After Bodie we drove down to Lone Pine, CA and stayed the night in a hotel. The next morning we
took off for Death Valley. The drive into Death Valley National Park from the west side was amazing.
Death Valley National Park is a massively spread out, diverse place of over 3 million acres. On the way
in we stopped at a ranger station to find out where to camp. We learned that a campsite known as
Mohogany Flat would be a good spot due to it being at 8351 feet above sea level. So we made our way
to Mohogany Flat first thing, as we wanted to make sure we got a good spot. Getting to the campsite took
over an hour. There were very few others on the road out there, and the campsite turned out to be virtually
empty as well. On the way in, we stoped and checked out some old charcoal ovens left over from the
mining days.
After we set up camp, we ate lunch and decided to relax for a while. We took a 2 hour nap in the tent. It was
very nice to unwind and just do nothing. After that, we decided to drive into the valley to experience the hottest,
driest place in the United States. It took over an hour to get to the valley floor. We decended from 8351 to -190
feet below sea level. An amazing transformation of weather and landscape. At the bottom we stopped at the
general store to pick up some supplies.
To my surprise there were several birds out an about in the scortching heat. All of the birds had their mouths
open, clearly an ornothilogical way of regulating body temperature. Interesting.
We drove around a little more and checked out the little resort and golf course (go figure) that is in the middle
of Death Valley. Not only was it ultra-hot and dry, the wind was intense and constant. Massive dust storms
could be seen off in the distance, and dust devils whipped across the road regularly. After spending about an
hour or so down in the valley, we decided to get back up to the campsite. CeCe was looking pretty pekid in
the heat and the VX was not so happy either. So we made our way back and stopped to take some photos
of the dunes on the way.
We made it back to the campsite just in time for dinner. We ate, drank and relaxed some more as the sun
went down. The campsite, being located at the top of a mountain, was rather windy. However, shortly after
dark the wind suddenly stopped, and the temperature slowly went down and made for a wonderful, silent
night of sleep. I woke up early on Monday and watched the sun rise over the valley. It was quite cool out
still and absolutely quiet. In moments like this I really wonder about the human race and how we got so
far away from where I think we should be.
As usual, I had to wake Linda up about 3 times. We packed up camp and drove out again through the valley
and toward Beatty, NV. Just outside Beatty is another destination, the ghost town of Rhyolite. Just outside
Rhyolite there is some strange art on display.
Rhyolite is quite a bit different than Bodie. The buildings were mostly made of stone. Their crumbled skeletal
remains looked more like a post-war scene than a ghost town.
Me in the old jail.
On the way out we stopped at the Rhyolite cemetary.
The road home was long but pleasantly strange....
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