Death Valley, a very hot (especially in May), desolate desert but a very interesting park with many sights you would not expect to see as you drive into the desert area. One of our favorite is Scotty’s Castle since we love castles. This has a very interesting story that you can find online (http://www.nps.gov/archive/deva/scottys1.htmor ). In short Scotty met Andrew Johnson, struck up a conversation and proceeded to tell him stories about the west, gold mining and the fantasies of being a cowboy. Johnson was intrigued and advanced him money for a grub stake in a Death Valley goldmine. After a short period, Johnson had given him thousands of dollars and decided to go out to Death Valley to see the gold mine. Johnson fell in love with Death Valley, the Wild West plus his heath improved in the dry, sunny climate. Later he built the castle and since Johnson still lived and worked in Chicago, he let Scotty live there full time. Scotty began to tell everyone that this was his castle, and the name Scotty’s castle stayed. The castle is a Spanish hacienda with very modern conveniences for its time. One of the reasons this sight was chosen for the castle was the water flow from the underground springs that ran down thru the area. This water supplied not only drinking water but a source of power for generating electricity.
Other favorite stops we made were: Natural Bridge Canyon, a short ½ mile to see the bridge, Badwater Salt Flat which is the lowest place in the western hemisphere as you stand 282 feet below sea level; Devil’s Golf Course, I called it Devil’s crystals, as it is an area of rock salt eroded by wind and rain into jagged spires; Artist Palette drive, a scenic loop through multihued volcanic and sedimentary hills where you see some amazing colors and understand the reason it is call Artist Palette; and Zabiskie Point, one of the park’s popular viewing locations which is amazing. Pack a lunch, plenty of water, and if you can spend two days exploring Death Valley.
Next stop on our adventure was Hoover Dam, an amazing site to see and hear how the dam of this size was built in 1931-35 with technology of that era. Be sure to take one of the tours. In 1900 the Bureau of Reclamation was tasked to find a way to control and manage the Colorado River. The dam was unofficially called Boulder Dam by the locals but it has always officially been called Hoover Dam, after President Hubert Hoover because he was so active in resolving the conflicts of the dam and the dam rights. First problem in building the dam was to diver the river which they did by building two tunnels on each side. The dam is equal to 72-story building, weighs about 6,600,000 tons and consists of 3,250,000 cubic feet of concrete plus another 1,100,000 cubic feet in the power plant and appurtenant works. This is enough concrete to build a highway from San Francisco to New York City. The concrete was poured in less than two years with 5,000 workers working around the clock

From here we drove to Lake Mead which is very low. They say it will take 5 years of huge snowfall in Colorado to bring the water level back to “normal”.

Moving on, we were able to find a park (Oasis RV) right off the Las Vegas strip and relocated there for three days of fun in 100+ degrees. Having never been there, we found it to be amazing even in this heat. We managed to walk most of the strip and see many of the casinos. Not sure which we liked better --- Paris Las Vegas where we rode up in the Eiffel Tower; the equestrian arena in South Point Casino where we watched the cutting horse competition; the gondolas on the man made river at Venetian; secret gardens and indoor rain forest at Mirage where they also have a volcano outside but it was under construction at this time; moving sidewalk to see the unbelievable shops in Caesar Palace; Brooklyn Bridge, tribute to 9/11 and the roller coaster at New York New York, or probably our favorite is the water show outside the Bellagio. Here the water “dances” to music and we understand there are over 26 different songs played. While we were there the Country Music Awards were going on at MGM but we did not see any stars, just a very sleeping lion in the tiger and lion cage. Not wanting to leave, and definitely will be back, it was time to head to hopefully a little cooler weather in Sedona, AZ.

Yosemite is another amazing place in California. This time of the year the falls in Yosemite are full due to the melting snow and what a sight to see. They say in the summer the falls are just a trickle. There are several including Yosemite Falls which is the 5th tallest in the world, Sentinel Falls which is the 7th tallest in the world. There are 15 different falls in Yosemite and we were able to see 7 of them. The downside traveling this time of the year is several of the roads are closed due to snow.

If you are up for the challenge, try climbing El Capitan, a sheer walled face climbing mountain. We actually did see climbers. Normal time to reach the top is 4- 6 days. To sleep they hang a hammock from pins anchored in the wall face – not what we want to do!!!! But the challenge is there for all the climbers including one who is paralyzed from waist down and actually does climb El Capitan.

Next head to Mariposa Grove to see the giant sequoias. The road had just opened but the tram around the grove was not in service and without the tram, it is one heck of a hike. We did hike up to see the Giant Grizzly which is the largest giant sequoia in the grove with diameter of 31 feet and a circumference of nearly 100 feet and is believe to be 1800 years old. Not far from there is the California Tunnel Tree which was cut in 1895 to allow horse drawn stages to pass. It was definitely an interesting stop.

Pack your lunch, your hiking shoes and enjoy several days at Yosemite. Now if you are crazy you can climb El Capitan and am sure you will enjoy an amazing sight.

While in the area be sure to take the Sierra Vista National Scenic Byway and stop in Nelder Grove and see the “Bull Buck Tree” which is 246 feet high and ground level circumference of 99 feet. There are other trees to see, however without the campground being officially opened, the paths are not cleared, and the camp worker not on duly yet, we were not able to find them. The upside is during this time of year when the snows are melting you see many falls that you don’t normally see in the summer. But the roads are unpaved and we eventually came across the unpaved, snow covered roads so had to turn back and not continue the drive. The roads are usually closed from November – May so we were fortunate to see what we did.

If you have more time, drive about 2 hours west to see King Canyon and Sequoia National Park. We drove the winding roads in Kings Canyon and the view was spectacular. First stop was General Grant Grove. Here we saw the General Sherman giant sequoia tree, 275 feet tall with circumference at the ground of 103 ft. Close by was the Fallen Monarch that has two stories; either lightening struck it in the middle and it fell, or the tree fell and the center was burned out. Either way the tree was used as a campsite for shelter and for cooking back in the 1800s. There are several trees that are named for the different states. However no record was kept and the tradition stopped. If you are a hiker there are many more things to see. Driving on we finally found a spot for a picnic, only to find out that it was also shared with a rattlesnake and poison oak. Ooooppppps -- we decided to eat out of the back of the car. Also time to head back to Bass Lake to our campsite.

We have had an exciting time these past two months in California, enjoying the flowers, ocean, mountains, waterfalls, sequoia trees and beautiful scenery. And don’t want to forget the little otters, seals, quaint towns and wonderful seafood. We will definitely be back to explore the other parts of California but now it is time to head to Pahrump NV and enjoy the sights there.