Death Valley Day

Our original plan was to stay in Death Valley for two nights, spending the day in between sightseeing, and relaxing in the room the second night before heading to Bishop, CA and the Eastern Sierras. After spending the first evening in the room with the A/C barely keeping up, we decided we couldn't spend another night in the hot, dark, cramped room. So we decided to revise the schedule and get out of Dodge. We would tour the park until mid-afternoon, and spend the evening in Bishop instead.

Not as nice as it looks: 7:00 am and already 90 degrees, June 2012

Death Valley is aptly named. It really is a harsh environment - hotter than hot, virtually no water, sand and rocks everywhere. Much of the ground water is literally "bad water" - contaminated with metals and salts that make it undrinkable.

Did I mention it's hot? The forecast for today was 118-120 degrees.

Badwater, Death Valley NP, June 2012

After Badwater, which is south of Furnace Creek, we headed up north. We found some more examples of just how desolate and difficult this place is.

Everything looks dead, June 2012

Lunch wagon, June 2012

We made an aborted attempt to buy lunch in some bar, only to discover they pretty much coat the entire kitchen in garlic powder. So we settled for PB&J in the car again. Then it was off to Scotty's Castle. To make a long story short, a hustler befriended a wealthy business man who built a mansion in the hills in the northern reaches of what is now the Park. Scotty, the hustler, wound up living there pretty much full time as a guest, and finally died there in 1954. The place is really magnificent, with attention to details and very advanced technology for the 1920s, when it was built. The estimated cost to build was $1-$2 million - in 1925 dollars!

Scotty was here, June 2012

Anyway, we're in Bishop tonight. The room is light, large, and cool. We get free breakfast and cookies & coffee in the evening. Did I mention the room is cool?