Wild West day 12

We left China Lake and headed over to Inyokern, then up Hwy 395. Hwy 395 runs along the eastern base of the Sierras, up past 9-mile canyon road where we used to go trout fishing and camping on occasion. But, it was a pretty hairy road back then and I doubted it had been improved much, so I did not consider the drive up 9-mile canyon. On a bit further is Owens Lake or what used to be Owens Lake. In 1913, Los Angles started sucking it dry. By 1926, it was. Now it's a dust bowl when the wind kicks up. We kept going. We arrived at Lee Vining in late afternoon. Had a super duper ice cream cone and headed on across the mountains on Hwy 120 into Yosemite. We did not have any reservations, but we thought there was enough daylight left that we could try the first big campground in the park to see if they had a vacancy. If not, we'd go back out to Lee Vining and camp. But, we lucked out and got a campsite in Yosemite. Yeah! We met some interesting neighbors while here.  In the camp right next to us was a class C rental (similar to our old Pumpkin).  The first thing we noticed was the little kids jumping out the door.  It reminded me of another day, another west trip a long time ago. Our 1970 vacation in Yellowstone And our French neighbors in Yosemite Well, time to eat and hit the sack. Big day tomorrow.

Wild West day 11

Death Valley Days... After our close call with low fuel, I was a little tentative about heading into Death Valley. Well, can you blame me? But, with a full tank of diesel and a full tank of fresh water, plus ample groceries, we dove in. This plaque briefly identifies the point where a wagon train of 49ers split, trying to get out of Death Valley. One group went north and the other went south. Guess which group made it out...they both did, after abandoning their wagons and walking out with their horses and oxen. This is the lowest point in Death Valley, reported to be 282 ft. below sea level. My super duper, highly accurate, never lies GPS agreed. The red line points to a red bucket surrounding where a sign noting sea level is displayed well above us. Golden Canyon...back in '66 or '67, Vic & Linda Koeneman drove up from Montclair (or was it Clairmont?), Ca. where they lived at the time. They had a VW van and we all piled in for a visit to Death Valley. We drove up this canyon quite some distance and got out to scout around. It was winter, February, I think, and there was a light misty rain, wetting all the pebbles and stones in the canyon. The stones were beautifully colored. We collected as many as we dared and took them back home. The next day, the stones had dried out and were all plain old tan colored. So, we put them in our fish aquarium and the colors returned. Today, Joyce and I visited the canyon. It is now blocked off to vehicle traffic and only foot traffic allowed. Leaving Death Valley From Death Valley, we continued on Hwy 178 toward Ridgecrest, Ca. We passed through Trona, an old nearly extinct boron mining town. It now produces soda ash from the alkaline Searles Lake bed. From Trona, onward to Ridgecrest and the nearby China Lake Naval Base, more accurately known as Navy Air Weapons Station. This is where I was stationed from 1965 to 1967. This is where Joyce says she grew her "core". Or, Joyce hated it there. Probably her only bright spot is Michael was born there. We camped at the base "Famcamp" RV park. It was brand new, no grass and only some newly planted sapling trees. But, it had nice RV pads and a decent shower/laundry. However, it is still in the desert. The desert Joyce hated and the wind we both despised. Wouldn't you just love to live here?

Wild West day 10

We spent the night at Fun N Sun Trailer Park in Overton, NV.  Big park, but pretty nondescript.  At least, we had full hookups.  I forgot to get a photo.

On the way to Hoover Dam the next morning, we passed through The Valley Of Fire State Park on the shores of Lake Mead. It's a lesser known park with some interesting rock formations. I know, I know. More rocks!

And some of the local talent.

Then we arrived at Hoover Dam.

Joyce and I visited Hoover Dam in 1963 as we traveled from Whidbey Is., Wa. to Memphis, Tn.

Then again in 2014

We've changed a lot, but so has the dam. The big stone monument Joyce was standing in front of in the '63 photo is still there, but now you must park a long ways off and walk back across the dam to get to it. We try to avoid walking these days, so we did what we could.

The biggest change at the dam is the new bridge spanning the canyon just below the dam. Actually, it is above the dam, but downstream from it. This is a view of it from the dam. Impressive!

Departing Hoover Dam, we cut across the lower part of Las Vegas and headed for Death Valley. As we were leaving Vegas, I began looking for a filling station. But, none were found along our route. My GPS and my trip program plotted a route across the Nevada state line into California heading for a little town named Tecopa, Ca. I checked my fuel gauge and I had enough to get there with a little to spare. But, as we headed down The Old Spanish Trail Hwy, things began to get worrisome. The gauge was going down, but all we could see was rocks and sand. My trusty old GPS showed the checkered flag and so we kept plodding on. Then the pavement ran out. Oh crap! I was probably beyond the point of no return by then so we just kept going. Finally, we reached the location of where the GPS thought Tecopa was. It wasn't. We turned around and backtracked to a little settlement we had passed and I stopped and asked a woman with two bad dogs behind a fence (thank goodness) where the nearest filling station was that carried diesel. It was about 10 miles thataway. My low fuel light had been on for several miles already, but we had no choice. Maybe we could, at least, get in cell phone range so we could call for help. But, no such luck. We both died of thirst on the dusty desert...naw, we made it and was glad to pay $5.49/gal for diesel in Shoshone. Once my butt finally lost suction from the seat, I found a nice little RV park and blew off steam.  I still don't know how far I can go after the low fuel light comes on, though.

Whew!

Wild West day 9

Zion National Park, here we come! As with Bryce, we were here in 1970 and I have several old photos of Zion. We had entered Zion the first time from the west entrance on Hwy 9. This time we approached from the east. So the first notable scene after the entrance was The Checkerboard. Joyce took most photos through the windshield and it was a while before she noticed the reflection off the dash. So, that's the weird ghost-like stuff you see in these photos. Don't worry, it's not some paranormal activity. Heading west on hwy 9. Approaching the first tunnel, right into the non-paranormal activity. Then we got a big disappointment. We found out that private vehicles are no longer permitted on the Zion Valley road. The only way to tour the valley road is by shuttle or on foot and Ditto couldn't go on the shuttle. We couldn't go see the beehive or So, we made our way out of Zion and proceeded on to Hoover Dam.

Wild West day 8

Here is our campsite at Wonderland RV in Teasdale, UT. Another nice park, but boy! Were they busy maintaining it. Apparently, they must water every day and it kept at least one guy busy all day moving sprinklers. Ditto loved the soft grass, though, as she's getting tired or sand and things that stick her. We arrived at Bryce Canyon around 4 pm Wednesday. Since it was early yet, we decided to tour the park and then move on down the road. But, as we started into the park, we came upon a campground that appeared to have vacancies. We stopped and, indeed, there were open spots, so we grabbed one. We got a handicapped hangtag before we left and this site, being a handicapped site, was huge and dwarfed our Lil Pumpkin. But, it was directly across from the restrooms and it was available. Still being early, we began our tour. Next is a series of photos that will probably bore you, but I've done that to folks before. When I remembered, I snapped a shot of the location to help me remember as much as anything. The Grottos I have an old movie (8mm) of this from 1970. I panned so fast it nearly makes you ill. Joyce and Ditto waited in the RV at most spots while I snapped a photo or two. The following is at Sunset Point. I forgot to take a picture of the name post. A couple of grey canyon jays were raising a ruckus above one of the view points and they had more photos taken of them than a lot of the scenery. They even attracted Ditto's attention (Ditto and Joyce got out for Sunset Point). I guess Ditto began to wonder why so many people were looking over the railing. But, all she saw was rocks and she went back to reading the news at old pee spots.  Moving on... Thor's Hammer We got back to the campground shortly before dark, had supper and crashed. It was a pretty big day...at over 8,000 feet. Tomorrow it's Zion.