We left Bullhead City (nice name huh?) after a lovely cool evening, but by 7.30am it was already sweat-inducing to breathe the air!
There are some crops planted along this valley floor, and a very strange motorised vehicle, which looks like something out of Star Wars, with wheels below 'legs' about two metres high, trundles about between the rows, spraying the crops.
Once we leave this valley we instantly enter the DESERT.... Quite a lot of low greenery, heaps of cacti and cycads abound. Forests of huge tree-sized, multi-branched (you know what I mean) cacti stand impressively and defiantly above the red sand. These areas are fenced, and there are frequently "For Sale" signs along the road. Are they kidding???? Can't imagine what one would do with acreage such as this, with the aim of making money!!!!
Out of nowhere appears an Oasis - about 2 acres of beautiful, tall, green trees!!!! Obviously someone has tapped the underground stream below, and has indeed found gold..
Rising up out of the valley, we're trvelling at about 4,000 feet elevation, and then suddenly we're plunged to the bottom of the valley again, down to 1,000 feet, and later on, we actually get to 190 feet below sea level. No wonder it's so hot down here!!
The air is very hazy and once again looks like a lunar landscape, and we drove through Death Valley Wilderness - how aptly named! Huge yellow sand dunes on either side, and some barren sandstone mountains still along the valley edges, Spinifex-like plants are about the only greenery in sight. No more multi-storey-building sized boulders waiting to crash down, these hills are so old, they're smooth and rounded, and very non-threatening in that regard; they're just crumbling slowly back into the sand from which they were built a few million years ago!!!
We drove about 280 miles (haven't yet converted it to kms, but it's a lot) through Death Valley and did see a Coyote, but not much else. Animals do of course live here, but they're wisely nocturnal!!
Passed through another tiny town which had a sign "Death Valley Health Centre", hilarious I thought, but I didn't get a photo.
Here we priced petrol and US$4.50 per gallon - you do the maths, and NEVER complain about the cost of petrol again!!!
In this town, estimated population; 6 people and a dog - there is an OPERA HOUSE... Again hilarious!
At some stage in this Valley's chequered history, it was assumed that the population would boom due to the finding of gold, silver, or something else which was precious. This of course, never materialised, but the Opera House still stands!
We lunched at a place called Furnace Creek - again very aptly named. Sat in our van, ate salad sandwiches and had the air conditioner up full. Temperature about 38 degrees C, in the shade!
It was an amazing journey through the Valley, and of course there are the remnants of a once very deep lake here, in the form of a salt pan which glistens in the heat.
Set up the Van for the second last night in a town called Beatty, and after sealing ourselves inside the cool van for an hour or two, we emerged to find a gorgeous balmy evening. So, off we wandered - truly amazing place again. There seem to be lots of "second-hand" shops across the way. Actually, 'shops' is not the right word, they are more collections of decaying debris spread over the landscape, in the vain hope that someone might be mad enough to buy something.....
As we were musing about the possibility that we were actually having a nightmare of some sort, that this couldn't possibly be for real, a head popped up over a brick wall to enquire as to whether we were looking for some place to eat, or whatever... So, we wandered over for a chat, as you do, and ended up having a very pleasant hour or so with him, and a bottle of wine, outside on his "patio". He's apparently some filthy rich, ex racing driver, who built, owned and then sold, a racing track and driver training school in a town nearby, and after marrying and divorcing 4 times, is now living every man's dream, living in a big shed, surrounded by boys' toys. His huge establishment houses a couple of Masserattis (sp?), several very impressive motor cycles, a motor home half as big as our house, and much, much, more.
Even after he told us his name I failed to be impressed, as I didn't recognise it as I apparently should have!! However, I did Google him when I got back to the Van, and indeed, he's for real!!!! Perhaps this was our actual "brush with fame", I just wish I'd recognised it at the time!!!!
Lovely cool evening for sleeping.......
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