After two nights with the in-laws, I loaded suitcases and wife into the car, filled the tank with fuel at California prices…
…and we set off for Death Valley. Our route would take us down U.S. 395 along the eastern escarpment of the Sierra Nevada. This is a drive I enjoyed many, many times while living in Reno.
We stopped for breakfast in the little town of Bridgeport…
…and as we always do, made an onion-cheese bread stop at Schat’s Bakery in Bishop.
Unfortunately, they no longer offer onion-cheese bread, so we settled for a loaf of sourdough and a couple onion-free, asiago cheese loaves.
Before long, we arrived at the entrance to Death Valley National Park.
To mitigate danger, we made a rehydration stop at the Stovepipe Wells outpost…
…before continuing on to Furnace Creek where we checked into our cottage in the Ranch at Death Valley for a two-night stay.
We first bunked in one of these last year on a trip in October and loved it. This time, we got the summer discounted price.
That evening, we walked over to the Last Kind Words Saloon at the Ranch for dinner…
…after which we enjoyed a golden sunset…
…and a pleasant evening sipping wine on our cottage’s front porch.
On our layover day, we decided to drive to Badwater Basin, the lowest point on the continent. Our first stop was the Devil’s Golf Course. Maybe this is why I’m not a golfer.
The low point was a short drive farther down the road…
…where we were once again warned that it gets hot around here in the summertime.
We explored a few other roads, enjoying the stark beauty of Death Valley’s barren hillsides.
Fortunately, the day was relatively cool by Death Valley summer standards.
That evening, I had made early dinner reservations for the restaurant at the Inn. The food there is upscale as are the prices.
“What could be a better way to spend our kids’ inheritance,” I suggested to my darling wife.
“We don’t have any kids,” Dianne reminded me. I didn’t feel the least bit guilty ordering a $50 bottle of Washington state Merlot to go with our duck breast and steak dinners.
After all, that wine was cheaper than the half-tank of California gas at our last fillup.