September
29th, Death Valley, NV
I used to
have more patience for camping but it seems that has changed some. There are more times now when the lack of
convenience is more hassle than novelty.
In Yosemite one has to be especially diligent about keeping the campsite
clean of smells and almost everything has to be locked up in a bear-proof food
locker unless you are actively using it.
This basically means you are unpacking and packing at least twice a day,
even for a simple bit of coffee. The
strict rules, though, seem to go a long way to keeping wildlife away from
campgrounds. During our stay at the Wawona
campsite, we were never visited by any wildlife at night. In fact, we saw very few animals at all
during our stay in Yosemite. It would
have been nice to see some wildlife but with enjoying all the beautiful country
around us it didn’t seem to matter.
The day
of our travel to Death Valley was a Sunday and very warm and dry.
As we drove south out of Yosemite we noticed
how dry the land was….what passed for grass was a pale gold color. There was a certain beauty to it with the
dark evergreens and blue sky but I couldn’t help but sense the potential danger
from a mere spark or lightning strike. I
can see the very real potential for forest fires out here.
It was at
this point in our trip that I began to get some sense of homesickness. We were yet again driving through the hot,
barren Basin and Range territory and I was getting tired of it. Joyce and I both spoke about us missing home
and luckily our sense of timing on this issue was compatible. We were still looking forward to the Grand
Canyon and other Southwest places to explore but had a vague sense that we
would be wanting to head for home earlier than planned. Considering what was to come in a couple of
days, this would be fortuitous.
After a
long drive going well past dark Joyce and I landed in what truly can be
described as an oasis. We were tired,
feeling a bit dirty with not only ourselves needing cleaning up but also having
a good bit of laundry and being very ready for a real bed and bathroom all to
ourselves. Furnace Creek ended up being
a really nice surprise. It was a resort in
Death Valley with everything you could need….nice rooms, good beds, general store, three restaurants,
laundry room (!), and, the best for last, a large mineral springs pool.
We checked in and immediately went for the saloon (so timeless even the cowboys
did it back in the 1800’s). We had not
had dinner and it was closing in on 9pm. Perching ourselves at the bar, we had some cold beers and something to
eat while watching our bartender hussle.
There’s a downside to an oasis in the desert…it’s the only game in town. We tend to like a little bartender banter
which is why we like to sit at the bar…chat with a local and you can get a
quicker lay of the land. No chance of
that this time, as it was almost a full house.
No worries, though…..the beer was ice cold and the food was delicious and
a real bed would be in the near future.
Sigh…I
was thinking how much I wanted to stay here more than one night. The idea of just lounging for a day at the
pool sounded so sublime. I wasn’t too
sure how Joyce would view a delay of another day but I had padded into our
schedule an extra day to get to the Grand Canyon so my hopes were high. As soon as I brought up the notion of
lounging at the pool and making it a two-night stay the smile that came across
her face was proof enough we were yet again on the same wavelength. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
It was
telling just how relieved I felt knowing we had a couple days to slow the pace
down a bit. It made me realize that we
are cramming a lot in and the length of the drives between each destination was
overly ambitious in my planning. Joyce
probably explained it best that I have such optimism that we can somehow
accomplish more than is probably realistic.
That works for me…..I’m perpetually late because I’m overly optimistic. I’ll go with that.
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