This is our second visit to Death Valley National Park.  We first visited when Rochelle worked there in, I believe, 2012. There was a huge storm in October 2015 that caused flash flooding which has altered the landscape and vegetation. Many of the roads and canyons are still closed. It is still beautiful but different. We knew before coming that some roads were closed but not the extent of the closures. So, we only stayed two days since several of the things we had planned to do were closed. What hasn't changed is the immensity of this park.  

Bedtime view from the RV

20 Mule Team Borax Mining Works

Zabriskie Point, other-worldly Furnace Creek formations

Multi-colored mountains

Enough mountains, on to Nevada! We waited until Nevada to get gas as it is very expensive in California, especially in Death Valley. We stopped at the very full-service Area 51 Alien Travel Center for gas.

We spent the next couple of days at an RV park in Mesquite, Nevada so we could do laundry and have internet. We walked to a nearby casino where I wasted a dollar on penny slots. That took about 5 minutes but by then we had inhaled enough smoke to last quite a while and were happy to get back out into the fresh air!

Next stop, Calico Ghost Town! It is a restored ghost town that was a silver mine. Think Greenfield Village meets Huckleberry Railroad, definitely a tourist trap but fun because it was mostly empty when we were there!

It was VERY windy while we were here and since they have their own campground, we stayed two nights. We definitely didn't want to be driving an RV down the road!

Denny and friend, at the mine.

Janet and friend

Checking in to my hotel.

Getting my kitty fix. This is the town's cat. Since it was early, nobody was there yet and she wanted to be fed! I miss my kitties!

 

 

 

The ghost town sits on the Calico Fault line and you can see this in the (empty) parking lot. The name calico comes from the many colors in the mountains.

Hats were definitely needed after being out in the wind all day.

Beer and pizza for
dinner at Lil's Saloon.





  Tomorrow, Death Valley!

Joshua Tree is a very popular park! It has over 500 campsites but there were only 10 left when we got there early in the morning. The Sonoran and Mojave deserts meet within the park. We stayed the first night in the Sonoran desert at the south end of the park. It is not as popular as it is not as scenic. We did take a hike to Mastodon Peak and the Cottonwood springs. In spite of being a very dry climate, there is a spring where giant palms and cottonwoods grow.

Chivalry is not dead! Denny held up this giant rock so I could pass by without it falling on me.  😉

Elephant?

Mastodon Peak, see the guy on top? It is not one of us, we stopped halfway up, very loose rock!

Giant palm trees in the desert.

We realized it was President's Day weekend, so we waited until Tuesday to move to the north, Mojave Desert, side of the park. Still crazy busy! We stayed at Jumbo Rocks campground. Can you guess why it is called that?

We went on several hikes, where we saw, of course, many Joshua trees.

Many of the rocks are supposed to look like something. Some, I didn't see but here are a few.

Elephant rock

Face Rock

Pelican?

See the mountain climbers? We call them crazy people!

On the way out of the park, we had to drive up to the peak for a quick look. It amazes me that you can be in a desert and the mountains can have snow on them!

This is called Cap rock. What in the heck is keeping that up there?

We hiked out to an old gold mine called "Wall Street". Lots of abandoned rusted out machinery just left to decay in the desert.

My new car

Denny's new car. I think he may need some new tires!

Classic Joshua Tree, they look like something out if a Dr. Seuss book!

Another crazy person, sitting on top of a rock, waiting for his friend climbing up the other side.

"California here I come, NOT back where I started from." Apologies to Al Jolsen for the rewrite!
We are barely into California, camping at a private campground on the banks of what was once the mighty Colorado river.  Due to the many dams and irrigation withdrawals, it is mighty no more. We were only here a few hours when it started to rain and the TV was warning of flash flood watches. It rained all night the first night. We could really see that the river had risen overnight. The second day and night brought more rain. Apparently, according to the meteorologist, they have gotten 1/3 of their normal yearly rainfall in the last 48 hours! We sure timed that well! The river is certainly up, but we did not wash into it or experience flooding. Luckily, we had TV for Denny and quilting for me. We are a bit stir crazy, having been stuck in the RV for 2 days but clearing is expected today, so we are on our way! We will be off grid for the next few days at Joshua Tree National Park.

Out the front windshield

I see a bit of blue coming our way!

We spent our last few days in western Arizona at Picacho Peak State Park. On the first day we climbed to the overlook in preparation for the second days goal of reaching the summit of the peak. The overlook was  a moderate climb and we were rewarded with views of the the plains and other mountains in the distance.

The view

Tomorrow's goal- the peak!

We started out at 9 am, early for us, because it was supposed to be hot and it is 3.1 miles to the top. The first 2 miles are rated as moderate, then 1 mile of difficult, and the last .1 miles very difficult.
Along the way we saw small yellow poppies that have sprouted up everywhere due to the rain last week. And, fields of cacti of all types.

 

The peak is in the distance, we have a long way to go!












At last, we reached 3 miles, and were greeted by wire cable to guide us.

I'm not sure what I was doing with my mouth here, maybe shouting with joy that I made it this far!

Just a little bit more and we could buy a t-shirt crowing that we had reached the summit! But, alas, it was not to be, we had finally met our match. As it was, we had exceeded our skills and I fell a couple of times on the way down due to very steep paths with loose rock. Luckily, no injuries, but we had to return to our RV defeated 😢

Our match, note the nearly vertical cables.

We were told that to get up this, one needed gloves and good upper body strength. I had neither. Also, coming back down was reported to be even scarier. Most we met had turned around at this point. But, we lived to blog another day!

On the way to our next park, we took a side trip to Chiracahua National Monument where the Chiracahua Apache lived. There are some awesome rock formations. We took the mountain drive heeding the warning that vehicles over 29 feet were not allowed. Luckily, we are only 26! It started raining, thundering and lightning just as we got to the top. I went out with an umbrella until Denny mentioned that being on top of a mountain with an umbrella when there is lightning, isn't very bright. We waited a while, even ate lunch, but no clearing. We did manage a few pictures between down-bursts.

View at the top

This was called sea captain. Not sure why, I don't see him.

"Organ pipes", now this name makes sense!

It's nice and warm here in southern Arizona. We have been at Kartchner Caverns State Park. Who knew there were caves in Arizona? Not me! So, we went on a cave tour. We have been in many caves in the past and they were always cool. This one, however, was almost 80 and humid. Maybe because it was not underground, but in the side of a mountain, We had to take a tram up to it. No pictures though as cameras were not allowed. They had a lot of rules, including how to roll or fold your jacket when you got inside, in order to avoid leaving lint in the caverns!
We did hike up the " Foothills Trail". I'm not sure why it was called foothills since it zig-zagged up the side of the mountain! It was rated as moderately rugged but there was an option to go to the top of the mountain for a view. We took the option, thereby taking the moderate out of the rating.😊
While at this park, Denny took his 1000th photo. Aren't you glad I don't post all of them!

See the trail?

View from the top. Double click to enlarge and you can see the semi out on the road.

The Yuccas here were huge. That's some flower stem! Maybe 25 feet, considering that I am only 5'2" ish!

But, best of all, we got to meet up briefly with an old college friend, Larry Selig. We were so busy catching up, we forgot to take a picture. But, it would have been all smiles and laughter.😍😍😍