It was raining pretty good today at Badwater Basin in #DeathValley National Park.
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Well no matter where I go, there's someone that needs help. This evening after the sun had set we found two stranded motorists halfway through the West Side Road just north of Johnson Canyon Road in #DeathValley National Park. Those who have been on the West Side Road before will know it's signposted as a 4x4 road. Yes, most of the time you can get a sedan down it if you know what you're doing but there are risks.
Tonight we found a couple from Brazil in their rental Ford Mustang with the transmission oil pan absolutely destroyed from an encounter with a rock. We had followed an oil slick trail for a half mile before we found them.
It was dark already and we were almost certainly the last vehicle on the road for the night.
Of course there is no cell phone reception in this area. And it's a gravel and sand road that doesn't connect from or to anywhere that someone would cause someone to drive through that way at night. The road also just reopened today after being closed for several months from the fall flooding.
Well anyway we contacted emergency services via my satellite transponder and got DVNP to dispatch someone to come pick them up and take them back to the luxury resort at Furnace Creek.
We also gave them food and water. They didn't have any of either with them.
It was in the mid 60s so as long as they stayed in their broken down Mustang and waited for a park ranger to come pick them up and haul them back to their hotel, they should be fine. They were of course in shorts and flip flops although they at least had light wind breakers.
After we made sure someone was aware they were out there and needed to be picked up and their car needed a tow, we headed south to Shoshone. They will be okay until tomorrow if the park decides to leave them out overnight. And we weren't setup to take them with us especially in the hardcore wind that's been blowing. It was much safer for them to stay put.
So yeah... I guess park warnings need to be translated into Portuguese. Because all of the other languages weren't enough to keep these two Brazilians from doing probably $20k of damage to a rental mustang between the mechanical damage and the tow fee.
Anyway here are a few photos of the dust storm in Death Valley today.
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Anyway here are a few photos of the dust storm in Death Valley today.
And here are some pup fish from Salt Creek in Death Valley
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And here are some pup fish from Salt Creek in Death Valley
We ate at the Crowbar tonight.
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We ate at the Crowbar tonight.
Before we found the stranded Brazilians and before it was dark, the North end of the West side road was gorgeous. There is a ton of water in the salt flat. And the clouds were putting on a show. The Paramount Range to the west of death valley was getting snow as well.
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Before we found the stranded Brazilians and before it was dark, the North end of the West side road was gorgeous. There is a ton of water in the salt flat. And the clouds were putting on a show. The Paramount Range to the west of death valley was getting snow as well.
Here's the Keanie Wonder Mine Mill. For all the times I've been to Death Valley, I never visited before. Wish we had time to hike up to the mill site.
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Here's the Keanie Wonder Mine Mill. For all the times I've been to Death Valley, I never visited before. Wish we had time to hike up to the mill site.
On top of a pass between the valley to the east of Death Valley and Death Valley itself. This is close to the old townsite of Greenwater and south of Dante's View.
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On top of a pass between the valley to the east of Death Valley and Death Valley itself. This is close to the old townsite of Greenwater and south of Dante's View.
I had no idea that CALTRANS has Rivian SUVs in their fleet now. One just pulled in and is charging at Shoshone right now.
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I had no idea that CALTRANS has Rivian SUVs in their fleet now. One just pulled in and is charging at Shoshone right now.
So I guess we just adopted a Devil's Hole pupfish. His name is Glug Glug.
He even came with a certificate of adoption
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So I guess we just adopted a Devil's Hole pupfish. His name is Glug Glug.
He even came with a certificate of adoption
Checking out some pupfish today at the excellent Ash Meadows Wildlife Refuge. It's absolutely insane how people destroyed a 5000+ acre wetland in the middle of the desert because of money.
At Devil's Hole the whole place is fenced and monitored with cameras. A small caged passage goes to a viewing platform where you can use binoculars to spot pupfish
Are the pupfish imprisoned or are we imprisoned?
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Checking out some pupfish today at the excellent Ash Meadows Wildlife Refuge. It's absolutely insane how people destroyed a 5000+ acre wetland in the middle of the desert because of money.
At Devil's Hole the whole place is fenced and monitored with cameras. A small caged passage goes to a viewing platform where you can use binoculars to spot pupfish
Are the pupfish imprisoned or are we imprisoned?
At Rhyolite ghost town
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At Rhyolite ghost town
At the Goldwell Open Air Museum and nearby cemetery
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At the Goldwell Open Air Museum and nearby cemetery
Burros and Beatty
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Burros and Beatty
Hmm it looks like we're going to get some weather today. The plan is to go to Chloride City and Chloride Cliffs this morning, and then Ubehebe Crater and Devil's Racetrack around lunch. I suspect we won't be able to do Lippincott Road or Hunter Mountain Road because of snow so we'll have to go all the way back and around to get to tonight's destination of Lone Pine.
There's an indication that we might get a thunderstorm and at least some snow flurries before a bit of rain.
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Hmm it looks like we're going to get some weather today. The plan is to go to Chloride City and Chloride Cliffs this morning, and then Ubehebe Crater and Devil's Racetrack around lunch. I suspect we won't be able to do Lippincott Road or Hunter Mountain Road because of snow so we'll have to go all the way back and around to get to tonight's destination of Lone Pine.
There's an indication that we might get a thunderstorm and at least some snow flurries before a bit of rain.
We made it to Lone Pine!
Photos later.
Absolutely mind blowing scenery today. Found two abandoned vehicles on the way. Aside from the F35 jets doing low passes, I suspect we were the only people in the bottom half of the Saline Valley. Possibly in the entire valley.
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We made it to Lone Pine!
Photos later.
Absolutely mind blowing scenery today. Found two abandoned vehicles on the way. Aside from the F35 jets doing low passes, I suspect we were the only people in the bottom half of the Saline Valley. Possibly in the entire valley.
In the morning we left Beatty and went to Chloride Cliffs for a spectacular view into Death Valley. It snowed on us and the clouds were descending onto us so we headed down to Stovepipe Wells (the OG place... Not the new one).
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In the morning we left Beatty and went to Chloride Cliffs for a spectacular view into Death Valley. It snowed on us and the clouds were descending onto us so we headed down to Stovepipe Wells (the OG place... Not the new one).
Then we went up to Ubehebe Crater where it was very cold and windy.
Then we drove out to Devil's Racetrack and saw the moving rocks that make the place so famous. Oh and teakettle junction.
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Then we went up to Ubehebe Crater where it was very cold and windy.
Then we drove out to Devil's Racetrack and saw the moving rocks that make the place so famous. Oh and teakettle junction.
Then we went over Lippincott Pass into the Saline Valley where we found a thrashed BMW abandoned in the middle of the road (yes it's been called in).
Two F35s buzzed us while we worked to get around the BMW.
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Then we went over Lippincott Pass into the Saline Valley where we found a thrashed BMW abandoned in the middle of the road (yes it's been called in).
Two F35s buzzed us while we worked to get around the BMW.
Then we went over South Pass that was covered in about a foot of snow which was a bit sketchy. But we made it. We saw an abandoned 4runner on the side of the road but no people were around.
Then we descended into Lee Flats which is full of epically huge Joshua trees.
And then finally we made our way back to the pavement and got up to Lone Pine.
Wow what a day!
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Then we went over South Pass that was covered in about a foot of snow which was a bit sketchy. But we made it. We saw an abandoned 4runner on the side of the road but no people were around.
Then we descended into Lee Flats which is full of epically huge Joshua trees.
And then finally we made our way back to the pavement and got up to Lone Pine.
Wow what a day!
Today we went to Manzanar and the Eastern California Museum in Independence plus a few other stops along the 395 corridor.
Manzanar is incredible.
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Today we went to Manzanar and the Eastern California Museum in Independence plus a few other stops along the 395 corridor.
Manzanar is incredible.
We stopped in at the Eastern California Museum in Independence to see the Slim Princess steam engine. I got to climb up in the cab and had a great time with it.
The indoor part of the museum has one of the most astounding native American basket collections I've ever seen in one place.
There also is a set of dentures made out of coyote teeth that evidently is a very popular attraction.
