Day 51 - Time to Tour Death Valley!

Ken and I were up by 5:30 to make a cooked breakfast and get our packed lunch and snacks ready for a day in Death Valley.  It was already in the low 90's when we got up.  I talked to my mother and she said dad was really improving and she thinks he will be fine.  Cindy talked to the ICU nurse who said all his vitals and labs were improving and she thought he would probably be moved to a regular room later today.  Wow!  Cindy actually got to talk to dad and they had a nice conversation.  He had no pain and was feeling much more like himself.  Hallelujah!

By 7 the 4 of us were on our way in Gregory's CRV and knew we were in for a long day of driving.  Because of changing the location of our CG, we had a 2 1/4 hour drive to Death Valley, driving in the Park, and then the long drive back to the campground - a total of 320 miles.  It was exhausting.  By the time we arrived in Death Valley it was 112 degrees and even though people say it is dry heat, it is HOT!!!!!  We took a very short hike up to Zibriskie Point when we arrived that was beautiful, but we knew our hiking would be very limited today.

Another National Park we have been blessed to visit!
It is the hottest place in the World, the driest in the US with
only 1 to 2 inches of average rainfall per year (some years
none), and the lowest spot below sea level in North America.

Many different colors in the desert!

We are at Zibriskie Point!

We are so happy to be here!

How amazing!!!! 

,,,,,,and here it is!!!!!

Before going to the Visitor's Center, we stopped at the 20 Mule Team Museum where they had a great display of much of the equipment used when they mined for Borax.  Interesting! At the Furnace Creek Visitor's Center we got our souvenirs and watched another informative film.  We ate our lunch under a shade tree, but it was HOT! 

This is the 20 Mule Team Borax Museum.  It is one of the
original buildings and was moved to this spot to be the
center of the museum.

Actually there were 18 mules and 2 horses tat pulled the 2
wagons and the water wagon.  The drivers had to know what
they were doing to get all these animals to work together,
especially on the side of hills!

One of the original wagons.

When borax was no longer profitable to mine, this area became a
tourist type attraction.

The Happy Campers continue on their great adventure!

A golf course in the middle of the desert!!!!!  There is an
underground spring that provides 1 million gallons of water
per day to the Furnace Creek Inn and the Furnace Creek Ranch.
The pool water is changed 2x a day to keep it at 84 degrees
 the entire day.

 Then we decided to drive on the 17 mile off road to Bad Water Basin with a elevation of minus 282 feet below sea level, the lowest elevation in North America. There we could also view the salt flats.

What a drive out to the Bad Water Basin!

That is all the water to be seen at Badwater Basin

Ken is standing on the salt flats on the lowest point
in North America!

We are all on the lowest point!

On our way back to the main road, we took the 9 mile Artist's Loop Road to see the gorgeous vistas, especially the artists palette.  It really was an amazing drive.  We all agreed that Death Valley would be a wonderful place to visit and hike in Nov., Dec. and Jan, but not this time of year.  As I said before, it is too darn HOT!

Thank goodness it is a one way loop!

This is the artist's palette of color!  Amazing!

More color on the narrow, windy road!

 

This is the old Inn at Furnace Creek where you can stay
for $355.00 to $465.00 per night!  Wow!

On our way back to the CG we stopped at McDonald's to give the car a rest.  It had nothing to do with getting a cold, delicious ice cream cone!  We were back to the CG by 5 after driving 320 miles.  We were all tired and ready for a break, but it was time to think about dinner.  I made salads for tonight and tomorrow while Ken grilled salmon, steak, green beans, squash and zucchini!  It was delicious.

There it is - Las Vegas Strip!

Gregorys came over to play games in Waldo and we had another fun evening.  Dad did get moved to a regular room today and was getting feisty, so we know he is feeling better.  Thanks for all your kind words, prayers, and thoughts during this stressful time.  I really appreciate it!!!