Sorry about the lack of photos for a while. When I posted Day at the Races the pics would not upload, and being strapped for time I just posted text. This is really the first solid internet connection we’ve had sine we left NV, so The Racetrack photos are now up!
After the Day at the Races we slept in a bit longer than usual and after a breakfast at the Stagecoach, we headed back into the Valley for some reconnaissance. We arrived at Badwater just about at high noon. That day we set a record of 98 degrees. Mind you the OFFICIAL temperature is taken at Furnace Creek, in the shade and 3 feet off the ground. Needless to say, it’s hotter just about anywhere else. No good photos to show since everything down there is blinding white.
From Badwater we made our way to Artist's Drive where we had scored some nice images last year. Unfortunately, this year was different and wedidn't shoot any film. We did hike up into one of the little canyons off the road and after some scrambling made it up into a nice amphitheater.
After the hike we decided to explore Warm Spring Canyon. which is another very bumpy ride. The terminus, at least for us and our intrepid little Jeep, was Warm Spring Camp. This is a lovely little oasis that had been the site of very civilized mining camps, complete with a swimming pool! Sadly, the pool was not operational that day. There are some equipmentrelics from the mining days and abandoned structures. The Brittlebush was in bloom and the temperature was actually pleasant.
Though we realy wanted to stay, we reluctantly turned back and headed off to Dante’s View for sunset, another goal for this trip. Dante’s gives a spectacular view of the valley and in one shot it is possible to see the lowest (Badwater) and highest (Mt. Whitney) places in the continental US.
The next day we got up and went directly to the Furnace Creek Inn for breakfast. It was an extravagance, but hugs from Betty are worth the price of admission. She remembered us from last year and is really excited at the possibility of getting her own strawberry hat like mine. After a fabulous feed we visited the Harmony Borax works on our way to the Mesquite Flat sand dunes to scope out morning photo ops.
It was once again REALLY hot so we found the trail to follow, did a quick check of the spot and went back to Libby for an air-conditioned ride back to Beatty. We visited the Beatty Historical Museum and then went to the ghost town of Rhyolite for sunset.Stay tuned for more!
1 comment:
I was wondering where you two were! The clock was ticking on a missing persons report! Glad to see you are having a very memorable vacation! When it's 98 degrees, the term "...but it's a dry heat" becomes rather comical.
It's near 60 hear. Keep having fun!
~ Britt
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