Day 15 - Death Valley

Day 15 - Death Valley - Part 2

We made it!

First stop at a sand dune. It almost looks like I'm photo shopped into this picture. Nope, I was there...and sweating! It only got up to 103 the day we were there. So glad we didn't see anywhere near the high of 134!

282 feet below sea level.

The sign said the hike to this natural arch was .3 miles. No problem!

It didn't say it was all up hill in 103 degree heat!

I walked close enough to get this picture and turned around.

Your welcome!

Mindy made me.

Picture taken in The Devil's Golf Course in Death Valley.

Someone had a strange sense of humor!

Devil's Golf Course.

The signs told people to be careful because falling on these

salt formations could cause cuts and broken bones. Yikes!

The hotel, Oasis in Death Valley, actually looked like an Oasis.

Drive down 20 mule team canyon.

I assume this is borax...yes, like the borax you can buy in the store.

When it was mined here, they needed twenty mules to get it out because the heat would tire (or kill) some of them on the journey. link

15% grade was the worst we've seen so far. However, after all of our driving around Yosemite it felt like nothing. The roads in Death Valley are amazing.

Dante's View overlooking the valley.

It was 30 degrees cooler than in the valley and felt amazing!

Sunset in Death Valley

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Day 23 last day in South Padre

So sad to say goodbye to the beach. But I'll be back some day. It's less than 15 hours from home...that's totally doable. Here's a link to where we stayed. link This was a perfect place for a late September vacation. Very few of the condos appeared to be occupied. We had the hot tub all to ourselves last night! Today we rented chaise lounge chairs and an umbrella and just enjoyed the beach all day long. We had an amazing dinner at Pier 19 where we were able to see dolphins out the window. Now were getting things ready so we can get up at 4 am and start driving home.

Day 24 - Home - Trip Summary

MILES: 7,780 STATES : 15 Missouri Kansas Colorado Wyoming Montana Idaho Washington Oregon California Nevada Utah Arizona New Mexico Texas Oklahoma TRIP PHASES: 4 To the west coast Pacific Coast Highway National Parks Beach Vacation FLAT TIRES: 1 ECO SYSTEMS: 20 Prairies Foot Hills Mountains Geysers Sulphur Springs Lakes Continental Divide Rain Forests Ocean Beach - Pacific Ocean Redwood Forests Vineyards Almond groves Yosemite El Capitan OK, not an eco system, but unlike anything else! Sequoia Forest Desert Death Valley (see El Capitan note) Canyons...some of them even grand Gulf of Mexico Beach - Gulf of Mexico NATIONAL PARKS/FORESTS: 15 Yellowstone National Park Olympic National Park Hoh Rain Forest Redwood National Forest Yosemite National Park Stanislaus National Forest Sierra National Forest Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias Inyo National Forest Death Valley National Park Zion National

Day 18 Grand Canyon and the end of Phase 3

Today we went to Grand Canyon and Petrified Forest National Parks. We are officially done with Phase 3 of our trip - the National Park Phase. And frankly...we're both relieved. The National Parks, while beautiful and awe inspiring...were also kind of a bummer. They were crowded, had limited parking and generally felt like a tourist attraction. Mindy went to several of these when her boys were young...35+ and 20+ years ago. Hearing how the parks have changed over the years was kind of a downer. That being said, I'm so glad I went and was able to this countryside, it is truly unique and majestic. Now that we're done with Phase 3, we both feeling a little energized! We're ready to get up early tomorrow and begin Phase 4...which we've decided to keep secret. If I told you what we're doing, you'd think we're nuts. Better to keep quiet than to confirm that thought! First view of a canyon on the prairie First overlook into Gra

The Adventures of Gypsy-Jackie

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