Friday morning was full of anticipation of riding through Death Valley. We made it in record time and rode right into Scotty's Castle, an amazing piece of history at the northeast entrace of Death Valley.
We took the tour and learned all about Scotty and his "fake" goldmine and learned who the real owner of the Castle was. Interesting story and who knew that a midwesterner millionaire would build a vacation home in the middle of nowhere. (you should google Scotty's Castle to learn about the showman and the millionaire who called it's his "camp" or vacation home and all the eccentric people who visited it) Randy's standing right in front of Scotty's and yes, he's one of the eccentric ones visiting!
Off to Furnance Creek - still cold and windy but like the settlers before us, we keep moving. At Furnance Creek the temperature soared from a cool 60 to 97 and the wind just right on blowing. We paid $6.00 for a gallon of premium (ouch!) and stopped for lunch in the Saloon.
We learned that from September to May the Park is full of mostly American tourists and in the summer it fills up with Europeans who want to experience 120+ degree heat. Our server is done for the season and wants out of Death Valley heading up to a cooler locale...Glacier National Park (a favorite of ours). We want out too so we pass up visiting a few of the sites and ride right by the Twenty Mule Team Borax site.
Wind, Sand, Rain, Fog and a little Snow
The titile sounds like a country western song and yes, we're right in the middle of that song. Riding through Death Valley is horrible at best. Its, windy and dry. Yes, exciting to be -200 feet below sea level especially after starting off at 6700 feet above in the mountains. But that excitement lasts just a few seconds. I can't imagine walking or riding a wagon through this horredous country. It's desolate, dry, windy, hot and as the temperature cools we are in a blizzard of SAND! Winds are 10-45 mph and sand is so dense sometimes you can barely see 10 feet in front of you. Have you seen the movie "The Mummy"? It opens with a huge sandstorm ...that was us! You can see in the photo Ed brought out his goggles. Not beer goggles ...BIG GOGGLES.
Along HWY 395 we're buffeted by the wind and we know that It's never a good sign to see a semi-truck on it's side and we pass three right in a row, knocked over by the force of the wind. The highway is now closed to motorhomes, semi's, busses and all tall trucks. But it's ok for everyone else so we keep going. Watching the sun set quickly and the cold and rain intensify!
Crestline is in our sight, only 15 miles away and we know that Denise and David Santos, have chili, snacks, a cozy fire and tasty beverages waiting for us. We consider stopping but we're so close. We head up the mountain, me trying to keep a steady pace behind Randy and saying lots of Hail Marys. (I'm sure I did the entire Rosary by the time I got to Denise's)
Going up the mountain to Crestiline is the hardest ride I've ever done. More difficult than Rocky Mountain National Park in the rain with construction, Independence Pass or Bear Tooth Highway. It's steep and windy, along with major twisties. We make it through several hairpin turns only to be engulfed in fog with zero visibility. We creep along and eventually end up at the Santos' cabin around 8:30 pm, just in time for a fun, relaxing, evening of storytelling and friendship. Thanks to Denise & David for hosting us.
I know this ride is going down in the books as one of the hardest for all of us, Randy, Ed and Richard will completely agree with me on this. As time goes by, I know our stories about the ride to Cresline via Death Valley will become legendary. (At least in our minds)
Here's hoping for better weather from now on. Loved the descriptions.
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