ENDLESS ADVENTURE USA: DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK, CA & NV

On our way from Joshua Tree to Death Valley we stopped at the Walmart in Barstow, CA to have the oil changed in our Jeep Liberty. We thought we would be in and out and on our way in no time, but when the tech tried to move the Jeep in to the shop the transmission started to slip. After adding some transmission fluid we were able to have the oil change completed. The tech let me in the pit and showed me that transmission fluid was leaking from somewhere. Since we had an extended warranty we located the nearest Jeep Dealer and set up an appointment for the next day. We spent the night at the Barstow Flying J Truck stop and brought the Jeep over early the next morning. After looking at it we were told that the transmission fluid lines to the transmission cooler had corroded and were leaking. A little too much road salt was probably to blame. That's what you get when you buy a car from the snow belt! Anyway, they said they would have to order the parts from L.A. and that they wouldn't be here until tomorrow. So I checked our extended warranty, and you guessed it, the transmission lines were not covered! Every single part of the transmission was covered, but not these external lines! With that said, we took off in the RV and spent another night at the Flying J. The job was completed by 4:30 pm the following day, so we hooked up the Jeep and finally headed for Death Valley. We spent the night at a rest area on I-15 and reached the park the following day on March 7, 2013.

Now let me ask you, does "Death Valley" sound like a place you would want to visit? Not really! So why would anyone want to spend time there? Let's look at some facts about Death Valley; Situated in the Mojave Desert in Eastern California, it is the lowest and driest area in North America and it holds the record for the highest recorded temperature on Earth, 134 degrees on July 10, 1913 at Furnace Creek. The average yearly rainfall is less than 2 1/2 inches (we were shocked when it rained all day, 3/8/13, the second day we were there) and within the valley lies Badwater Basin, the lowest point in North America at 282 feet below sea level. So why do people come here? Well, from November to March, the temperatures average between the high 60's and the low 80's. Not a bad climate for snow birds, and that is one of the reasons why we were here. In addition, Death Valley is about 120 miles long and there are many interesting sites.

We set up camp at the Sunset Campground, which is across the street from the Furnace Creek Ranch and right near the Visitor Center. It is just another one of those large gravel parking areas with rest rooms, a dump station, a fresh water station and dumpsters. Nothing fancy... an inexpensive dry camping site with plenty of sunshine for the solar panel... just the way we like it! The first day we did a basic set up and the second day it rained all day, which was quite amazing to us since we were at one of the driest places on Earth. Day three we finished setting up for our two week stay, so by day four we were ready to explore. The first thing we did was to drive to Beatty, NV to get gas, since the price of gas at Furnace Creek was $5.64 a gallon for regular. Returning from Beatty we stopped at an old ghost town call Rhyolite and checked out what was left of some old buildings from this early mining town. We then drove through Titus Canyon, which consisted of 4-wheeling along some narrow, one-way, treacherous gravel roads up and over Red Pass in the Grapevine Mountains and then down through Titus Canyon. The canyon started out very wide and ended up quite narrow as we exited out to a parking area and then on to Scotty's Castle Road for our return drive back to our campsite. That, by far, was the most adventurous drive we have taken with our Jeep Liberty!

Since we basically have plenty of time on our hands, being retired and all, when it comes to exploring the National Parks and such, I don't like to explore day after day if we don't have to. I prefer to have R&R every other day so that we can regroup, relax, read, cook a nice meal, or catch up on the computer. However, the following day we did take a bike ride about a mile down the road to see the Harmony Borax Works where Borax was once processed for shipping. Some of you will remember the "20 Mule Team Borax" commercials or "Death Valley Days" from TV when we were growing up. Well, this was one of the places that helped produce that Borax Soap and that Boraxo hand cleaner that I remember so well. That bike ride didn't take too long, so we did get R&R for the rest of the day.

Death Valley National Park is located for the most part in California, but a small portion of the park is in Nevada, including Devils Hole. This fact helped us check off two states while visiting the park. Devils Hole is located within Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge in Nevada. It is a fresh water thermal spring in a deep cavern and is the only home of the endangered "Devils Hole pupfish". While at the refuge we took a hike and later parked and had lunch at the reservoir while watching the wildlife. After lunch we headed back and took the drive to Dante's View. From this mountain top location we had a breathtaking view of Death Valley. We also took a drive through the 20 Mule Team Canyon for a look at some interesting geological formations and then a drive to Zabriske Point for more of the same and that was enough for one day.

Starting week two, the weather report told us that it was going to be about 100 degrees as we drove to Badwater Basin after breakfast. We walked out to the valley floor to get a close up of the parched salt crusted earth at the lowest point in North America. Our next stop was a hike to see the Natural Bridge, then to view the Devils Golf Course. After that it was a drive to see the Artists Palette and then one last hike on the Golden Canyon Interpretive Trail. Although it was quite hot that day we did manage to enjoy our site seeing. The following day was 101 degrees, which we spent hopping in and out of the pool at the Furnace Creek Ranch.

After a few more days of R&R, we started up the Jeep again and headed out for more fun in the sun. This time we went to see the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes, hiked to Darwin Falls and in Mosaic Canyon. After seeing the sand dunes and walking out on to these immense piles of sand we had quite a drive over the Panamint Range to the trail head for Darwin Falls. The drive and hike was well worth it. On our return trip we stopped to hike in the Mosaic Canyon, where Rene climbed her way up to the top of a narrow cliff. See photo below.

After a day off to do some laundry, we took the drive up to see Scotty's Castle and the Ubehebe Crater. Scotty's Castle has an interesting story behind it, but basically a cowboy conman (Scotty) swindles a Millionaire from Chicago on a phony gold mine claim and the Millionaire ends up taking a liking to Scotty, falls in love with the area and builds this castle retreat in the desert. The Ubehebe Crater was nothing more than a large hole in the ground where a mountain top use to be before it was blown off during a volcanic eruption. Unlike Crater Lake in Oregon, there is no water in this crater, so if you wanted to you could hike down to the bottom and then hike all the way back up again. We decided to pass on that one!

Anyway, we had to get back to the RV and start packing things up for our next adventure. Although we had a great time in Death Valley, we were departing the following day and would need to plan out a few things. We would need to stop for gasoline, propane, an oil change for the RV and find a Walmart to restock our supplies. I believe we found it all in Bakersfield, CA. and we are ready for our next stop... Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Parks.

FP & RG