11/7 -
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| A Zoe look alike (in coloring)! |
We left Baker Creek campground and headed to Lone Pine to go back to the Alabama Hills. I stopped at the hostel for a shower - another $10 (I really should start using my own!). There were three showers, but one was in use, another had no lock. I found, after my shower, that my door wasn't locked as the latch just barely engaged. Just a tad disconcerting!
Do any of these photos remind you of any Western films you've seen? This was/is one of Hollywood's favorite filming locations since the early 1900s. There is a Western Film Museum in town that I will be sure to visit before leaving. I'm thinking I'll do that tomorrow morning, then come back and check out the various spots where movies were filmed. My next destination is Death Valley and I'm in no hurry to get there right now as it is in the 90s during the day still.
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| Almost in the same spot I was last time, but better |
I took a walk on my own, as it was still too sunny and warm (though perfect temp for me!) for Zoe. This allowed me to crawl around on the granite rocks, which are super rough. I was in shorts, so had to be super careful to not fall as it would be a bloody mess if I did!
A few shots from up high where I had climbed (a bit nervously).
Once the sun got low, I grabbed Zoe for a walk. As I descended a hill, she stopped at the top, clearly telling me she wasn't interested in doing that. Walks with her these days really need to be quite level...
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Very brief morning walk. Zoe didn't seem interested in walking. Just wanted to go back and lie in the sun.
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As mentioned previously, I had reduced and basically stopped giving Zoe the Apoquel for her allergies. I was kicking myself for not trying again to wean her off of it (I had tried several times early on and it didn't go well), since she seemed to be doing well. Well, this morning she would not stop licking her belly. It's red and has some raised areas. So I started her on the Apoquel again. 😒 I hate it because I keep bugging her to stop licking her belly and I know how frustrating it is to not scratch an itch!!!
So far, today has been a day to chill and work on my blog. Maybe I'll even read a book! Or will I go explore? Since I'm on blocks, my tendency is to just stay.
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| Many years ago I had a sandwich with tarragon mayo on it and I've continued to enjoy it on my homemade sandwiches. If you haven't experienced it, I highly recommend it. I just shake some tarragon on the mayo before adding other ingredients and have only used it with Turkey or Chicken, but its probably good with roast beef too. Give it a try! |
I ended up deciding I should explore and we headed out to Whitney Portal - another steep road. It's not super curvy, but it has 14% grades in some places and we made it!
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| I don't know which is Mt Whitney, or even if you can see it, but this is on my drive up. |
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| Can you see the curve cut out in the mountain in front? That's the road. |
Zoe and I walked around and started up the trail. There were people doing the hike just to Lone Pine Lake, which is about 6 miles. Zoe and I just did what she could do, which was probably about 1/3 mi each way - until it started getting steep.
There is a store at the top that I had hoped to check out, but it was closed and boarded up. I'm assuming this is Federal property or maybe just closed for the winter?
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| View of Alabama Hills below |
When we got back to camp, Zoe and I took a walk among the rocks. I just can't get over how fun it is to walk around here. It all feels fake!
Then I took a walk on my own down the hill that Zoe had said No! to. It was really steep, so I'm glad we didn't do it together, and it kept going down. It was getting dark, so I only went about a mile, but I'd love to go back as it feels really cool to be walking down with the huge rocks on either side.
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| A little oasis. This is the first water I've seen out here in the Alabama Hills. |
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| Time to get back to the van before I can't see the way! |
11/9 - I headed into town to go to the Western Film Museum and get some lunch at the Alabama Hills Bakery and Cafe. Yum, but no dogs allowed, even on the patio. I considered boycotting it due to this, but really wanted some food from here.
Museum was interesting. I realize how little of the Western movies and actors I know. Mostly I enjoyed the movie where I got a picture of where the movies were filmed in the Alabama Hills. And there was a little film on how Stetson hats are made and that was super interesting. It's quite a process with lots on human intervention, making me understand why there are so expensive.
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| Mobile dentist. I wonder how clean that was... |
After that I drove back out to the hills and tried to find a spot, but to no avail. It was easier to find a spot on Friday afternoon than Sunday afternoon, which surprised me. I should have selected a new spot when I was leaving and I may have had better luck. I ended up giving up driving around the bumpy dirt roads and went to Tuttle Creek Campground, which is fine, but certainly not as nice as camping among the rocks. This is closer to the mountains, which is pretty, but I do prefer the rocks. I ended up meeting Joe and Robert and enjoying a G&T and dinner with them by the fire, so that was fun.
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| View from my site |
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| Robert cooking up some dinner. They have quite the setup with the trailer. They sleep in tents, and have everything they need in the trailer. They are both carpenters, so they're pretty inventive. |
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| They made a wood stove out of two 20 lb propane tanks. Comforts of home! |
11/10 - I'm putting off leading to Death Valley due to the high temps and the guys invited me for another dinner. It's still really hot here in the strong desert sun, so I can't do much with Zoe. Yesterday, she barked when I left her in the van all three times I left her behind. I wonder what was going on with her yesterday as she normally doesn't bark...
I decided to take a quick hike on my own into the rocks as I so enjoy looking at them. Again, photos cannot do it justice as there are so many nuances.
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| kidney stone? lol |
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| Nightmare Rock |
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Today was a small but satisfying milestone — I finally used my privacy tent for a shower. Bob and Sherry had found it abandoned on the side of the road back in Alaska and passed it along to me since they already had one. I’ve been carrying it around ever since, waiting for the right situation to put it to use. The last real shower I took was in the hostel in Lone Pine and I could have done that again, but if I spend $10 every few days, it'll get pretty darn expensive, so I figured I'd just fill up my water, turn on the water heater and shower at the van. I could have used the indoor shower, but it was so nice and warm out and I wanted to try out the tent. Being solo, I don’t always feel comfortable showering outdoors in the buff (even in the tent), but I felt safe enough in the campground, so I went for it.
It was a bit awkward, but I’m sure I’ll figure out a smoother system as I go, but for a first attempt, it felt like a small victory. |
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| Finally some clouds to provide some color at sunset! |
I enjoyed dinner with Joe and Robert again tonight. Thankfully, in preparation, I stopped and grabbed a bottle of wine and some more cookies for dessert. Dinner was a one pot shepherds pie meal that was quite yummy - Kudos to Joe! We enjoyed sharing stories by the fire and watching a kangaroo rat enjoy any crumbs we may have dropped. Joe, at 59, is really still just an entertaining child, playing animal and fart sounds on his speaker. A couple pulled into the site next door and Joe put the speaker out there and played various sounds, but much to his dismay, the new neighbors didn't entertain him with a response.
11/11 - Today, was the first day I've seen clouds for quite a while. It was actually quite enjoyable to have the sun filtered and tamed a bit.
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| Majestic! |
I finally made it to Death Valley!!! On the way, I realized that I didn't get gas before I left and figured it would be less costly to get gas in Lone Pine, so I turned around (thankfully only 2 miles back into town) and got gas. I took that as a sign that I should go back to the store and get some more cookies, since I had left them with the boys.
The visitor center wasn't open, so I didn't get a map and recommendations like I had hoped. Mid week in off season (though I would think this is high season for Death Valley).
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| Rainbow Canyon from above |
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| Rainbow Canyon is a training ground for fighter jets. It has been used continually since the 1930s. It's used for low level navigation. Navigating at low altitude and high speed is a necessary skill for military pilots to develop, hone, and practice. |
Views from Father Crowley Vista Point. I started driving out this 1/2 mile road, but after .2 mile I decided to leave the van and walk the rest of the way. I should have walked from the paved parking lot, but I didn't know how rough it would be. It wasn't too hot due to the clouds, but it was still a bit much for Zoe. I think with the pain in her elbow and her age, pretty much any walk with any incline and sun is too much for her. When will I learn??? I'm torn with leaving her in the van, where she looks for me the whole time, and taking her with me. I just keep trying... If there are plenty of smells (which there weren't), she loves it, but moves at a snails pace, having to sniff each pee mail for minutes. Fortunately, I have the time to let her do that (most of the time), except when I get impatient... 😞
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| Late lunch/early dinner view from Panamint Springs Restaurant. Super yummy burger! |
Since I had just showered, I decided I had no need to stay at a campground (available in Panamint Springs), so I drove to a spot recommended on iOverlander. It's outside of the park, so I don't need to be 1 mile from the paved road. When I turned off the pavement, the dirt track (not road) seemed fine, so off I went. Then I thought I'd park a bit off to the left. The sand is mixed with rocks, so I figured it was fairly solid, but what do I know? Well, I started spinning in the sand. Here I am all alone (thankfully I have Starlink now) and possibly getting stuck. Big Bertha seems to do better than I expect, so all was good. I'm waiting for the morning to see what kind of scratches I may have gotten from the creosote bushes in my panic of not wanting to stop.
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| Tonight's parking spot with my new lantern from Joe. |
5:30 and it's dark!!! What to do with myself??? Oh, yeah, work on the blog!
11/12 - No scratches, but I did find my tire tracks in the sand. Not too bad, but scary out in the middle of nowhere.
After a walk with Zoe at this campsite, I headed off to hike Mosaic Canyon. It was cloudy, which again I appreciated, especially since Zoe has to stay in the van, while I do the hike. I know the colors would be more vibrant if the sun was out, but I'm OK with the compromise.
This was a "moderate" trail. It had some elevation gain and loose gravel from the wash. I guess I didn't realize how hard that was, 'cuz here I am at/below sea level, so altitude obviously isn't an issue, but I found myself pretty tired at the end. It's a reminder that I need to be willing to leave Zoe behind more while I do harder hikes.
This is a geologist's dream hike. So much to see. I guess that's true of all of Death Valley and so many other places. As I was heading out I ended up chatting with Denny and Mike and they are geologists! I told them I wish I traveled with a geologist as I find it so interesting. Mike offered to come along. 😂 Too bad I didn't meet them on the way in so that I could have picked their brains the whole way.
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| Conglomerate rock created with smaller rocks cemented together with sand |
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| An old railing from when they used to have steps here. It seems there is much that they have let go back to nature. I'm not sure why there were steps here, but I'm sure the topography changes all the time with the rains. |
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| There were a few challenging spots |
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| There was a path around this, thankfully |
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| It's kind of a slot canyon, but nothing like the ones we did in Utah! |
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| There was a class of kids that were having lunch at the end and on the way back, they had to climb this rock. Kids will be kids! |
Next stop was the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes. Not super interesting to me, but worth a stop mostly to look at the carcasses of the old Mesquite trees (that's what I think they are, but not quite sure).
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| A kangaroo rat can get by without ever drinking water. It can convert the carbohydrates and fats in the seeds it eats into water. Nature is so amazing!!! |
Now to Furnace Creek where I went to the NPS Furnace Creek Campground as I was told it was the only one open. I had planned to stay at Texas Springs CG, but it was closed. I grabbed a site and then went to the Oasis Resort to find out about using the pool (87 degrees natural spring water) and shower, but they stopped offering day passes recently, but if I was staying in their campground, the pool is part of that. I asked how much it cost and it was only $29 to stay, which surprised me because the NPS CG was $30. I went back to the other campground and surprisingly they gave me a refund and I moved on over and got my swim and shower, so I was happy! It was odd though that this campground didn't have any toilet facilities nearby. I would think they'd at least have a port-a-potty, but it was super close to the other campground, so maybe they figured everyone would just walk over there... Odd.
11/13 -
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| Definitely an oasis in the middle of the desert. This is the golf course. |
Zoe and I walked down the road in the shade, but she doesn't seem to like to walk anymore if there aren't a lot of dog smells. I was stopped by someone saying that I should put her on leash because there are many coyotes around and they'd attack her, but we're never far from each other, so I wasn't worried.
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| Jim and Vicky live full time in this this rig. It is super cool as it's a toy hauler and the back drops down giving them a deck where they setup their table. Inside there is a bedroom in the front and then a bed that comes down over the seating area. I just love the outdoor deck idea! |
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| View from campsite |
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| Zabresky's point. I loved this spot! |
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Death Valley is a result of often violent action of both water and earthquakes. 3-5 million years ago, before the deepest part of Death Valley had formed, lakes filled a long, mountain rimmed valley here. Fine silt and volcanic ash washed into the lake, sinking to the bottom and ultimately creating the thick deposit of clay, sandstone and siltstone that make up the Furnace Creek Formation. These once level layers are being tilted by seismic activity and pressure that is folding the ancient valley's floor As the layers uplifted and were exposed, periodic rainstorms cause powerful "gollywashers" that erode the soft rocks into the chaotic and beautiful landscape you see here today.
Volcanic activity also influenced this landscape. The black layer across the wash is lava that oozed out onto the ancient lakebed. Hot water followed the lava, bringing minerals, such as borax, gypsum, and calcite with it. Hot water also altered the mineral makeup of the Artists Drive Formations (that I didn't get to drive due to closure), hydrothermally altering the rock into the psychedelic swirl of colors in the hills. |
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| A wash that drains into this slot canyon that drains into the bottom of the hills seen above. |
On the way to Dante's View, I spotted that 20 Mule Canyon road appeared to be open (it had been closed due to the past flooding), so I turned around and took this little side tour. Normally there are pull offs so you can hike, but they hadn't widened the road enough for that. You could really see all the dirt/gravel/sand that had to be pushed off the road.
I went up to Dante's View to escape the heat (and enjoy the view). I ended up staying up here most of the day as it was 25 degrees cooler than below (64 vs 89!) and it was wonderful. I had lunch and then hiked around to take in the beautiful sights of the Badwater basin below.
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| You can see where all the gravel flows downhill and spreads into that black fan area |
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| Pretty high, since Furnace Creek is below sea level |
I decided to head back to Zabresky's point for sunset. I thought I was leaving early, but forgot about the sun setting much earlier due to the mountains, but also due to the clouds. It wasn't a great sunset, but I did capture a bit of it.
I had decided to stay another night after I learned that the road to Badwater Basin was open again and since I had gone back to Zabresky's point (close to Furnace Creek), I headed back to the Oasis Resort again. That was a mistake because I didn't realize it would stay so warm all night because the next day was supposed to be cloudy and cool. I should have gone to the Pads campground, which was at about 3000' elevation I think, so likely cooler. But, I did get to enjoy another shower in the morning, so that was good.
11/14 -
Heading to Badwater Basin - The drive down this road was so beautiful. Unfortunately the Artists Palette drive was still closed, but I could enjoy much of the colorful hills from the Badwater road.
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| Where else do you see this sign?? |
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| Imagine what this would look like on a sunny day. It's amazing even in the clouds. |
We reached Badwater Basin. It was only supposed to be in the low to mid 70s, but it was above 80 here and it felt humid. I left Zoe in the van though I saw others with dogs on the salt flats, which seems like a bad idea for their paws.
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| Badwater Basin is the lowest point in the western hemisphere. To have exposed land below sea level, an extremely dry climate is necessary. In wet climates, low places fill with water and overflow to the sea. A dry climate evaporates the water, leaving behind salt flats or briny lakes. Like most of these locations, Death Valley was not created by a river's erosion. Movements in the earth's crust have dropped it to such great depths. |
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| The white rectangle about 1/3 from the top is the Seal Level mark. |
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| There is water under here, but it must not be far to reach the bottom. |
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| Another hole dug by tourists |
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| It looks like a lake, but it's the salt of the basin. I suppose after the rains it is a lake? |
More photos on the way out...
I stopped for a hike in Golden Canyon and went to the Red Catherdral.
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| Though these looks like stairs, it's just where the water drains from the slot. I had to climb up there though. |
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| Many views of the Red Cathedral wall |
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| This looks like salt crystals, making it clear why the basin is all salt from it running down the hills of this soft sandstone material. |
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| Very cool rock. I don't know what this is though. |
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| Driving into Pahrump, NV |
I stayed at a HH in Pahrump, NV called The Hubb. It is listed as a dive bar and that it is. I was looking forward to it as it sounded fun and it was, except for the fact that people smoke in there. Gross! I first walked in and then walked out not knowing what to do as you're expected to patronize the establishment... I decided to suck it up and go in for a beer and dinner. Food was good. Beer was good. And it was a fun environment of locals laughing and being silly. I would have loved this stop if it weren't for the smoke. I considered going back for the Karaoke, but there were a lot more people there and thus a lot more smoke and I just couldn't do it. The location was fine, but not somewhere I'd go back.
More awesome pictures! We loved Death Valley and the Oasis, especially!
ReplyDeleteYes, Death Valley is great and nicer than I expected!
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