We left the smoke haze behind and entered the hottest place on Earth, Death Valley. In 1913 Death Valley reached 134° Fahrenheit at Furnace Creek.
We were coming in from the north and didn’t realize how much of a challenge that would be in a 35-foot motorhome with a toad. The views were amazing, but it was a workout for both Will and Diablo.
We finally made it down only to realize we needed to climb back up. Then we noticed a problem with Angelica. We thought something had happened to our brake buddy system and disconnected it from the car and continued on without it. Got to the campground only to realize that the car battery had died. And of course, the only campsites with hookups were all back-ins as only a portion of the campground is open in the summer. So, we had to disconnect the car and get Diablo setup. Then push the car onto the site. Yes, fun and games in 104-degree heat. Whose idea was Death Valley in September?
Will was able to pull out the battery and charge it up using Diablo’s coach batteries. We finally realized that the head lights were left on. While the lights do turn off when the car is off, we need to turn the key just slightly to avoid the steering locking when it’s being towed. Apparently, that is just enough to also turn on the headlights unless they are in the off position. One more thing for us to add to our check list. Just glad we had A/C and can be comfortable inside our rig. There were actually people tent camping, which I can’t even imagine how they made it through the night.
Got up for sunrise the next morning at Zabriskie Point. This time our campsite was in Furnace Creek, which is just a few miles drive to the point.
Drove back to the campsite and had breakfast. By that time the Visitor Center was finally open, and we were able to stop in and find out about closures and what is recommended.
We decided our first stop should be our longest hike of the day, Golden Canyon. Better to do it early before it gets too hot. It was a nice 3-mile hike through the Canyon.
Then it was on to see the Devil’s Golf Course. A rugged salt flat that can really hurt you, should you happen to fall.
Then it was on to Badwater Basin. This is the lowest point in North America at 282 feet below sea level. It’s wild to look up and see where the sign is pointing out sea level.
We did the short hike to view the Natural Bridge. Again, they say it’s a flat hike, but instead it was a steady uphill hike. But it is really short, and it was under a mile round-trip.
My favorite of the day was the Artist Drive. The colors were amazing and it’s a fun drive. It has some tight turns and dips in the road, but Will appreciated the fact that there weren’t any cliffs to deal with.
Back to Diablo for lunch, (I could get used to this staying in the park thing).
We went out again to check out the Mystic Dunes the Harmony Borax Works. Then we walked around the Death Valley Inn area. They have a restaurant, saloon, ice cream parlor, and the Borax Museum. We found it interesting that the 20 mule teams are really usually 18 mules and 2 horses.
Back to Diablo for a nap in the heat of the day. But we got out later for a drive on the 20-mule team road. A fun little dirt road and then made our way out to Dante’s View for sunset. It was a good 30 degrees cooler up there then the valley floor.
We originally planned 2 full days in Death Valley, but the roads to the northeast section of the park are all still closed. So, we decided to get out of the heat and start our return trip back home. We ended up staying in Flagstaff, Arizona. Loved the cool air. We also liked all the trees at the KOA, but it was tight driving through the park. We got 106 cable stations, the wi-fi was good, and we both had cell service. Yes, we were truly back in civilization.
Back on the road the next morning again fighting the wind in Arizona. We spent a couple of days in Albuquerque before driving back to Angel Fire. Sadly, we’ll be putting Diablo up for the Winter.