USA 2005

Tuesday 9th August 2005 - Departure from Las Vegas, Death Valley and Sequoia National Forest

We started our day by checking out of the hotel and then driving to the International House of Pancakes, which we had spotted from the air whilst on one of the Stratosphere rides. We had big breakfasts, intending only to stop for a snack for lunch as we had a very long drive ahead of us. Our plan was to drive out of Vegas, across Death Valley and to get as near to the Sequoia National Park as we could. We knew it was a really long way though so intended to consider an interim stop if it was getting too much.

The drive out of Vegas itself was trickier than the drive in and it was about 12pm by the time we were really on our way, heading North West and then West on route 95. We stopped briefly for a break and refreshments at Amargosa Valley before heading South down route 373. This took us to Death Valey Junction and a right turn onto "scenic route 190" through Death Valley National Park itself.

The temperature was "interesting". In Vegas it was cool, only 79 degrees and it stayed in the low eighties for a long way. All of a sudden though the temperature started to climb and over about 20 miles the temperature rose by 20 degrees!

We stopped off at Zabriskie Point to look at the view of the increasingly weird landscape that is Death Valley. The temperature was 105 degrees at this point. From here we continued into the park and made our next stop the park's Visitor's Centre. The temperature showing on their thermometer outside the centre, in the shade, was 112 degrees! We bought the usual souvenirs and continued.

The drive across the remainder of the park was fascinating. It's a very arid and strange landscape. The temperature continued to rise and at one point was 115 degrees.

On the way out of the park, we stopped at a turn-off to a small town called Darwin. Jack wasn't feeling well, the drive along very "dippy" roads and possibly the heat (despite the AC being on full!) having taken its toll. When Jack was feeling a bit better, we continued....

We kept on following 190 round to the south of the dry Owen's Lake. By now we could see huge mountains ahead of us. These were the Sierra Nevada mountains which include California's highest point, Mount Whitney. Unfortunately for us, Sequoia was on the other side of these mountains, and there is no road through them. So the only path available was to drive south, following the mountains and then turning west and then north around their southernmost point. This made it a very long drive!

We turned south onto route 395. Our next stop was at a little place called Coso Junction. We filled up with gas and bought a few provisions. Bekky offered to help and was given the job of cleaning the ugs off the windscreens. She did a great job! Unfortunately as she went to get back into the car, she passed Jack's open door. "Are you in Jack" she said, maning "is it ok if I shut your door"? Jack didn't reply and Bekky shut the door anyway, trapping Jack's hand in the process! All a bit traumatic.... but happily Jack was not injured and a bag of ice dealt with the initial soreness.

At the end of the mountains, we turned west onto route 178 around the foot of the Sequoia National Forest. Initially the landscape became much more like the Joshua Tree NP with lots of our old friends, Joshua Trees. But then it became much greener... and bluer with rivers and the Isabella Lake.

By now it was just after 7p.m. and we had driven 350 miles. We decided to stop at one of the many campsites in the forest rather than push on all the way to the national park. We stopped at one just north of a little town called Kernville, right by the substantial river Kern.

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