March 23, 2015. More Death Valley

CAMPGROUND: 2nd night at Mesquite Springs

LOCATION:  Death Valley National Park on eastern California border

WEATHER:  Pleasant. Highs about 80

George discovered that the other tire on our camper looked bad. Rather than chance another possible blow-out on a highway, he replaced it with the spare.  That project took almost the entire morning.  

Then we took a drive to the west central part of the park.  On our way, we saw this coyote

We found a "beer oasis" in a restaurant in a resort inside the park.  We both had unusual beers and lunch there.  It was a very pleasant surprise.

The road was very curvy and steep.  We climbed from below sea level to 5000 feet.  The restaurant was at about 3000 feet, so it was nice and cool. We sat on the patio and enjoyed the scenery.  We met a couple there and recommended that they stay at our campground.  We have seen a couple others in the park, and ours is definitely the best.  I learned that it is rated one of the best in the USA for star-gazing.

We passed these gigantic sand dunes

And then saw another coyote.

Back at the campground, the couple we had met at lunch had arrived.  They joined us for dinner.  It was nice talking with them.  They are camping in a VW van.  They are from Washington state and sail a lot.

DINNER:  I used the last of the frozen leftover chicken.  This time, I made it into fried rice, adding onions, ginger, and garlic.  I forgot to add the green peas.  :(    This is the 5th meal from the $7.00 package of chicken thighs we bought last week, plus broth I made from the bones for cooking rice and grits.