Triple WOW!!!

April 23

This was a totally awesome day. Maybe our best EVER road tripping adventure! I hope I can do it justice!

We had a long day ahead of us so we were up and checked out by 8:00. Temp at our departure from Barstow was 57 degrees. We headed back to I15 north to head for Death Valley, the lowest and hottest point in the U.S.  Total desolate desert became rolling dark hills nearby and dark mountains in the distance. By 9:00 the temp had risen to 67.  Near Baker we passed an exit for  Zzyzx Rd.!!!  At 9:15 in Baker (population 735), the last populated area before Death Valley, we stopped to fill up.......$3.39 per gallon!!!! Two landmarks: the alien at Alien Jerky and  "the world's tallest thermometer" at 134 feet. 

We were on Rt. 127 north, Death Valley Rd., at 9:30. Flat desert with mountains in the distance, Shadow Mountains to the east and Soda Mountains to the west. There was no vegetation on the mountains. Only spotty cell service!  There was very little traffic on this flat road with call boxes every few miles. The terrain was wide open flat desert ringed by dark multi-colored mountains. There were white rocks that looked  like sand dunes near the road.  At Shoshone the gas was $3.89 per gallon. We stopped at the museum/visitor center where we learned about the early women in Death Valley and saw some mammoth bones. At 11:00 we left Shoshone where the temp was 71 degrees. 

We traveled on brand new pavement which was nearly deserted and, at 11:35, entered turned left on Rt 190 west into the Death Valley Scenic Byway. Death Valley is the largest national park in the

contiguous US and is twice size of Delaware. The highest temp recorded here was 134 degrees and the lowest elevation is -282 feet. The terrain on entering the park had no vegetation on rock mountains to the left and to the right dirt hills with very low vegetation. Interestingly, there were very few vehicles on the road. 

Our first side trip was to Dante's View, 13 miles off 190.  At  5400 feet and 58 degrees, there was AWESOME view into the valley. The road in and out had a 15% grade for last 1 1/2 mile. As we were leaving we saw a caravan of Subaru WRX sports cars approaching the view!  Peter read that there's about 3 degrees of change in temp for every thousand feet of elevation. Back on 190 the elevation was 2000 feet and the temp was temp 73 degrees. 

At 12:45 we decided to take a dirt road off the main road to see 20 Mule Team Canyon. Remember Borax?  It was 78 degrees on this one way dirt road. Dicey!!  "This takes the cake" was Peter's exclamation!  It was exciting to say the least!  It was 82 degrees and -200 feet elevation at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center where we took a pit stop.  At 1:45 we stopped to gawk at Mesquite Dunes to view sand dunes covering 14 square miles. By now it was 85 degrees. 

At Stovepipe Wells we stopped for lunch and left at 2:40, 90 degrees. We followed a long, beautiful climb out of the valley to an elevation of 4000 feet and 68 degrees.  At 2:55, to the driver's delight, the terrain changed again!  On a 9% grade, we drove with snow covered peaks way off to our right and absolutely stunning views everywhere. At 3:10 we were literally surrounded by mountains in the distance. At Panamint Springs we were again climbing with only occasional guard rails. Such varied topography,  up and down, in and out of mountains, the views shifting from one side of the car to the other. At Father Crowley Vista Point, elevation 4200 feet, what more can we say?  We did had a chat with a biker on a 2 week trip with a group. 

We officially left Death Valley NP at 3:45, following 190 to Olancha through the Tak City hills and the Lower Centennial Flat. It was time for jackets at 65 degrees with the snowcapped Inyo mountains ahead. We followed 190 until we could see Olancha 5 miles in the distance. There we turned south on 395 after a stop in Olancha for gas. At 4:30 we turned south on 395 and drove to 178 where we turned to go through the southern end of the Sequoia National Forest to Bakersfield. 

The South Sierra Wilderness was to our right as we followed 178 through the Forest. We saw multi-limbed cacti and drove on another twisty curvy beautiful road. It was 59 degrees and time to put on s scarf. There were few very small towns, cattle and horses grazing and green fields. Soybeans? There were steep hills in the distance totally surrounding us. In Mountain Mesa we saw a busy Eagles Hall. At Lake Isabella, RVs were parked at water's edge. The town of Lake Isabella is a metropolis with even a McDonald's!  From there we drove onto small section of freeway! And then, 15 miles of twisty curvy road again, along a canyon ridge between the Greenhorn Mountains following the Kern River. Spectacular!!!  At 6:50 we left Sequoia National Forest Land of Many Oaks WOW!!!

On our way to Bakersfield we passed the LA Aqueduct, then lush land where trees were planted in rows and then desert again. Soon we entered sprawling Bakersfield, one of the largest cities in California. At 7:00 we checked into our motel. It was 68 degrees and sunny. After take out for dinner, we collapsed!  What a truly stunning day!!!