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.  

March 22, 2015. More Death Valley exploration

CAMPGROUND:  Mesquite Springs Campground inside Death Valley National Park.  At about 2000 foot altitude, so not too hot.  Very few amenities, as with most national parks.  Decent flush toilets. Dish-washing sink.  Beautiful huge sky.  $6/night.  4 stars

LOCATION:  Northern section of Death Valley National Park, in eastern California

WEATHER:  Sunny. Highs around 80

We said good-bye to our Quebec neighbors with their neat RV.  It folds down to a teardrop style.

We drove about 50 miles to the northern part of Death Valley National Park.  We didn't have a problem finding a campsite.  We picked this one, due to its location and altitude.  There are 9 campgrounds inside the park, some below sea level, others above the snow line. 

After lunch, we drove to Scotty's Castle inside the park.  In the 1920s, a scoundrel named Scotty got banks to loan him money to mine gold.  After giving Scotty a bunch of money which he squandered, one banker asked to see the mines.  He came out here from Chicago.  He found out it was a scam, but ended up loving the area, and built this fabulous Mediterranean style castle here.

We took 2 different tours.  Both were excellent.  The first was a tour of the home, guided by a park ranger in period clothing, pretending to be a cowboy in that era.  The second tour was an underground tour, in the castle tunnels.  We learned how they figured out how to have water and electricity back then.  The swimming pools were part of the castle grounds that were never finished.....

 In the tunnels are thousands of tiles that were going to be used for the swimming pools, including decorative tiles imported from Spain.

Then we went to see a huge volcanic crater.  The winds were about 100 mph.

Back at the campground, George made a fire.  Three other Airstreams are here...kind of unusual.  

DINNER:  Pasta with chicken.  Using more of the frozen leftover chicken, I added onions and garlic, as well as some leftover spinach.  I stirred in a little cream cheese for a sauce and sprinkled with Parmesan. 

March 21, 2015 continuing to die in Death Valley....

I hated to leave the nice resort..

We took some  scenic drives in the southern part of the park.

This is the largest national park outside of Alaska.  This area is called Artists' Palette due to the beautiful colors in the rocks.

Back in Beatty, George stopped for some more relaxation.......not!  We learned that this place went out of business because they "lost their girls"!  

We had a glass of wine with our camper neighbors from Quebec.  

DINNER:  We returned to the Happy Burro Beer and Chili restaurant and had their award-winning chili for dinner.  It was really good.

We decided to try to camp inside the park tomorrow, if we can get into one of the campgrounds at higher altitudes.  

March 21, 2015. Dying of heat in Death Valley!

CAMPGROUND: Second night at Beatty RV Park

LOCATION:  Beatty, Nevada, on eastern side of Desth Valley National Park

WEATHER:  Pleasant in Beatty.  HOT in Death Valley...90s

We left Beatty at 3660 feet altitude at 60 degrees F and literally coasted downhill for 20 miles to Death Valley  floor, at 80 degrees F in the early morning.  My ears popped on the drive.  Hell's Gate is where you can start feeling the heat difference.

Our first stop was an old Borax mine.  It showed how the borax was mined and transported by a  20 mule team wagon.

We walked on this field of  salt deposits, at around sea level.

This is a land of contrasts.....from the desert floor, you can see the snow on Mt. Whitney in the background, the highest mountain in the continental USA at 15,000 feet.

 This is the lowest point, at 282 feet below sea level.

We took a few hikes, all of which seemed to require climbing.  I finally gave up due to the sun and heat.  It gets to 134 degree F (57C) here in the summer.

We had a picnic lunch inside the truck with the A/C blasting, then relaxed at the resort inside the park. It is appropriately called Furnace Creek. There is a spring-fed creek running through it, so it seems like a real oasis with palm trees and flowers.

 

See next post for more photos....

March 20, 2015 continued

Here is another strange sculpture, of a sofa...

Then, back in town, we went to one of the town's 3 saloons, the Happy Burro Chili and Beer...

We had a beer outside.  Thank goodness they had more than Bud.  I had a Stone IPA. George  had a Sam Adams.

 The owner gave us a tour, including the men's restroom with a urinal using motorcycle handlebars.  He demonstrated the flushing technique....squeezing the brake on the left side of the handlebar.

We may return tomorrow, as they have won national awards for their chili.  A real cowboy came in, with a pistol in its holster on his hip, and a bandana around his neck.  

DINNER:  Like most commercial RV parks, there are no campfire grills, so I decided to cook leftover frozen chicken inside.  I made a southwestern skillet dinner with chicken, onions, Hatch pepper, pinto beans, and some salsa George had made with tomatillos. We are listening to wild burros  braying across the street.

March 20, 2015. Outside of Death Valley

CAMPGROUND: Beatty RV Park. Commercial, small park. Full hook-ups on gravel. Really nice bathrooms.  Friendly manager with antique restored Airstream.  4 stars. $25/night

LOCATION:  in town of Beatty, Nevada. 5 miles from entrance to Death Valley National Park, near southern Nevada/California border.  Across from brothel!

WEATHER:  Hot and sunny. Highs around 80

We drove about 125 miles northwest from Lake Mead, passing through the perimeter of Las Vegas.  We'll be returning to Las Vegas next week with my aunt and uncle, so we didn't stop. 

We thought that we would spend 2 nights outside Death Valley National Park, in an RV park with electricity, for my air conditioning needs.  Then, maybe 2 nights in the national park.  Some of the park campgrounds are at or below sea level, and are unbearably hot.  Others are at 2000-4000 feet, and no A/c is needed.  We will find out more tomorrow.

After setting up in Beatty, we drove a few miles to Rhyolite, an old mining ghost town.  At its heyday in the early 1900s, it was the 3rd largest city in Nevada, with 3 railroads, 60 saloons, shops, banks, and other businesses.  After not finding much gold, everyone left.

One house remains.  This house was made from old wine, beer and whiskey bottles.  Building bottle houses was a common practice when there was no wood or other building supplies available.

They must have drunk a lot!

Then, we walked around a nearby open air sculpture garden.  The artist is from Belgium.  He had wanted to build a sculpture of The Last Supper inside Death Valley, but when he wasn't allowed to, he built it here instead.

His art is a bit strange.

See next post for more of today's events.....

March 19, 2015. Low Lake Mead

CAMPGROUND: 2nd night at Boulder Bay Campground inside Lake Mead NRA.

LOCATION: Southeast Nevada, outside Boulder City

WEATHER:  Sunny and hit. Highs 85

We planned to stroll to the beach to pick up driftwood for tonight's campfire, but realized that the beach is about a mile down.  It has receded so much with the drought.  You can see the "bathtub ring" where the water had been.

We are so excited.....my aunt and uncle from Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada are coming here to Las Vegas next week and we will spend a week with them at their son's home.  Since we are not too far away, we checked out some places we might visit when they arrive.

One thing we might do with them is take a paddle boat ride around Lake Mead.  We stopped by the marina to pick up a brochure.  While there, we watched huge carp and huge striped bass begging for food.

    

We took a 2-mile hike near the lake on a trail that is a railroad bed, left over from the days when they made Hoover Dam.

In the afternoon, while it was hot, we took a drive around part of the lake and to Hoover Dam to pick up brochures on dam tours.  It is gigantic.

Back at the campground, we talked to neighbors about visiting Death Valley National Park where we plan to go next.  They say it is very hot there already, and the national park campgrounds have no hook-ups.  This means no air conditioning.  Uh-oh!  So, we will probably stay outside the park and drive to different parts.  After Death Valley, we will go to Las Vegas.

DINNER:  I had George make a campfire as it is too hot to cook inside.  I made a recipe I recently found called Southern Grits.  It is essentially a bed of cheese grits covered with a fried egg, green onions, okra and bell pepper strips.  I used more of my home-made chicken broth to make the grits; it really adds flavor.

Although it gets hot here during the day, it cools off nicely at night.  We are able to open windows on all 4 sides, so get a nice cross breeze.