The Hottest Place On Earth

Day 136 - Death Valley to Lemon Cove, CA - Sunny Upper 70's:

We woke early again because of the darn sun. After a small breakfast we packed up camp and drove to our last hike in the park. It was a great hike through Mosaic Canyon. The canyon has some great marble walls that you get to walk through and ends at a dried up waterfall. It was cool to see the waves within the marble and we got some great pictures. After our return we piled back into the car and started our drive to Sequoia National Park. On our drive from Death Valley our journey took us through the small town of Trona and it was quite fascinating for Heather because we drove past a backhoe which was on top a mountain of salt. They had a huge salt flat that they harvested and processed.

We then drove toward the Sierra Mountains and made our way through one of the open mountain passes. We were pleasantly surprised to find that parts of the mountains where in bloom and gorgeous. We both thought that it looked like the rolling hills of Ireland that we have seen in pictures. There were green grass covered hillsides with wildflowers everywhere. We took our sweet time through the switchback and steep downhills. I think it was mostly because we wanted to enjoy the spring feel as long as possible. We made it though the mountains and into the small town of Lemon Cove where we set up camp and had some dinner before calling it a night.

Day 135 - Death Valley, CA - Sunny Mid 80's:

Today we woke up with the sun because it was way too hot to sleep. We cooked breakfast and planned our day. We realized that Death Valley was more of a driving park because all the sites are spread out. Our first stop was to go below sea level to the lowest point in the western hemisphere. The valley floor is 282 feet below sea level and covered in mostly table salt. We discovered that the run off from the surrounding mountains makes its way to the basin floor while passing over rocks and collecting minerals. The water then collects because it can't make its way out to sea due to the elevation and the extreme heat then evaporates the water leaving behind the minerals and causing the salt flats. We walked out to the salt flats and were amazed at the scenery. Against my doctors orders I had to try the salt water. After getting some pictures and enjoying the salt we decided we wanted to see the valley from above so we piled pack into the car and drove up to Dante's Peak where we were told that you could see the lowest point and highest point in the contiguous United States. Along the way we took a trip around the artists drive with a quick stop at the artists palette where the minerals within the rocks cause an array of great colors. We took some pictures and headed for the top of the mountain.

After a steep stretch and a bunch of switchbacks we finally made it to the top of the mountain. We ate our lunch we got and got out to explore. No question we could see the lowest point but couldn't find the highest point Mt. Whitney. They had no signWe had an amazing view from the top and enjoyed the cooler weather for a bit. We then made our way on to the next campground to set up camp and relax for a while in the sun. After a quick stop by the general store for some ice and beer we made our way down to the sand dunes. Even though we had no sleds for the sand dunes this time we took a stroll to the second highest dune and I tried some long jump from the top. Check out the video. This place is what we imagined the Sahara Desert would be like. After our short stroll through the desert, we headed back to camp and met our neighbors a college group from Montana. I then cooked a great dinner and it was time for another campfire and Phase 10. This time I kicked Heather's butt!!

Day 134 - Death Valley, CA - Sunny Mid 80's:

Today we left LA in the morning and made our way out of the traffic and hustle and bustle of the big city. We drove most of the day and arrived if Death Valley National Park in the late afternoon. We were both surprised at how busy the park was and we couldn't get a camp site in the main campground. Luckily, there was another one just down the road with sites available. We set up camp for the night and because there was plenty of daylight left and still really hot we decided to try a short hike. We drove down to the Golden Canyon trail head and took off for the 4 mile hike. The hike through the canyon was great and we got our first taste of the unique rock formations that lie within the park. Heather was a bit worried that we wouldn't make it back to the car before sunset but luckily we didn't get lost and found our way back with plenty of time to spare. It was then back to camp to cook some dinner and have a campfire. Heather really liked camping here because it was the first time she didn't need to wear shoes while we sat around the campfire. The couple next to us had a high powered laser pointer which really fascinated Heather because you could point to the different constellations. We played a quick game of Phase 10 which Heather won by only five points. It was then time for bed because we knew it would be an early morning.