From Snow canyon, we ended up in Beatty, NV, right next to an
entrance to Death Valley. We had decided
to skip DV because of the high temps of 117.
But we were so close . . . So we got up at 6 this morning and left at 7
and headed into the hottest place in the US.
We stopped at the Visitor’s Center to get Carmen a J.R. book
(Audra opted out this time) and picked up a map and then headed straight to
Badwater Basin. This is the lowest
elevation point in the western hemisphere at 282 ft below sea level. The whole area is covered with sodium
chloride that emerges from the ground and there was a tiny amount of water
(salt water – “bad water) that was filling the pool. During the wet season it is a much larger
pool. We were there around 8:30 and it
was already well into the 90s.
From there we started making our way back toward the visitor’s
center stopping at all the places we had passed on the way down. The girls and I dipped our bandanas in the
ice water in our cooler and tied them around our necks before each hike. It helped them survive the harsh
conditions! We saw Natural Bridge
(1/2-mi round trip “hike”), Devil’s Golf Course (a graveyard of sodium chloride
deposits), Artist’s Drive, Golden Canyon Tail (2 mile trail we might have gone
in ¼ mile or less just to get the Star Wars shots). Then we stopped in at the Visitor’s Center to
get Carmen’s badge and watch the movie.
By 1:30 we were tired and hot so we headed back toward Beatty RV Park.
We did pull off at a Rhyolite ghost town. I’ve never been to one before. It was very odd and a little eerie. Strange that those buildings were just
abandoned to the elements. There was
some very off-beat art at the off-beat free museum. And there was a prayer labyrinth.
4 icees later, we were "home."
The girls watched several movies and played lots of pool in
the game room that we had all to ourselves.
There were 2 or 3 other RVs there both nights, but they weren’t using
the game room! J
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