What time is it there?!

After leaving Yosemite we headed south towards the west side of Death Valley. We stayed overnight in the town of Lone Pine. This just happened to be a convenient place to stop, but it was quite a nice place and has apparently been the location for a great many films. Unsurprisingly most of these films were westerns, but anyone who has seen the cinematic masterpiece that is ‘Tremors’(!) will recognise the local scenery as well!

Because of the time of year we didn’t get to experience the extreme high temperatures that the valley sees in the summer. This was no bad thing however, as the fact that it was only in the low 30’s centigrade meant that we could get out and walk around without having to worry about serious health risks!

Having said that, it was still quite hot and windy, particularly when we were out on the salt lake at Badwater Basin. At this point you could almost lean into the wind without falling over (which isn’t as funny as it sounds when the wind is also blowing salt and sand in your face!).

Death Valley was also the place where we first discovered that some of the “roads” marked on the maps in the desert parks, are actually what might be referred to in the UK as “not roads at all”. Now we understand why the locals favour huge four wheel drive trucks with high ground clearance.......