5th October 2013 - 315km We left a sleepy Panamint Springs around 08:15 after deciding against partaking of the dodgy breakfast fare… something we would regret as it was over three hours before we next had an opportunity to get something to eat. The desert stretched away and we cruised leisurely westwards through the Death Valley National Park, taking in the views. Many of the side roads were closed off with booms and sometimes with diggers and/or graders across them. The road wound down further and further, until we passed a sign indicating that we were 200ft below sea level. We intended visiting Badwater Basin, which are large Salt Flats, but the road to them was closed. We did however come across a smaller salt flat at the bottom of the valley, still below sea level. This place provided the opportunity for the obvious quote of the day by Jason - dipping his finger into the salt on the salt flats and putting it in his mouth, he says “This stuff tastes salty!” We drove into Stovepipe Wells, the place we were supposed to stay overnight before they cancelled on us due to the Government shutdown. It looked like a really nice place – better than Panamint Springs – but we can’t regret what was beyond our control. It looked like a real Western town. Just outside Stovepipe Wells are Sand Dunes, located there due to the natural flow of wind. We stopped and snapped off several photos and took note of the many warning signs about heat and dehydration on the boards there. Like so many of the stops in the National Parks the public toilets were closed but, out of desperation or out of frustration, the door had been kicked in! We then drove on to Furnace Creek, which is a bit of a tourist trap. There we had lunch/breakfast and walked around the Western Museum and, as usual, snapped off some photos. Our last stop-off in Death Valley itself was Zabriskie Point – a lookout with rolling hillsides again straight out of Western movies. The hills had a yellow look about them due to the Borax content. As a result of the closures, the few remaining sightseeing opportunities were a little crowded – in the ten minutes or so we spent there, three busloads of tourists from Vegas arrived. We then headed out of Death Valley to a town called Pahrump and, unable to resist temptation, visited the local Walmart. Jason managed to snap off two clandestine photos of Walmartians. Yes folks, they do exist… Just outside Pahrump we crossed from California to Nevada, which was a little anticlimactic, without even a sign saying “Welcome to Nevada” or “You’re leaving California please come back” – suppose we’re not welcome in either state any more? Excitement built as we drove closer and closer to Vegas, eventually spotting the familiar skyline as we wound our way through some hills. We checked in at La Quinta Inn & Suites which was just off the runway of McCarran International Airport – Jason felt like all his Christmases had come at once, and spent over an hour watching the planes land right in front of him. Another unique experience was driving and having the planes scream overhead in full view with the Convertible. We caught a shuttle bus into town and caught up with another work colleague and had some Ribs for dinner (surprise, surprise) at the Outback Steakhouse. After eating entirely too many ribs, we walked down the strip until the senses could not take in any more. Sensory overload doesn’t begin to describe this place… Tomorrow we set out for Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon – not our original planned trip as the Grand Canyon National Park is closed, but we will be visiting the West Rim, which is on a Hualapi Indian reservation. Cheers, Pete & Jason
Posted on: Tue, 08 Oct 2013 06:25:07 +0000
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