day 4 - us395 + the badwater road
This post is part 4 of the "trip-2006" series:
- day 1 - the long drive to vegas
- day 2 - down in the valley + speed trap!
- day 3 - the Racetrack !
- day 4 - us395 + the badwater road
- day 5 - crator then back to vegas
- day 6 - the long drive home
Due to Titus Canyon being closed from snow, our original itinerary was largely scrapped, and we were reworking it as we went. As a result, we basically ended up having an entire day free, and decided to drive out to the Manzanar National Historical Site (one of the world war 2 Japanese internment camps). David & I had visited there back in September, and Denise had expressed an interest. It was about a 2 hour drive from Beatty, NV to the site, just north of Lone Pine, California. David seemed to remember our trip there, and really wanted to see the orientation film. I had a bit more time to explore the museum this time, since David was better occupied. The weather outside was nice, although there was a large storm just to the west, looming over the Sierra.
The drive back to Death Valley was uneventful, and we stopped off at the Salt Creek. The last time we went there was over 3 years ago, so it was a somewhat fresh experience for all of us. David took an interest in the native pickleweed & desert holly that were growing along the banks of the salt creek.
Afterwards we drove south to the northern turnoff for the West Side Road, and headed about 2 miles down, to the northern end of the Devil's Golfcourse. The geometric salt formations were in pristine condition, and we had the area all to ourselves (unlike the official Devil's Golf Course turn off, which was packed with cars). David had loads of fun stomping on the pockets of dried mud & salt.
From there, we headed back up to the (main) Badwater Road, and went the rest of the way to Badwater. It was incredibly crowded (the parking lot was nearly full). This wasn't terribly surprising, but was disapointing anyway, as alot of the magic of the spot is lost when there are hordes of tourists everywhere, and you have to walk quite far out onto the salt pan just to find some undisturbed salt formations. We still had fun, but it wasn't the same type of experience that we had 3 years ago, or last September.
This post is part 4 of the "trip-2006" series: