Road Trip Days 4 & 5........From the peaceful solitude of Death Valley to Las Vegas!!!!!!!

Because it was dark when we arrived, we had to wait until we were leaving Death Valley to get our selfie with the sign

It's only 119 miles from Death Valley National Park to the Las Vegas Strip.  Mileage and time wise, very short.  In terms of the difference between the two, it's a couple of billion light years!  Speaking of light, I don't know this for a fact, but I'm pretty sure that the lights of any of the major hotels along the 4.2-mile strip uses more electricity than the entire 5,270 square miles of the national park.  I wonder how they pay for all that energy consumption?

The Paris Hotel and Casino with its Eiffel Tower is just a few blocks from...........

The Statue of Liberty at New York, New York Hotel and Casino.  Las Vegas probably didn't look much different than Death Valley before the first gaming license was issued in 1931.

There was a time in our lives when the opportunity to visit Las Vegas was a no brainer.  We enjoyed being "high rollers", playing one dollar blackjack and the culinary delights of the all you could eat (but maybe not digest) buffets at fine establishments like Circus-Circus and the Westward Ho (which no longer exists), as well as 99 cent shrimp cocktails and foot long hot dogs at the smoke filled Slots of Fun.  As we've gotten older, I guess our tastes have changed and the appeal of Las Vegas diminished.

The Chihuly Glass Ceiling and

Chinese New Year display in the Bellagio lobby are a little fancier than the old Slots of Fun entrance!

When we were planning this cross-country road trip the one stop along the way that we debated the most was "should we go to Las Vegas?", and if so for how long?  We finally decided to go for it and to spend two nights.  We were curious to see how "sin city" had changed since our last visit, which was around 10-12 years ago.

The Fountains of Bellagio and

volcano eruption at the Mirage have been entertaining people along the strip for over twenty years.

The High Roller Observation wheel at the Linq Hotel (a Caesars property) opened in 2014.  It's 520 feet high and is the world's second tallest Ferris Wheel trailing only Ain Dubai in the UAE.

 

We had a great two days, walking the strip, recalling the glory days of our past visits and marveling at the changes that have taken place.  We can say without question that Las Vegas, which was hit very hard by the pandemic, is making a strong recovery.  In addition to the strip, we enjoyed an up-close look at the Hoover Dam on a two-hour Lake Mead cruise aboard the Desert Princess.  

That's a "Damn Big Dam" behind us!  Construction on the dam started in 1931 and was completed in 1936.  The total budget was $49 million which in today's terms would be close to one billion dollars.  

Although the amount of power generated by the dam is decreasing due to the prolonged drought (you can see the highwater markings along the cliffs), it still produces a significant amount of electricity for the region.  After water flows through the dam, it continues on to California where it is used for irrigation.

Lake Mead Cruises

If you go to Las Vegas and don't want to spend big dollars on one of the many shows at the strip casinos there is a great show in downtown Las Vegas along Freemont Street that is free!  Freemont Street is the home of many of the old casinos.  In an attempt to compete with the bigger, newer casinos of the strip they created the Freemont Street Experience, which opened in 1995.  Overhead there is a 1,500-foot-long LED canopy with a continuous light show, both day and night, and live music/entertainment on multiple stages.  But the real show along Freemont Street is simply people watching........man, what a show!

The Freemont Street Experience..........

.........a great show above, and all around!

Freemont Street Experience

As we put Las Vegas in the rear-view mirror, we had invested a grand total of $20 in the slot machines and enjoyed the sights and sounds of the biggest metropolitan area we had been in since this crazy pandemic started.  While mostly our tastes have changed from "Vegas people" to "national park people", we really enjoyed some time in Las Vegas on this road trip. 

At this point we had doubled our $20 investment, but they don't build these places to give away money!

As for "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas".........if it happened after 9:00 PM .......we missed it!

Road Trip Days 2 & 3...........Death Valley National Park.......Hottest, Driest, Lowest and Awesome!

 

Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes in Death Valley National Park!

Death Valley National Park can lay claim to a whole bunch of measurable titles.  First and foremost, it's documented as being the "hottest place on earth".  On July 10, 1913, the measured temperature was a whopping 134 degrees, which is the hottest temperature ever recorded.  Although not quite a record, this past summer a temperature of 128 was documented.  Of the 423 parks in the US National Park system, Death Valley is the "driest", typically recording less than two inches of rainfall per year.  So, if you're planning a visit, don't worry about packing rain gear.  Finally, if you go to Badwater Basin, you'll be 282 feet below sea level, making it the "lowest" elevation in North America.  If that's not enough, at 5,270 square miles, Death Valley National Park is the largest national park in the continental United States (the four largest national parks are all in Alaska).   All of the above are easily measurable, the awesomeness of Death Valley National Park is immeasurable.

Death Valley National Park

We were up, out and about well before sunrise so we could catch not only the night sky, but sunrise over the desert. We drove just a little over a mile from the small, cozy confines of our Stovepipe Wells Village accommodation when we saw a sign for Mesquite  Flat Sand Dunes, so we pulled in.  There were already a couple of cars in the parking lot when we arrived.  Shortly after getting our lawn chairs set up to view the night sky more cars began to trickle into the parking lot. After star gazing for a while, the first light of day began to emerge.

Stovepipe Wells has a General Store with a gas station ($5.05 per gallon), campground............

.........a small lodge (that's the Silver Bullet on the far right), restaurant and bar.  That's about all that's here!

We noticed that those joining us were heading off into the darkness in different directions.  Shortly thereafter we put the lawn chairs back in the Bullet and headed out ourselves.  A young man I spoke to told me there wasn't a trail, just a bunch of sand dunes.  He said, "go where you want to go, just keep the mountain as a landmark to return to the parking lot".   We plodded a couple of miles into, up and over the sand dunes.  It wasn't easy hiking, but it was certainly worth it, as we were treated to a sandy, sunrise spectacular.

A Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes Sunrise..........

 

After a few hours in the dunes, we returned to our lodge where we crossed paths with a photographer that we had said hello to out in the sand dunes.  We told her this was our first visit to Death Valley and she proceeded to give us some very helpful suggestions for our visit.  We followed all of her recommendations and before the sun set we had hiked Salt Creek Interpretive Trail, visited Harmony Borax Works mine site, stopped briefly at the Death Valley National Park Visitors Center in Furnace Creek, roamed the salt flats of the Badwater Basin (the lowest elevation in North America), enjoyed the Natural Bridge Trail and driven the nine-mile Artist Palette Drive.

Salt Creek Interpretive Trail.  Yes, there is actually a small creek running through the area.  It's the home to five species of very small fish, known as Pupfish.

The Harmony Borax Works Mine.  Borax used the term "The Twenty Mule Team" as an advertising slogan.  The name came from the use of mules to transport the mined borax through the desert to the railroad depot.

January is a great time to visit Death Valley National Park.......July and August, probably not so much!

The Badwater Basin........282 feet below sea level!

Salt Deposits in the Badwater Basin

We walked a couple of miles out on the salt flat in the Badwater Basin

Freedom to roam.........

Here's another shot of the parched ground of the Badwater Basin

It's a relatively short hike to the Natural Bridge.........

After all the hiking throughout the day we were happy to enjoy the nine-mile Artist Palette Drive......

mineral deposits from volcanic eruptions that occurred millions of years ago provide a colorful.....

Artist Palette!

By the end of our first day in Death Valley National Park we were amazed at what we had experienced.  As our heads hit the pillows that night, we were excited for what the next morning would bring as we explored more of the park on our way out.  We also wondered why it took us so long to discover Death Valley National Park!    

Our second morning in Death Valley National Park started in the pre-dawn hours as well.  A nice young man we had met the night before told us that sunrise at Zabriskie Point, was in his word, "iconic".   Zabriskie Point is 29 miles down the road from Stovepipe Wells in the direction that we would be heading next, so it made sense for us to check out very early instead of having to back track later in the day.

We were the first to arrive at the Zabriskie Point parking lot, but a caravan of cars joined us shortly thereafter. The caravan turned out to be photographers who were participating in a workshop.   We joined them in staking out a vantage point, and waited patiently for the magic of sunrise.  We soon learned that the magic wasn't in the actual sunrise, but in the everchanging light it produced on the surrounding mountains as it made its way higher into the sky.  I'm sure they captured some great images with their very pricey cameras and lenses, but I doubt they are any better than Beth's!  It was hard to choose which pictures to use, but here's ten images from sunrise at Zabriskie Point........

That's Venus on the top left!

Check out how the light changes over these three images......

We finished our time in Death Valley National Park at one of the highest drivable points in the park, Dantes View, which is 5475 feet above sea level.  It was windy and cold, so we didn't stay long. We enjoyed the spectacular views, which ironically overlooked  Badwater Basin, the lowest place in North America!

The lowly Badwater Basin (-282 feet below sea level) as seen from Dantes View (5475 feet above sea level)

We're not sure when, but we're sure looking forward to a return visit to this hot, dry, low and awesome National Park!  Next up..........a place a little different than Death Valley!

Road Trip Day 1........Mill Valley to Death Valley National Park (494 miles) with a little spelunking along the way!

 

A long driving day, but we still had time to have a little fun and check another national park off the list!

We knew it was going to be a long day, so we got an early start.  The Silver Bullet was on Highway 101 and heading south a few minutes before 7:00 AM Tuesday morning.  Before crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, we caught a brief glimpse of what would have made a great photo if we would have had the camera ready.  The bridge itself was completely covered in fog with only the tops of the towers of the bridge showing.  Within about 10 seconds even the towers were shrouded in fog as "Fog City" lived up to its nickname.

We had plans to stop at Pinnacles National Park, which was about two and a half hours down the road.  The drive was scenic, and the traffic was surprisingly light.  Suddenly Beth (who has a super keen sense of smell) said "I smell garlic".  For as good as her sense of smell is, mine is on the other end of the spectrum so I said "I don't smell anything".  Shortly after, we realized that once again her nose was working perfectly, and we were passing through Gilroy.  Which with a little research, we discovered is called the Garlic Capital of, not just California, but the entire world!  They have a big, smelly festival every summer.  The link below will provide more information.

2022 Gilroy Garlic Festival

By size Pinnacles is a fairly small national park, covering just over 26,000 acres.  Although it's been in the national park system since 1908, it's designation as a national park didn't come until 2013 (prior to 2013 it was categorized as a national monument).  Although it's fairly small, and fairly new, it did have some "wow factor" that made it a nice place to spend a few hours.

Pinnacles National Park

A super friendly and helpful park ranger at the entrance gate gave us a couple of suggestions for a nice hike.  He suggested the Bear Gulch Cave Trail to the Moses Spring Trail, which would give us about an hour hike.  As the name implies, the Bear Gulch Cave Trail did involve passing through several caves that were formed millions of years ago by volcanic eruptions and earthquakes along the fault line.  For the most part the caves were short, and we were able to stand and see light at the end of the cave.  There were a couple of places where the lights on our phones were helpful and one place where we had to crawl a short distance on our hands and knees.  I guess we're genuine spelunkers!

By car or on foot, there's plenty to see in Pinnacles National Park!

A short cave near the start of the Bear Gulch Cave Trail

Heading deeper into the gulch!

Getting serious now!

Deep in the gulch........

.......my best bear imitation........

Beth the Spelunker!

Pinnacles was a nice place to spend a couple of hours, or more if you have the time.  If you go, please note that there are two entrances (east and west), but they do not connect.  We entered on the east side of the park, which is where most park services are located.  The map also notes that the west entrance road is very narrow and winding.  

The remaining six and a half hour drive was extremely diverse.  We traveled the busy I-5 freeway, through miles and miles of almond and pistachio groves and finally into the Mohave Desert, where cars were few and far between.  Although we weren't late arriving, the last hour of the drive was in the dark.  Just a few miles before reaching our destination of Stovepipe Wells in Death Valley National Park we took a time out.  We stopped, stepped out of the car and into the chilly night air.  We saw an incredible night sky and knew instantly that we were in for a treat! 

Death Valley is extremely remote and is designated as a Dark Sky Park!