November 8, 2008

Planned Trip RD3 (see revised planned trips here).

Day trip into Death Valley.  546 miles.  The final park!

Saturday, November 8.

I pulled the Connie out of the garage and fired her up at 6:15 in the morning.  A stop at the Chevron by the freeway for gas and air, and then onto the freeway at 6:35.  At 7:15 I met Michael at one of our normal meeting points - the Carls Jr at the Avenue K exit of CA-14.  We then took our usual route to Death Valley - north on CA-14 to Redrock Randsburg Road, Garlock Road, a short stretch on US-395, followed by Searles Station Cutoff Road, Trona Road, and finally CA-178 to Trona, stopping for gas at 8:45.  We continued northward on Trona Wildrose Road, then turning onto Panamint Valley Road, stopping for photos at the Death Valley NP sign at 9:30.

It was a beautiful morning for a ride.  A large Jeep club was holding their Panamint Valley Days encampment, so Jeeps were everywhere.  We also ran into a number of dual-sporters on a ride.  At 10:15, we were below sea level at Stovepipe Wells getting gas.  Then it was on to Scotty's Castle.  Just before Scotty's Castle there is an entrance booth.  While the other entrances to Death Valley National Park are "on your honor" to pay at a self service kiosk or at a VC, this entrance has a booth.  No problem, just flash the pass and away we went.  We got to Scotty's Castle at 11:00 and were able to get tickets for the 11:20 house tour.

Scotty's Castle is really Albert Johnson's Death Valley Ranch.  Scotty was a colorful character and Albert and his wife Bessie kept him around for laugh and companionship.  It is well worth it to take the tour.  For more info on Scotty's Castle, visit http://www.nps.gov/deva/historyculture/scottys-castle.htm  Tickets sell out in the afternoon, plan to arrive in the morning.  When we were leaving, the wait for a tour was over an hour.

We left the Castle at 12:40, and made a small detour to the Panamint Valley Resort for gas and a late lunch.  I had the cardiac arrest special, a 1/2 pound burger smothered in blue cheese.  We left the resort at 3:00.  After Trona, we stayed on CA-178 all of the way to CA-14.  We had a pleasant ride through Red Rock Canyon.  We stopped for gas in Mojave.  It was sunset (5:00), so I put on my clear shield.  I waved goodbye to Michael as we rode through Lancaster.  I pulled into the garage at 6:15, making it a 12-hour day.  The SCMA booklet is completely full - stamps on all 24 pages.  Now we just need to get the booklet verified and then enjoy the awards banquet in February.

GPS Track Log.

One new stamp in the NPS Stamp Book.

 (note: photos were taken either by myself or Michael Bowman)