We came to Lone Pine, California to see Death Valley. There was an easier way to get into the park, from the east side, but we did not want to take the RV in that way so, instead, we went to Barstow and came up the east side of the Sierra Nevada mountains and stayed at Boulder Creek RV in Lone Pine.

 

We went to the Interagency Visitor's Center in Lone Pine and, after talking with the ranger, decided to go right then so off we went.

Little did we know that we had about 110 miles ahead of us and two passes to cross. Yikes.



After crossing the first pass, we looked and thought we'd arrived but nooooo, there's another pass to cross before getting into Death Valley. Along the way, we saw....or rather heard...a military jet coming over us. They come here to dive into the canyon to practice....VERY cool.




 Eventually, we got to Badwater Basin, at 282 feet below sea level, the lowest point in the U.S.


There is a road into the foothills called Artist's Palette, which turned out to be a big surprise. We thought Death Valley would be all desolate, dusty and lifeless. Artist's Palette, and other rock formations along the side of the road, proved otherwise.



Even though we only scratched the surface of what there was to see and do in Death Valley, we were content to head back to home base.


 Definitely worth the trip.