“I came, I saw, I conquered!”   Okay, well, so maybe I didn’t conquer.  Two outta three ain’t bad.

When trying to determine the best place to cross over from Arizona to California’s Scenic Hwy 395, the obvious choice was right through the heart of Death Valley.  This would also allow me to cross off another National Park, though I had actually driven through this one back when I was twelve on one of our family road trips.   All I remembered was “straight, flat, hot, and boring…can we puuhhh-LEASE hurry up and get to Haight Ashbury where all the cute long-haired hippies are?”   So I didn’t want to get this close and not pay the park another visit.   Besides, having followed Darlene and Nicole’s blog through their volunteer stint in the park last winter, I thought my perceptions from 1966 might be a bit out of touch.  😉

So I did some research.  I checked in with Darlene and Nicole about their “DeVa experience.”  They predicted 108 temps for May!  WAY too hot!   The NPS website also said May was getting to be too hot “for most tourists.”  But they also said April was an ideal time to go.  So Wednesday was good, but Thursday was not?  The weather channel was predicting a high of 96 for the entire week.  Heck, that’s a spring day in Texas!

So I decided to call the Furnace Creek Visitor Center on Friday for some local intelligence-gathering.  The gentleman said “I wore a jacket to work this morning.  The high is only supposed to be 88 today!”  But then, he added, “…but we have a warming trend coming this weekend.”    With a high of 88, how bad could a little “warming trend” be??  I decide to go for it…

My first stereotype of Death Valley is blown when I reach the front gate.  Forget “straight, flat, and boring,” the drive in is an intriguing curvy road with dramatic mountains as a back drop.   My first impression, though probably a cliché is, “It’s like someone paved a road on Mars.”    The formations along the roadside remind me of Neapolitan ice cream, with chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry layers dolloped in one scoop on top of another.

My strategy to wait and leave Pahrump after work on Friday in the hopes that temperatures will have dropped by the time I reach Furnace Creek  turns out to be a costly one.   The National Park website states the park campground is now “first come first served,” but with 135 spots, I feel confident.  What I failed to read was that of the 135, only 30 of them have hook-ups.  I was counting on my AC to get me through the “warming trend.”

The parking lot looks like there is a 1800 RV 4 RENT rally going on, with every single hookup taken.  (GULP) I didn’t know that many rental RVs existed!  It is 6:00pm, and apparently the “warming trend” has started, as the thermometer in my Winnie says 96.  What now?

A nice man approaches on my third loop through the campground.  He asks if I am looking for a spot, and suggests I try next door at Furnace Creek Ranch behind the gas station, at which time my second stereotype about Death Valley is blown.   Furnace Creek Ranch not only has dozens of sites with hookups, they also have wifi and a huge, spring-fed swimming pool, which also helps water their…golf course??  An oasis in the middle of Death Valley?  Who knew?

I book two nights at $37 a night, and I am damned happy to get them!  A 1-800 RV 4RENT caravan is lining up behind me.  I unhitch quickly, then I dash out for Zabriskie Point in hopes of catching the last rays of sunset from the overlook.  The sunset is much ado about nothing, but it is all about the “otherworldly” surroundings that make it memorable.

I set the Winnie thermostat at 88, and get out my small fan to circulate the air, so as not to over tax my AC.   It seems to keep up throughout the night, and I sleep comfortably.

To be continued….