This morning we said goodbye to Death Valley, but it was a slow goodbye as we took the 1.5-hour scenic, southerly route out of the valley on Badwater Road. We passed this unique "golf course" on the way out. Its jagged spires of eroded salt are why it is said that only the devil could play on such rough links.
During our stay in the park, we drove 276 miles! Since we missed the sign on the way in, we caught it on the way out.
While taking our photo, a lady pulled up and asked if we'd take her photo. She was a sprightly older lady and very friendly. She said she drove herself from Washington State since it was snowing there and she wanted warm weather. She had never visited Death Valley before and was surprised that there are resorts and restaurants. We suggested three must-see locations: Badwater, Artist Drive, Dante's View. She said she is 79 years old and loves meeting people. She asked if she could give us a hug, then was on her way. Michele admired her courage at her age traveling so far by herself.
We took Badwater Road to Jubilee Pass road that exited us onto Route 127. There were many recreation areas, including Dumont Dunes.
Our route took us south into Baker, CA. There we found the tallest thermometer in the world.
In Baker we picked up I-15 South to Barstow, CA where the route took us through a small portion of the Mohave Desert. We stopped for lunch at a Subway. After, we took Route 247 South to Lucerne Valley. We saw tons of off-road vehicles and RVs going the opposite direction.
Rob said an event must be happening, then he recalled the King of Hammers race which is like the Sturgis of off-road vehicles, in the dry lakebed of nearby Johnson Valley. A quick google search and sure enough today was the last day of a week-long event.
Someone was missing a boat.
Soon we picked up Route 18 to Big Bear Lake and Fawnskin, CA. Rob surprised Michele with a detour from our route to see if we could spot the famous eagle pair Jackie and Shadow that Michele loves watching on YouTube. We got just below their habitat, but it was closed off for nesting season and actively policed.
We circled around the north side of the lake and headed onward.
Route 18 was super twisty and at 7,000 feet in elevation. We didn't realize Big Bear Lake was so high in elevation. In the shady sections of the mountain people were lined up on the side of the road playing in the snow. Little kids in snow boots were making snowballs and having so much fun. Maybe they live in Los Angeles and have never seen real snow!
We noticed a thick haze on the mountains. Aunt Shirley Jean later told us that the cold air from the mountains meets the warm air in the valley and makes fog. Since our elevation was so high we could see across the mountain peaks.
The route took us to Highway 330 at Running Springs, then we descended into San Bernardino (our furthest point west on this trip) where we picked up I-10 east.
Rob saw John Wick's car.
And this Citroen DS with Georgia tags.
Continuing on I-10, we arrived in Palm Springs and then Indio, CA at our hotel. We quickly freshened up in our room because we had a 5pm dinner date with Rob's Uncle Ron and Aunt Shirley Jean who live in Palm Desert.
Ron and Shirl's neighborhood has 5,000 homes and is a pretty oasis in the desert.
We met them at Boulevard's Grill and had an enjoyable meal catching up on family news. They invited us to see their house and to visit for awhile. We had lots of laughs together telling jokes and reminiscing.
Our total mileage today was 359 miles. Tomorrow we'll visit Joshua Tree National Park.
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