Death Valley - Las Vegas

3 September


I managed to borrow the right sized allen key to adjust the side door. It has been bugging me for 5 months! After a quick shop and a top up of the LPG (big built in tank) we headed east towards Death Valley. We had debated which road we would use to get us to the ‘395’. and ultimately into Death Valley. Unfortunately we chose the shorter (according to the map) route which turned out to be a long drag up and down several huge mountains. It took us about 4 hours to negotiate the various mountain passes we encountered. The old couple at the camp were divided as to the best route. The old guy thought the mountain route was easy but the old lady thought the longer route was better. Next time always listen to the old lady!!! We are now about 24 miles from the entrance to Death Valley at a RV Park in Olancha with power and a swimming pool. We have a RV site with power for aircon booked about half way thru.

4 September

Into the Death Valley National Park. The first 30 miles was up and down into Panamint Valley. We thought this was Death Valley but were wrong and climbed out of this valley and up a steep pass and down into Death Valley. Our overnight stop was at Stovepipe Wells. We had run the aircon in the cab for the first time and were relatively cool until we stepped out. What a shock. The air temperature was around 115F or 46C with a strong wind. The best comparison is the hottest sunniest day you can imagine but then standing in front of a fan heater running at

full bore! Death Valley is famous for being the hottest place on the earth (57C in July this year) and the lowest point in the USA (-282ft below sea level). Stovepipe Wells village is at sea level. We checked in and are parked in a gravel area with full hook-up. (power, water and sewer) We are the only ones here! There is a lodge (full) and a general store. After lunch (inside with the aircon on full) we ventured out to the rangers station to get our pass and a map. The surprise was that we had access to a great cool swimming pool which we lazed around in the afternoon. (in the shade). We went to the saloon for drinks and chatted to various people. After tea we went back to the pool around 9:00pm with the temperature down to a balmy 100F (38C).

5 September

This place is quite a unique experience. Apart from the heat (an experience in itself) the isolation and the scenery are awesome, therefore we have decided to stay another day in Death Valley and will drive to the only other accommodation which is 25 miles away at Furnace Creek. In the night we turned off the aircon but soon turned it on again! The early morning was cooler and we even had breakfast

outside. After checking in at Furnace Creek we drove down a side road to Badwater (17 miles). This is the lowest part of the N.P. (and the USA) at -282 ft below sea level. Back to our camp for lunch and the relative cool of “Ernie”. We are camped at -218 ft below sea level but do not need breathing equipment or are suffering from the bends. The pool at this camp is big but not cool enough. Nevertheless we spent the afternoon in it. It is a bit hotter today around 118F (47C). There is a museum here and we looked at the exhibits, mostly to do with the mineral mining in the area. We enjoyed another swim before bed.

 

6 September

We left the aircon on all night and had a better nights sleep. Getting a cool shower is a bit of a problem as the cold water is hotter than you want! After a stop at a great view point showing the various

rocformations of D.V. we head out of the park and a 80 mile drive across the desert to Las Vegas. There is a AAA Baseball finals game tonight between Las Vegas 51s and the Salt Lake City Bees so we called in and got tickets before going to an RV park which is handy to the stadium. At 6:00pm we caught a taxi to the stadium (7:05 first pitch.) The stadium was not huge but we had great seats behind home plate. We had been to a baseball game in New York with Lynne and Paul and this was on a smaller scale but it still had a great atmosphere (lots of yelling at the teams and umpires, with the home team winning 3-2 and everyone on their feet cheering the final strike out. We ate a thing called a “Fat Tuesday” (a variation of a huge hotdog with all the trimmings) and drank $1 beers. A great night!

7 September

After buying a 24 hour bus pass we walked to the bus stop and caught a local bus to the “Old Vegas Strip”.

This is in Freemont St and is the original strip of casinos with a new huge roof over the whole area. It was quite busy for a Saturday morning with bars on the street and everyone wandering from one casino to another. We were keen to see the first races in the Americas Cup. There are thousands of TVs everywhere but no one was willing to change channels for a yacht race. Most people had no idea what it was, even. This is the first weekend of the NFL and all TVs were on that. Eventually we resigned ourselves to missing it, so went for lunch at “Denny’s”. The kind lady there changed one TV to the Americas Cup. Great!! We sat and watched both races. What a result! Back to “Ernie” for a swim and dinner before catching 2 buses to the “real” strip. What a sight the Las Vegas Strip is.

About 5 miles of all the named and themed casinos. We booked tickets for a Bee Gees concert tomorrow night (I suspect it’s not really them!) before wandering the strip and people watching. The crowds, noise, lights etc are all a bit much for us poor country folks. The Bellagio

Fountain was really great. The music was Michael Jackson’s “One.” We had a beer at Caesars Palace before catching a bus back up the strip and a second bus home.

8 September

It drizzled all night and we forgot to put the chairs away therefore they are wet. By lunch time the day had cleared and we set off back on our bus rides to the Las Vegas Strip. We got off at the north end and

walked the entire length. Walking down the strip is not all on footpaths as many times you are forced to walk thru shopping malls and casinos. There are overhead walkways to cross the strip and its side roads The Strip looks different in daylight.

Eventually we arrived at the Excalibar Casino at the south end where the Bee Gees concert we had booked yesterday was. It was a smallish venue where everyone sits at tables. The show was great! It may have not been the real Bee Gees but the singing, lighting and staging were identical to Bee Gee concerts. Even the performers looked the same. They played all the favourites and the crowd (mostly our age) boogied down. We walked back along the strip for our last look at the Bellagio Fountain before catching the bus back to “Ernie”. We have enjoyed our short stay in Vegas but it was long enough!