Death Valley and more

February 23 – 24: We stopped for lunch just outside of Searchlight NV at the Whistle Stop Café, a little restaurant by the railroad tracks in the middle of nowhere. Had a good burger and chatted briefly with a few fellow diners from the Blue Knights, an international biker group that were convening in Las Vegas and taking a weekend drive. They were mostly retired law enforcement from across the country, with Texas, Nevada, California and even New York (Queens) represented in this group.

Snow in the desert from Vegas to the California border. Who knew….

The Whistlestop Cafe.

Found art on the cafe walls.

Hotel California. For real.

As we continued on our way we realized that we would pass just south of Death Valley near the Nevada-California border. Now it wasn’t on our trip list but it is a National Park and a legend as far as landscape and history so we decided to take another detour. The nicer campgrounds were full – the end of a holiday week and a weekend to boot – but there were plenty of spaces in the parking lot-like Sunset CG so in we went.

The next morning we went to breakfast at the historic Death Valley Ranch, dating back to the park’s designation as a national monument in 1933. Walked up to Zabriski Point, a spot the overlooks the salt desert floor of Badwater, at 230’ below sea level the lowest (and hottest) place in the US.

Also drove the Artist Palette loop, a short drive that took us past some colorful cliffs.

DSCN3336 — Badwater; the lowest place in the country at 283′ below sea level.

DSCN3318 — At Zabriski Point. We took one of them and they took one of us.

The road out of the park was winding and hilly, and halfway out we noticed our brake light was on. Panic set in. We checked the manual to try to troubleshoot. It could have been any of three things, none of them good. We decided to stop at the first town and pulled into the general store/gas station/camp office to see if there was anyone to help. No luck. Then Ron noticed a pickup truck coming into the parking area and decided to ask the driver if he knew how to check the brake fluid in a Dodge engine. Fortunately, his truck was a Dodge and he was able to help Ron figure out where things were under the hood, reassured us that sometimes his light went on for no apparent reason, and recommended a campground just a few miles away. By then our brake light was out – and has not since reappeared – so we followed his directions to the Diaz Lake County Park and spent the night.