The drive from Utah west to Pahrump, Nevada was eventful in that the Journey had to pull its first real grade. A 7 mile climb over Red Rocks Pass just to the west of Las Vegas. We went into the lowest gear I have had to use so far and the Winnebago did just fine even though we were down to 50 mph at the top. We also topped off the fuel tank and I was shocked to see my gas mileage had dropped some but then remembered that we had stopped at a rest area on the way to Utah and used the generator. It is good to run it an hour or more once in awhile to keep it in running order. Josie baked a cake using her sister Mary Ellen's recipe for cherry chocolate cake, while I watched TV.
We got up early on our first full day here and picked up cinnamon rolls and sticky buns that they sell for a $1 each in the clubhouse here at the RV park. They were so big we split them. We gassed up in Pahrump then we drove into Death Valley. Good thing we did for gas prices in the Valley were sky high. I had heard of 23 mile Jeep trail that goes through Titus Canyon in the park so we decided to take it before the temperature got too hot. The trail lived up to the hype and we went up and over a mountain pass, by an old mining ghost town and then down into Death Valley through a slot canyon that at times was only 20 feet wide. One of the rocks along the way looked just like a skull and we hoped it was not an omen of things ahead on the trail. It took us around three hours to drive with a stop for lunch. By the time we reached the Visitors Center at Furnace Creek at 2 pm it was already over 100 degrees. We decided to go home and come back another day.
We did not make it over to the Valley again until our last day here in Pahrump. The weather became very hot with temps in the high 90s here and over 112 in the Valley. It finally cooled down some and we went back over early in the morning. I played the Furnace Creek Golf Course and Josie drove the cart. The 150 yard markers had the outline of a coyote on them and sure enough we had one stroll across in front of us on the 13th fairway. At that far below sea-level you had to hit one club higher to get the right distance. Once we left the golf course we drove down into the lowest part of the Valley, Badwater Basin. On the way we came to an area called the Devils Golf Course so I teed one up and drove it into the fairway but as you can see could not find it as usual.
I went out early one morning to bird the Ash Mountain NWR on the Nevada California border.It is a true desert oasis with bubbling springs in the middle of miles and miles of arid desert. Best birds, MacGillivray's Warbler, and baby Long-eared owls.
Hard to believe that they can grow grapes in the desert but there are two wineries here in Pahrump. We had a very nice lunch and tasted some very fine wines on an afternoon where the temperature was near 100.
With the weather getting so hot here we have decide to leave Parump after only one week. So tomorrow we are heading 400 miles north to the Reno, Lake Tahoe area and cooler weather.
We got up early on our first full day here and picked up cinnamon rolls and sticky buns that they sell for a $1 each in the clubhouse here at the RV park. They were so big we split them. We gassed up in Pahrump then we drove into Death Valley. Good thing we did for gas prices in the Valley were sky high. I had heard of 23 mile Jeep trail that goes through Titus Canyon in the park so we decided to take it before the temperature got too hot. The trail lived up to the hype and we went up and over a mountain pass, by an old mining ghost town and then down into Death Valley through a slot canyon that at times was only 20 feet wide. One of the rocks along the way looked just like a skull and we hoped it was not an omen of things ahead on the trail. It took us around three hours to drive with a stop for lunch. By the time we reached the Visitors Center at Furnace Creek at 2 pm it was already over 100 degrees. We decided to go home and come back another day.
We did not make it over to the Valley again until our last day here in Pahrump. The weather became very hot with temps in the high 90s here and over 112 in the Valley. It finally cooled down some and we went back over early in the morning. I played the Furnace Creek Golf Course and Josie drove the cart. The 150 yard markers had the outline of a coyote on them and sure enough we had one stroll across in front of us on the 13th fairway. At that far below sea-level you had to hit one club higher to get the right distance. Once we left the golf course we drove down into the lowest part of the Valley, Badwater Basin. On the way we came to an area called the Devils Golf Course so I teed one up and drove it into the fairway but as you can see could not find it as usual.
I went out early one morning to bird the Ash Mountain NWR on the Nevada California border.It is a true desert oasis with bubbling springs in the middle of miles and miles of arid desert. Best birds, MacGillivray's Warbler, and baby Long-eared owls.
Hard to believe that they can grow grapes in the desert but there are two wineries here in Pahrump. We had a very nice lunch and tasted some very fine wines on an afternoon where the temperature was near 100.
With the weather getting so hot here we have decide to leave Parump after only one week. So tomorrow we are heading 400 miles north to the Reno, Lake Tahoe area and cooler weather.
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