“Death is nothing, but to live defeated and
inglorious is to
die daily.”
Napoleon Bonaparte
Today marked the beginning of
the California leg of the trip. We woke
early from our night out on the town with everyone alive, though some feeling
the sting of Vegas. Dad left for the
airport to leave his life on the road, Coop headed back to Scottsdale, Arizona
and Shriver and I hit the road to head west to the infamous Death Valley. We headed north from Vegas into an area where
the billboards advertise for Burger Kings 2.5 hours away. That’s the definition of desolate. We did pass an Air Force Base that had drones
flying around it. There was also a truck stop with a brothel that offered hot
sauce for sale, because the best way to remember your stay at a brothel is a
commemorative bottle of hot sauce.
 |
| Death Valley |
Eventually we had to turn off
the highway and head into the desert.
Earlier in the trip we had seen some deserts but nothing like this. This is the desert that has mirages. Now they are not the cartoon palm trees
around a pool or lemonade stand mirages, but at multiple times it appeared as
if we were seeing a train in the distance or cars that were not actually
there. Every once in a while we’d
stumble upon a trailer or two, indicating that there are actually people who
live here.
 |
| The Mesquite Sand Dunes |
Around 11:00 we arrived to
Death Valley National Park. This was one
part of the trip I was not sure about doing.
Death Valley is the hottest place on earth, holding the highest recorded
temperature at 134 degrees. Not to one
up all my friends out East, but by the time we got to the visitor center, it
was 114 degrees, it was 125 around 1 PM. The park is also very dry, with less than 2
inches of rain a year. The instant you
get out of the car you become very thirsty. It’s also the lowest point in the US at 280 ft below sea level. In summary, it is one extreme place. Yet like every park we’ve been too it had is
unique characteristics that made it fascinating. The land is a bright brown with a mix of
grey/silver rocks and yellow shrubs.
Occasionally blue/green rock formations add a mix of color. The valley is massive, surrounded by
mountains that sore as high as 11,000 feet.
In all we drove over 80 miles through this tough terrain.
We checked out a few of the views
along the way including sand dunes and an old borax mine, and then took a
break at the Badwater Saloon in the middle of the park. The saloon is literally in the middle of no
where. Our waitress was another
Pennsylvanian who had moved here from Pittsburgh 8 months ago. I’d like you all to think about this. Someone thought a barren desert that reaches
daily temps in the summer of 120 degrees was a better place to live than
Pittsburgh. Take what you want from
that. After our meal we headed back into
the heat and through the rest of the park.
This last section pushed my Element to its limits. There are signs that suggest turning off the
A/C to prevent overheating as you climb out of the valley. In just a few miles we reached an elevation
of 5,000 feet. The Element held strong
though not without having to turn the heat on to prevent overheating.
After leaving the park we
travelled south, then west and then north towards our resting point at the
Lodgepole Campground in Sequoia National Park. There will be no post tomorrow, as we will be staying in the park for two nights, and I doubt I'll have access to wifi.
Stats:
Miles Driven: 4452
States: PA, MD, WV, VA, TN, NC, AL,
MS, LA, TX, NM, AZ, UT, NV, CA
Hottest Recorded Temp: 125
Lowest Elevation: 190 feet below
sea level
Number of Pennsylvanians
encountered on the trip: 5
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