The Mirages of Death Valley

Off to Yosemite, another absolutely beautiful place in this country. We were on our way and kept seeing signs that the road that we needed to take was closed. So we stopped and picked up the detour information and it took us on a very scenic byway to the park entrance that was open. Turns out there are terrible wildfires in Yosemite. It was supposed to be a 10 acre controlled burn, but of course, it got out of hand. Did they actually think that it would be fine at just the 10 acres? This is after all, California in the middle of a hot dry summer!!

As I have said before every corner we go around the scenery is more spectacular and breathtaking. Yosemite is another one of my favorites from this trip. It is mountainous with wonderfully smelling evergreens. We twisted and turned up a mountain and down the mountain. There was a part of the road that was closed from a rock slide and we had to detour around it. You see those signs and think, eh, that doesn’t actually happen. Kind of like the moose crossing signs in Vermont, they just put those there for the tourists. Well, guess what!? It does. All the twisting and turning almost had us car sick once again. I had to stop taking pictures a couple of times because it made me feel like we were going to launch ourselves off the side of the mountain. As we were winding our way up the mountains, we could look out and see the fires at a couple different places. Smoke just billowing up to the sky. No worries, I have pictures, everyone can see, for a small fee, of course… We finally reached the top of Glacier Point. Out of the car finally for a short hike to the actual point. High up in the air, crisp, clean air we made our way to the Point. WOW!!! Is really all I have to say about that. Absolutely breathtaking.

I know I have been using the word breathtaking a lot lately, but that is really the only word that fits the situations that I am in. I must tell you that I am one lucky girl to be experiencing everything that I am. I am very thankful that I have been given the opportunity to take this journey and to share it with Katie.
After our short hike back in the car we went and wound our way down the mountain to a little town named Oakhurst. It is now dark out and we have not found a campground. Looks like it will be another night in the car. We stopped for dinner at OKA a California version of a nice sushi restaurant. They almost had it right, just needed a little redecorating and some Japanese people working there. The sushi chefs were Mexican. The food was good nonetheless. Until we found a place to park for the night with no bathrooms and then our stomachs started making some funky noises. I think it was all mental, knowing that there was nowhere to go to the bathroom, except the sidewalk that we were parked near. We parked in a hotel parking lot thinking it was going to be about the safest. It was safe, but of course I was wide awake all night with every dog bark, car headlight, any slightest little sound. Total I probably got about three hours of sleep, and not consecutive either.

Since we had decided to cut off our Southern California portion of our journey and added Las Vegas, we decided that it would be a good idea to go through Death Valley since it was sort of on the way. Once again, beautiful scenery. But HOT HOTT HOTT!!!! The air is suffocating. What did I expect; we are after all in the middle of the desert, in the middle of summer. We were driving along going from 5000 feet above sea level to below sea level. The altitude change did not affect us nearly as much as the heat.

We had just stopped at a vista point (scenic overlook) and as we were getting back out on the road a couple was on the side of the road with a flat tire trying to flag people down for help. Well, we had been concerned about our gas level. There are not too many places to put a gas station in Death Valley. So did our random act of kindness and stopped, in hopes that if we needed help someone would do the same. The lovely couple from Quebec said in their broken English that they had been trying for over an hour to flag someone down and jack up the car. The jack that was in the rental car was broken and would not jack up. So we unloaded the back of the car to get the unused jack out of its home to be the good Samaritans that we are. Just as we got everything out and started jacking up the car, another couple stopped and offered their help as well. It is good to know that there are still good people in the world willing to help out.

After the tire was changed and the jack safely back in its home, we got back in the car. We must have sweat off about 20 pounds between us while we were out there. Oh, did I forget to mention that there were signs all along suggesting for us to not use the air conditioning to prevent overheating? What were we supposed to do to prevent us from overheating? We finally came upon a gas station. They sure do know how to take advantage of a situation… We had to pay $4.14 a gallon. There were signs for the cold milkshakes that they had inside too… $6.00 for a small milkshake. Don’t people realize that we are on a tight budget?? So, we opted for the $2.50 ice pop instead.

By the time I was able to check the weather on my phone to figure out approximately how hot we actually were, it was 110 degrees. HOT!! As we were driving along Kate told me to look behind us, it was a salt lake that actually looked like the ocean. We desperately wanted it to be the ocean. Mirages do happen in the heat of the desert.

It was getting sort of late and we had no clue where we were staying. We never thought that it would take us so long to drive through Death Valley. We were on the road for twelve hours this day. So, working on virtually no sleep and sweating in 110 degree heat all day, I called in a favor and scored us two nights at The Mirage in Las Vegas. That’s right VEGAS BABY!! The car had to go in for a little work while we were in an actual town.

Everyone knows, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas… (Of course I might be prompted to tell if I was incentified…)

After our two night vacation from our vacation, we checked out, had breakfast and stopped at Wal Mart for some essentials such as water. We were after all in the desert. Probably best to stay hydrated. When I opened the cooler to put away our purchases, the strawberries that we had gotten at a farm stand had apparently gone bad. They were almost completely composted into pure liquid. Making a lovely pink wet mess all over everything in the cooler and the cooler itself. It took us about 30 minutes to actually get everything cleaned, emptied, wiped down, put back in and ready to go.

Finally on the road heading toward Sedona we encounter Hoover Dam traffic. It took us about 3 hours to go approximately 10 miles. Once we actually got to the dam, the sidewalls are built up so high that it is impossible to see anything. Not sure what the big deal is. We have been driving for six thousand miles with no guard rails in some places that there definitely should have been some. Oh well. Guess that is one that we will just have to enjoy in the movies. We did however have a lovely view of Lake Meade all the way to the dam. That was well worth it. They also appear to be building a freeway overpass over the dam that has some interesting concrete work.

We stopped in Chloride, Arizona for a restroom break, some tourist information and an orange cream soda. A very interesting little town. The store/rest area is in someone’s home. He is currently remodeling so the restrooms were out of order. We had to go down the block, make a left, go past the white brick building, into the park and on the opposite side of the park, those restrooms should be working. After we paid for our sodas, he said, “I will give you some useful information, do not talk to the man on the porch. He is ok, not too creepy, but he will talk all four of your ears off. Now get the hell out of here so I can close.”

Having spent three hours in traffic that we did not plan on, we did not make it as far as we were intending. We stopped at a campground on Route 66, the Grand Canyon Caverns. As I am sitting here typing this, there are horses off in the distance freaking out. Sounds like they are being attacked and it keeps getting closer and closer. Katie told me that he is just horny, but I am not buying that. I think they are being attacked by coyotes or something. Needless to say, I am getting in my safe tent (like they can’t get me there.)

Good night my lovelies.

Here is a quote for you to mull over until next time. “If you do not have peace within yourself, learning cannot take place.” Aki Kurose 1997