Overlooking Lake Mead
Ah, no pretty sunrise pictures today, given that I was sleeping in a hotel. I went to
sleep late, by trip standards (more like my regular bedtime), and so this day I slept in
until 8:30, and was on the road by 10:30. I decided to go for the gusto and visit the
breakfast buffet at Circus Circus. And really, it was priced around my other breakfasts
anyways, and here I wouldn't have to decide between bacon and ham. Oh, and I
discovered this morning I love Corn Beef Hash, despite the fact that it can't be healthy
(but I usually don't worry about that too much while I'm the road). I took cups of coffee
to go for my thermos, too.
I looked at the map, and decided a side trip to the Hoover Dam sounded good. Only around 30 miles to the Southeast, and hey, I haven't been to Arizona before.
I enjoyed this place from a visitors' site point of view as well. The buildings, either to house visiting centres, or for function aesthetically made sense. The shining copper used throughout blended perfectly with the natural rocky backdrop. Next time I'm in the area, I'll definately take the tour.
Well, I realized when I was taking the picture overlooking Lake Mead that I left my cellphone in my hotel room. At least Las Vegas is on the way, but it was a bummer having to burn time to retrieve it. I was finally on Hwy 95 around 2:45, racing daylight again to get to Death Valley.
It was nice leaving some traffic behind, even though it wasn't quite like it was a couple of days ago. Originally, I thought I could make it to Beatty and take highway 374 into the north end of Death Valley. I think it was pushing 4pm when I pulled off at Nevada Joe's for gas though, near Amargosa Valley. Really small place, two gas stations on either side of 95, with a town of trailers. I was amused to come across my first Nevada Brothel, right there tucked in back (Cherry Patch Ranch II). Gas, convenience store, restaurant and brothel. A perfect place to bid farewell to Nevada.
The turn off for Highway 373 was just down the road towards Death Valley junction, so I took it. I still had daylight with me as I crossed back into California, and then entered Death Valley. I thought about stopping for pictures of the Funeral mountains, but the sun was fading fast. I thought I'd see them again, in their glorious palette of greens and purples. As I came across the sign for the Dante's View turn off (12 miles), I decided to make one last scenic stop for the day.
It turned out to be quite a road, and as a result longer than I thought (here, I was thinking 12 minutes). It became quite windy quickly, as the road was taking me up to 5475 feet. The last bit was at a grade of 15 degrees! By then, it was cold, and I was not dressed for it. I pulled into the parking lot, and attempted to handhold a shot of sunset, with the largest aperature, while shivering. It turned out ok, though. It was an amazing place to spend sunset, with the sun tucked in behind the Panamint mountain range. Badwater, the lowest point in the United States, was practically straight down.
I did the ride down with the clutch pulled in for a lot of it. I mean, I could get up to highway speeds on potential energy alone here! I headed west into the heart of Death Valley, hoping to find a campground. Again, with darkness around me, I was wondering what I was missing. I was worried about gas, since I was at 75 miles on the tank, and had no idea about the supply of gas. Just as I was getting worried about all of this, I came across Furnace Creek Inn. It was surrounded by a warm glow of lights, and looked like a Villa in the desert, which I guess is just what it is. I marched up the stairs in cold weather gear (I had put my rain pants and jacket liner in up on Dante's Peak), past people sipping tea and coffee on the veranda, with classical music being played. Very classy, I might've been tempted to stay there if it wasn't $225 for the cheapest room. But I got some valuable info like campgrounds and gas were just a mile down the road.
I chose Texas Springs at random, and pulled into a fairly full campground. I tried not to be rude, and set up my tent by flashlight, and sat down to a dinner of vegetable soup from Nevada Joe's, the rest of the coffee from Vegas, and then finally some Darjeeling tea. It was windy, and I pondered using tent stakes, but opted for the lazy route, and climbed into bed at around 10pm.