Califorblah

Today we awoke to rain in North Las Vegas,  temps were in the high 70’s so we took advantage of the cooler temps and headed for Death Valley.  On the way over we saw temps rise to 86 degrees and drop to as low as 70 while under cloud cover the whole way.  We drove North to Beatty NV, fueled up and headed to Death Valley.   

The cloud cover never broke and as we descended into the valley we encountered unearthly wind, rain, low clouds and blowing sand.  

This is Death Valley?

The wind was amazing, pushing the Jeep side to side, sand whipping across the road.  We made it to Stovepipe Wells and picked up a Junior Ranger workbook.  We started the drive to Badwater Basin, the lowest point in the US, but were turned back due to flash floods crossing the roads.  In fact much of the park was closed due to the severe rain and wind.  The Rangers told us this happens about once every seven years so it was a rare time to be there.  The temperatures never got out of the low 80’s.

We left the rain and wind behind and headed for Sequoia National Park, nearly due west of us.  Unfortunately there is no road due west and we had to drive several hundred miles South, then West, then North again to get around the Sierra Nevada Mountains.  A long day, in fact we saw only one California State Park early in the day.  Maybe Arnold closed them all? (oops Arnold is no longer in charge)

On the way over the bare desert mountains gave way to grassy rolling hills dotted with trees, free of the desert at last!

As to camping, it seems the CA idea of camping is an RV park adjacent to freeways, as that is all we saw for hours.  Evening gave way to night and it was nearly 9:30 when I bailed on camping and found a motel.  Tyler had been sleeping in his seat for nearly an hour.

At any rate we found a Jeep Comanche appreciator in the motel lot.  A National Forest Firefighter told us he used to have one.  He was a National Forest Firefighter from Southern CA , assigned to cover Sequoia National Forest as the truck normally assigned to the area was airlifted to a fire 5-600 miles north.