilns had only been used for about a three year period, they are in extremely good condition, despite being 145 years old.
Sometimes when I look at what our forefathers were able to accomplish, I'm astounded ! This kiln site is so far off the beaten path ... there's no damn path ! ! ! Eight thousand feet up into the Panamint Mountains above the incredibly hostile environment of Death Valley ! Even in 2014 this site is extremely difficult to get to !
I put the truck in neutral and coasted down. For awhile I shut the engine off to really conserve fuel, but ... realized quickly that I needed the engine running to provide power steering and power brakes. DUH ! HA HA HA !
Back at the campground Joanne sat outside in the warm sunlight all afternoon working on Sudoku puzzles while I read and napped with Sully. Late in the afternoon I wanted to start our little generator to give it its monthly "exercise" and ... recharge my computer's battery. I had an extremely difficult time getting it started, and an even more difficult time keeping it running before I clued in. OH ... we're above four thousand feet and the air is thin ! DUH ... again ! ! !
We sat down to eat supper at 7:30 PM ... as the huge, full moon rose above the mountains. WOW !
Yes, yes, the total lunar eclipse was quite spectacular ! And being able to view it from the comfort of our bed was pretty special.
Tuesday ; Wildrose Campground, Death Valley National Park to Lone Pine, California
Sunny and warm. This morning we departed Wildrose Campground and drove 21 miles on Emigrant Canyon Road back to Hwy. 190 where we turned west. I was running low on fuel so we had to stop at the first village we came to, Panamint Springs, still within Death Valley National Park, to buy some diesel fuel ... at $5.989 per gallon ! ! ! Without a doubt that will be the most expensive fuel of this winter season. I bought just enough diesel to get us to the first town outside of the National Park, Lone Pine. And just as I finished pumping the fuel, the service station had a power failure, so we couldn't pay by credit card ! Well ... at least I got the fuel pumped before the power failure.
We stopped at Father Crowley Vista Point looking over Rainbow Canyon, the last ( if westbound, first if eastbound ) Death Valley National Park facility. We had lunch and
I napped briefly before continuing westbound on Hwy. 190 out of Death Valley National Park.
Twenty-five bucks a night for unserviced sites ? I don't think so ! We found a gravel parking lot behind the McDonald's in town and parked there overnight. With the permission of the McDonald's manager. I spent the last part of the afternoon working in the McDonald's, using their free Wi-Fi, with my laptop plugged into an electrical outlet to recharge the battery. After supper in Elsie I returned to McDonald's to do more computer work. I had a lot of photos to download from my camera to laptop, and then "process" them, and I posted my weekly blog entry.
Thank you very much McDonald's in Lone Pine, California.
Wednesday ; Lone Pine to Crestview Rest Area near Mammoth Lakes, California
Sunny and warm. Today we continued driving north on Hwy. 395, first through the Inyo Valley between the Inyo Mountains on the east and the Sierra Nevada Mountains on the west, then up into the eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains. The temperature became a lot cooler the higher we climbed up into the Sierra Nevadas. We stopped for the night at a highway rest area just a bit north of Mammoth Lakes ski area. The elevation was somewhere in the vicinity of 8000 feet ASL. It was a pretty chilly evening.
We spent the morning at Manzanar, one of the ten Japanese internment camps in the United States during the Second World War. Over 10,000 AMERICANS of Japanese ancestry were interned ( read that "imprisoned" ) at Manzanar from 1942 to 1945. Bravo for the much touted American Constitution ! < he says with contempt and tongue in cheek > We toured the interpretative center / "living history" museum displays, then watched a brief video presentation. We were fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time. A 74 year old man who was at Manzanar from age 2 to age 5 was also a visitor today. He was persuaded by the staff to give an impromptu presentation of his experience as a young child in the camp, and his life afterwards. Somewhat ironically, he and his wife are also "Snowbirds" returning north to their summer home after spending the winter down south.
We had lunch in the parking lot of the National Park Service / National Historic Site at Manzanar before continuing north on Hwy. 395. At Independence we stopped at a municipal campground to refill our freshwater tank.
Joanne wanted to stop at the "world famous" Schat's Bakery in Bishop and buy some of their "world famous" Sheepherder's Bread. So ... we did ! And we bought a bunch of other baking as well. HEY ... a German bakery is almost as good as a panaderia. HA HA HA ! Across the street from Schat's Bakery was Holy Smoke Texas Style BBQ. Bought a pound of barbecued beef brisket ! Before leaving Bishop we shopped for groceries and refilled with diesel at Von's.
At the ski village of Mammoth Lakes we stopped at the municipal wastewater treatment plant and dumped our waste holding tanks at their RV dump. And just a few miles down the road was the lovely, forested Crestview Rest Area where we boondocked for the night.
MMMMM ... good brisket !
Thursday ; Mammoth Lakes, California to Carson City, Nevada
Mostly sunny and warm. A bit windy in a few areas. A bit cool in a few areas.
This morning before departing the Crestview Rest Area I discovered a truck tire had lost half its air pressure, from 80 PSI to 40 PSI. HMPH ... slow leak ! I did not want to change a tire when the camper was on the truck, if I could avoid it. I decided to risk driving about ten miles back to Mammoth Lakes Village on the low pressure tire. We refilled the freshwater tank at the rest area and headed back to Mammoth Lakes Village, taking the Mammoth Lakes Scenic Loop Road.
In Mammoth Lakes Village we found our way to a tire repair shop ... which was surprisingly busy. I don't know why. Winter / ski season is over, summer / mountain biking season hasn't started yet, why is the village so busy ? I did not want to wait a couple of hours for service, so I filled the tire back up to 80 PSI and we set off again, northbound on Hwy. 395.
Before we reached Crestview Rest Area again, I had a brainstorm. The last time I had a tire slow leak, it was because the screw in metal valve stem had vibrated loose. HMMM ... that could have happened when we were driving over that very rough road to the charcoal kilns a few days ago. We pulled into Crestview Rest Area again. I removed the tire's hub cap and wheel liner, and tightened the screw in metal valve stem. It was a teensy bit loose, so ... hopefully ... that was the problem and it's now solved. I'll know for sure in a day or two.
We continued northbound on Hwy. 395. We took about a half hour or so detour on the June Lake Scenic Loop, passing by four lovely lakes before returning to Hwy. 395. We stopped again at Mono Lake to view the tufa towers, columns of mineral deposits along the shoreline. We stopped in the village of Bridgeport to have lunch, eating our lunch parked in the lot of the closed Tourist Information Center, which was right beside the closed museum and the closed Social Services Office, which was right beside the closed ( forever ) grocery store. Looks like Bridgeport has seen better days !
I needed Wi-Fi and an electrical plug to recharge my laptop battery ( our little generator is not working ! ). The McDonald's inside Wal-Mart had Wi-Fi, but like many fast food restaurants, no electrical plugs on the walls near the tables. So ... after finishing our Wal-Martin', I reluctantly went to Starbucks. I hate Starbucks. Over two bucks for a small ... sorry, I meant "tall" ... < rolling eyes > ... cup of tea. Pretentious staff. Even more pretentious customers. Obnoxious, too loud, jazz "muzak". Oh, well ! I nursed my cup of tea, worked online, and recharged my laptop battery, for two hours, seated in a corner in a comfortable leather armchair. I suppose that was worth the two bucks !
Good Friday ; Carson City, Nevada to and around Lake Tahoe, Nevada and California to Reno, Nevada
Sunny and warm. Well ... except for when we were up at Mount Rose above Lake Tahoe at an elevation above 8900 feet.
Day seven of my cold and I have finally begun to get better ... at last !
This morning before departing the Wal-Mart shopping mall where we spent the night we walked over to Trader Joe's and ... you know ... spent way too much money buying way too much exotic / gourmet / specialty foods on impulse. Trader Joe's is one of life's great indulgences ! We drove across the street to another mall where I went into Dollar Tree to buy a small hand mirror to replace the one I dropped and broke this morning
< sigh >. Before leaving Carson City we refilled with diesel at Terrible Herbst, a chain of Nevada fuel stations.
We headed north out of Carson City on Hwy. 50, immediately beginning the long ascent up to Lake Tahoe. When we reached Lake Tahoe we stopped at a Safeway store and had lunch in their parking lot. We spent the entire afternoon driving completely around Lake Tahoe, first south to South Lake Tahoe, a very upscale small city, then onto Hwy. 89 around the south end of the lake, crossing from Nevada into California, then north along the west side of the lake. We stopped at Sugar Point State Park to refill with freshwater and dump our grey and black waste holding tanks. At the north end of the lake when we crossed from California back into Nevada and got to Mount Rose Summit, above 8900 feet, I had a brainstorm. HEY ... we don't have any photos of Sully in snow. HA HA HA ! I pulled over to the side of the road, took Sully out of the truck, tossed him into the snow, and took a picture. HA HA HA HA HA ! He was not happy about being awakened from a snooze on the back seat of the truck to be tossed out into the snow. HA HA HA < SNORT > HA HA !
Saturday ; Reno, Nevada to Goose Lake State Park, California / Oregon border
Sunny and warm. Before leaving Reno this morning we bought a couple of items at Wal-Mart and refilled with diesel at Smith's, a supermarket chain. We continued northbound on Hwy. 395, crossing from Nevada back into California soon after leaving Reno. We had a long day of driving, covering a lot of miles. We stopped for lunch at a roadside rest area. My lunch was Sheepherder's Bread spread with cream cheese, then a thin layer of smoked salmon / lox, a slice of onion, and some capers. Thank you very much Schat's Bakery and Trader Joe's. HA HA HA !
Late in the day we took a detour to find a National Forest Services campground at the northern tip of California. The campground was supposed to be three miles off the highway. We drove much more than three miles from the highway on a poor mud road. As I attempted to turn around I ripped a mud flap off the truck < fume >.
We continued northbound on Hwy. 395, and as we crossed from California into Oregon we stopped at Goose Lake State Park. Water not turned on, but electricity on, and a dump station available. We decided to stay for the night. We got parked and set up in a site, then went for a short hike with Bo before supper.
Sully wasn't feeling well tonight but ... since we have electricity we will be using his little electric "heater blankie" overnight. That should help him to feel better, hopefully.
DSK
Great photos of the eclipse!
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