Cold in the Desert

If anyone would like some extreme weather, get a hold of us and let us know, we can be there real soon.  Yikes, it seems the weather is following us, this desert area in Pahrump NV is experiencing lower than normal temps while we are here.  Nights are slated to get down in the teens for the next few days.  Brrrrrrrrr! I should'a packed a couple of pairs of long johns with my shorts and tank tops...We did a second day trip into Death Valley, more of the southeastern area. Stopped off at the Badwater Basin, a large salt flat 282 feet below sea level. The valley floor stretches out and is flat as flat can be.

"How far below sea level are we?"

My beautiful and always photogenic wife, Jeanne, taking one of her more serious poses at Badwater Basin...

Take note of the sea level marker high up on the hill.

Natural Bridge is another scenic canyon to hike up into, an easy hike less than 1 mile and fairly flat. It leads to its namesake, a rock overpass. Just around the corner from the "bridge" is a waterfall carved out of the mountain and looks like something of a cathedral, very interesting.  Of course, we are in the desert, so the many "waterfalls" are actually dry rock formations.

This is "Natural Bridge" in beautiful downtown Death Valley.

Jeanne stands on the path below the Natural Bridge.

This was one of the "waterfalls" that looks something like a cathedral just past Natural Bridge.

On down the road we stopped to see the Devil's Golf Course.  I have no idea why it got named a golf course, they claim "only the Devil could golf on such rough links".  Well, I am still as sharp as a marble, so I still don't get it, but the terrain and scenery is very unique and eerie.

Devil's Golf Course in Death Valley.

Our final stop in Death Valley was the Artist's Drive, a 9 mile one-way road through the hills and past the Artist's Pallette.  Very colorful mountains.  Definitely don't want to be driving anything over 25' long, it is a narrow and windy paved road through some wild west looking canyons and passes.

Artist's Pallette, from a distance.

Some rather unique rock formations along Artist's Drive.

Everyone here at the Pair-a-Dice SKP co-op repeatedly urged us to check out the China Ranch Date Farm because we absolutely had to try their date shakes. So, off we go into the desert, looking for this date farm. It was kind of eerie finding this working date farm oasis in the middle of the desert.  Once we got to the main driveway/turnoff, it was a short 2 mile scenic road through some crazy canyons, rock formations, and abandoned gypsum mines.  The shakes were good, but not really anything I would rave about.  We took the doggies on a little walk around the date palm orchards and some of the historic buildings on the property. This place is privately owned and operated.

Strange rock formations on driveway to China Ranch Date Farm.

At the China Ranch.

On our way back to camp, we stopped off at the Dublin Caves in Shoshone.  These were used as dwellings for miners and bums up until 1960-ish.  There was also a funky little graveyard on the hillside, some very old-fashioned graves with but a wooden cross as a headstone, the names long since succumbed to the weather patterns of the desert.

The Dublin Caves at Shoshone.

Inside the "presidential suite" of the Dublin Caves.

So it looks like the only place left to see around Pahrump is Sherry's, one of the local brothels. The ladies at Pair-a-Dice keep on about how we JUST GOTTA go eat lunch there and maybe get a tour of the place.  I'm still not sure that will make our extensive itinerary, but you just never know...TTFN (as the younger, social media savvy crowd would type...)