From moonlight to neon , Part 2

The Tuttle Creek campground, a few miles west of Lone Pine, was better than expected for BLM land. 

View from campsite

The campsites were on a higher elevation from the valley below and were at the base of the Sierra Nevada mountain range of which Mount Whitney is the highest (14,505 ft)

The view from the sites is to the valley and another range of mountains, some white capped.

The days were nice and warm but it was cold at night due to the altitude. I thought I was back in canada when I woke up 

A real Canadian snowbird!

one morning! I had to get my ladder out and climb up to the roof to remove the snow from my solar panels in order for them to work.

There were few other campers there at the time but I was able to share stories with one woman I met. This included black tank incidents which all RVers have experienced. I told her of the time I was using a brush to clean my toilet when the brush fell off the handle and dropped into my tank. I was not about to have the tank disassembled and decided that I had invented a new way to clean the tank. The brush would scrub it while I was driving along! So far it has been no problem.

The night skies were very clear and the moon becoming fuller.

I love the moonlight in desert country with its soft bright light, casting a glow to the plants and sand. "The silence was deafening" (I'm not sure who said that but now I know what that means). I've always enjoyed the stillness of these environments, feeling that all is well.

One day, I went for a long bicycle ride to the "Alabama Hills" which was just over 4mi  from where I was.

That was a challenging drive with my little 6 gear fold up bike

and some steep grades! A turn off to "Movie Road" (a 2 lane dirt road) took me past some strange rock but fascinating rock formations.

"Alabama Hills"

There was a good hiking trail up to see the arches in the photos.

This continent certainly has a very large variety of landscapes! It would take several lifetimes to see it all.

After 3 days, I left to drive to Death Valley on route 190. The distance to Panamint Springs near the entrance to the park was only 50 mi but took me about 2 hrs due to ever increasing elevation as I got closer. valley was easy driving and before I knew it, I was slowing down for steep grades and numerous very sharp curves. A race car driver would love this!
There were sheer drops, deep canyons, high mountains, cliffs, with some gentle slopes for a brief break. Many times I caught myself saying "Wow" or perhaps close to tears to see such beauty.

Death Valley National Park is about 3.4 acres in size. It is the hottest and driest spot in North America with less than 2 in of rainfall/yr and a record high of 134 degrees F!
The highest peak is Telescope Peak (11,049ft) and the park has the lowest elevation in North Am at Badwater Basin ( -282 ft below sea level)
The distance between these 2 extremes is only 15mi, with a vertical drop of twice the depth of the Grand Canyon!

Coyotes on the side of the road looking for food

Along my way I saw some people stop to feed 2 coyotes so they could get a good photo. This is against park rules and is a dangerous practice since most wildlife are naturally afraid of people.
The people drove off before I could pull over but I did manage to get a photo from inside my RV. I noticed 2 crows watching. According to some beliefs, 2 crows showing up brings good luck.
Driving along the vast salt flats had me feel like I was on another planet, far from civilization. The air was crisp and quite warm to me (about 75F). The stillness.....oh, the stillness!
Every once in a while, a car or Rv would pass by me.

Spring blossoms

Due to a recent rain, spring flowers and flowering bushes 
appeared in many areas.

detail of salt "flat"

Salt flats

                      

Years ago, Borax (a salt) was collected from these flats, processed and shipped by mule train to urban centers.

The vast desert, far from crowded cities

In the afternoon, I arrived at "Furnace Creek" which is a major service center for the park including a hotel, fuel, camping. I stayed at the Texas Spring Campground which was a good place to stay. There were no hook ups but they had pit toilets, water, and a dump stn. A few miles away was the Ranch resort which allowed visitors from the campground to get a day pass for $5 to use their showers and pool fed by hot springs.
That was a delight in the arid desert!
During my time there, I got to see the full moon rising over the mountain top. I had never watched a moon rise and I felt overcome with awe.

Texas Spring Campground,elev 196ft below sea level!

While 
camped there, I met up with another good friend, this time from Alberta. He had been to Death valley several times and was able to be an excellent tour guide for me. Because he had an SUV (or was it a van? I'll never know the difference!)
I was able to see many areas of Death valley that I wouldn't have experienced otherwise. I also had the opportunity of doing some challenging hikes that I probably would not have attempted on my own.

An interesting site were the charcoal kilns or "beehives". These were designed by the Swiss to convert wood to charcoal. 
That day we did a very long hike up from the beehives toward a mountain peak that looked appealing. There was already a bit of snow at the parking lot and this became deeper as we climbed with the air becoming colder in the process. Luckily I was able to borrow a down jacket. 
unfortunately, the snow and steepness of the path gradually got worse and we had to turn back, but it was a great workout.

A few days later, we left and continued our journeys in opposite directions. I stopped at Zabriskie Point but the road into the area was closed. The short hike up to a look out resulted in some fantastic landscapes.

It was difficult to leave Death Valley and I know I would like to go back again sometime.

As I drove out of the park, the landscape flattened.
I was fortunate to see some Joshua Trees in bloom, an experience I had been hoping for.

Joshua Tree blossom

 On I drove to stop at Ticopa to visit the hot springs.
They had private cabins you could use, containing a shower and a small pool of hot springs water.
That felt incredibly luxurious after all the driving!

And so, once again, I'll have to continue in part 3 of this journey!


" Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and celebrate the journey" (Fitzhugh Mullan")