Monday, November 4, 2013 (Sunset Campground, Furnace Creek, Death Valley National Park, CA)

Wind, wind, wind...was the order of the day today...lots of dust being blown around...and into the trailer.

We were up around 6:00 and had a nice relaxing start to the day.  Especially nice after three days of having to get moving to get on the road.  It was definitely nice not having to go anywhere.

I managed to latch onto someone's weak MiFi signal (how come they managed to get a signal and I can't...hmmm...time to look into that signal booster) and get co-ordinates for the satellite and check email.  After breakfast and a shower, Steve decided to head outside and try once again to get a satellite signal. After still having no luck, he suggested I try the bedroom TV receiver...and we managed to latch onto a signal!  What's up with that?  Well, it turned out that there had been a loose connection on the main TV receiver and after resetting the receiver, the signal came in...yay!  Now I just wish it would be that easy to pick up a signal on our Verizon MiFi!

Getting dark so fast last night surprised us, so I forgot to walk down to the automated kiosk, plug in our credit card and pay for our stay.  So while Steve was up on the roof cleaning the solar panels, I went and paid for 3 nights. We will likely be staying longer but decided to just pay for a few nights at a time...no refunds if you change your mind.

With all the odds and ends taken care of, it was time to explore around Furnace Creek.  We started by heading over to the visitors center. This is the view looking back over to the campground and our rig...


The one and only station in Furnace Creek...pretty pricey...mind you, perhaps not as bad as BC...

Another gorgeous day! This is the walkway to the VisitorCenter...

 Looking back towards the campground....

There is an extensive interpretive display section in the center and we went through it as well as sat through a 20 minute film about the park. After we had finished there, it was time check out Furnace Creek Ranch.

The rooms at the ranch...

 ...the pool...

 ...and the golf course...

Then we walked through the museum...there was also a craft show on as part of the 49ers celebration...

After our bit of exploring this area, we went home and relaxed a bit before Steve set up the generator.  I had discovered that they had free WiFi at the visitors center.  It wasn't very fast but it was likely caused by the number of people sitting there using it.

We had retreated inside due to the wind and I left Steve in his recliner, deciding to go over to the visitors center to use the WiFi.  I had check email and was responding to some when the WiFi shut down.  I checked with the ranger and found out that it is turned off at 3:00 because they have limited bandwidth. It was 3:15 so I guess I should be happy they left it on for an extra 15 minutes but it would have been nice to know it was being shut off...oh well, now I know

Sunday, November 3, 2013 (Travel to Sunset Campground, Furnace Creek, Death Valley National Park, CA)

We were up bright and early this morning...particularly with the time change.  The clocks fell back an hour giving us an extra hour.  We were on the road by 7:15...that's a first! Taking highway 95, we were going south to Death Valley. There is a dusting of snow on the sides of the highway as we leave Fernley...

About a half hour south of Fernley, we passed through Fallon...

Very different scenery in Nevada...

Dust devil in the distance...pretty breezy out...

Walker Lake is very low...

There are 3 BLM (Bureau of Land Management) camping areas on this side of the lake...

The Town of Walker Lake (elevation 4080)...

United States Army, Hawthorne Army Depot...

Bunkers cover the valley on both sides of the highway...

 Blowing dust in the distance...

 More blowing dust...

...and dust devils...

We stopped at Miller's Rest Area just before Tonopah, NV. It was so windy out that we had to stand at the front of the rig using it as a wind block...

Tonopah was an interesting looking place...

Next we passed through Goldfield...these areas are rich in history...

And finally Beatty, the last town before we head into Death Valley National Park.

After fueling the truck up with diesel and getting gas for the generator, we continued on into the national park.



Down, down, down...we went from over 4200 feet above sea level to over 190 feet below sea level...

Furnace Creek in the distance.  There are three campgrounds in this area and I had called the Visitors Center earlier to see how busy they were. Well, apparently we picked the week of the "Death Valley 49ers Celebrations" so the Furnace Creek Campground (that takes reservations) would likely be full but there would be plenty of room at Sunset Campground.

We stopped at the visitors center to pick up a park permit and ask about Sunset Campground. We will explore the center tomorrow.  After filling up with fresh water at the sani-dump, we continued to the campground just across the highway from the visitors center. In addition to the main camping area, there is also a huge overflow area.  There is just dry camping (no hookups) for $12/night but there are washrooms and sani-dump. We picked a large pull-through site at the end of "L" row.  It was a good site, close walking distance across the highway to the visitors center and Furnace Creek Ranch...although, next time we would likely choose a spot in the overflow section where you can back in and have have a better view of the beautiful mountains

We got all set up, including the satellite but for some reason we weren't able to get a signal.  Wide open sky but we just couldn't latch onto a signal...sheesh!  It was dark by 5:15...wow, that surprised us...so Steve gave up...perhaps we'll try again in the morning.  Another disappointment...I couldn't get a signal on our Verizon MiFi...that means no internet during our stay here in Death Valley.  I guess I'm going to get way behind on our travel blog again!