Death Valley to Lone Pine 11.23.16

This is going to be a first for Frank and me.  We are traveling to Lone Pine, CA to spend Thanksgiving and the weekend with daughter Kate and her hiker friends- Love Note, Burly and their daughter Juniper.   On Tuesday we flew from Philadelphia to Las Vegas.  It was a very uneventful travel day.  The news had forecasted that Thanksgiving was the busiest travel time of the year.  Our flight left at 4pm and although we had TSA precheck (expedited lane) the security lines were all very short.

The plan was that Kate would meet us in Las Vegas, we’d spend the night there and then travel through Death Valley to Lone Pine which is about 4 hours from Las Vegas.

Frank was not happy about driving the rental car through the Vegas strip to get to our hotel.  I thought traffic wasn’t bad and the map on my phone got us there without a hitch.   Frank just hates big cities so immediately his demeanor changes. We had to go back to the airport to pick up Kate around 11, which in EST was 2 am.   We were really exhausted by the time we got to bed.

Poor Kate.   In the morning, I got this picture of her sleeping.  Frank and both snore and this was the only way she could get to sleep.

Our first stop in Death Valley National Park was Dantes View.   It overlooks Badwater Basin and the salt flats.   It was an amazing view.  At this viewpoint we were at an elevation of about 7,000 ft and the Badwater Basin is at 282 ft below sea level making it the lowest elevation in North America.

Our next stop was Zabriskie Point.  Here there were rolling white hills.  Some were black on the top which were from hardened lava rock.   Looking at them you are in awe at the constantly changing  landscape over time.

So as we continued our road trip, we went from the high elevation at Dantes View to Badwater Basin.  It is so hot here that once was a lake has long since evaporated and is now the Badwater Basin and salt flats.   Of course we had to walk on the salt beds.

Looking at the cliffs that surround Badwater Basin, Kate pointed out the tallest one and said  “That’s Telescope Peak where I just climbed this fall on the Low to High trail.”   Then looking behind us, she pointed out Dantes Viewpoint.   There was a sign about a third of the way up that said Sea Level.    Amazing!

Our final step of the day was at an old Borax mining site.   We were lucky enough to get there just as a ranger was starting a tour so we joined it.  This area was an active mine for about 5 years from 1883 to 1888.   After the borax was extracted it had to be hauled out by a 20 Mule Team.  I am sure many of us remember the commercials of our youth for Twenty Mule Team Borax!   The operation could only run 9 months of the year, as the summer months were too hot with temperatures going to 130!(Furnace Creek which is near here holds the highest reliable recorded temperature of 134 degrees F in 1913)

At this point it was 3:30 and it was time to head to Lone Pine. Lone Pine is a small town with a population of 900. Arriving around 5, we went to Love Note and Burly’s house. I tried to hold 7 month old Juniper but she would have no part of me and immediately started crying. I unfortunately did not take any pictures, but stayed tuned. We will be spending our Thanksgiving Day with them along with some of their family and friends.

We left Drop and Roll with her hiker friends, and headed to our hotel to clean up and get supper. We were exhausted!