We woke up late, had peanut butter sandwiches for breakfast and were ready to leave for Death Valley by 930 am. By this time we were also sure that we wanted to camp in this town for a week, we could make use of this as a base camp while we did smaller trips nearby. We paid up for the week (which the manager thought was amusing, wonder why!!) and head off for Badwater, which was to be our 1st stop. The ride to Badwater was hot, though a pleasant change from the cold that we had been battling for the past few days. The views were amazing though, at times, I wondered that “Death Valley” was a fitting name for this area. If someone was to get lost here, the chances of getting out alive were minimal. And I started imagining how many people would have died here during the Gold Rush. Man is such a greedy animal, we don’t mind risking our own lives and families for a piece of fortune. How tragic. Enough of my ‘positive’ thoughts, time to get back to the ride.
There wasn’t much water at Badwater, but I could see why they called it that. We went for a little stroll at the badwater basin, and by the time we were done, it was so hot, I felt like a roasted chicken! A picture is worth a thousand words, and I don’t think words would do justice to the beauty of Death Valley, so I shall use more of pictures and lesser words for this post.
Places we visited:
- Badwater
- Furnace Creek
- Golden Canyon
- Zabraskie point
- Artist’s drive
- Devil's Golf course
We stopped by for lunch at the ‘Furnace Creek Ranch’ and ordered more than we could eat. The idea of an Oasis in the middle of the desert was overwhelming, and we did get carried away with the food. I was so stuffed by the end of it that I wouldn’t mind if anyone offered to carry me back! Though no one offered L and I had to drag myself back to the bike.
I was full and sleepy, and just wanted to get back now. We did make use of the phone booth outside the post office at Furnace creek to make a few phone calls. Our cell phone had no signal in JT, nor did we expect it to have any at Death Valley or Shoshone. So we called our families and told them not to worry if we are not traceable for another week. We were falling in love with the desert and might decide to extend our stay, who knows!
We reached Shoshone by 6 in the evening and all I could think of by now was the bed. We had an early dinner and off I went to sleep. Zzzzzzz….
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