Today was a fun filled day for us. After only one nocturnal incident where Ron asked for a blanket at 4am, we slept till after 7am and woke up to a nice warm day in our campground. I took the kids outside to frolic while Paola prepared avocado salad for breakfast. We ate on the picnic table next to the RV, and added a picnic tablecloth to the growing list of items we will need for our next RV trip.
After cleaning up we headed towards Salt Creek Interpretive Trail, only several miles away from the campground. We had to drive 1 mile on a dirt road though, very slowly, wondering if all the jittering and bouncing is not breaking our kitchenware. The trail is a short half mile boardwalk by and over a salty little creek where little pupfish swim about. We had fun spotting the fish and the random lizards that scurried about. It was 10:30am when we finished, and very hot already.
We decided to do some driving so that we would cool off in the RV’s AC and the girls could catch some shuteye. We drove up the valley to Scotty’s Castle, altitude 3000 ft (1000 meters). Some rich millionaire had his friend Walter Scott build him an estate just outside Death Valley in the 1920’s. It never got finished but notheless it later became a famous hotel for luminaries like Bette Davis and a few others.
We parked in the shade, and leaving the engine and AC running, I also took a short nap. Paola prepared a tasty pasta lunch and we all ate outside in the grassy picnic area. We then strolled the grounds of Scotty’s Castle, and Ron declared that Scotty must have been a king if this was his castle. He also asked who was the queen.
From the castle we drove to Ubehebe Crater, a beautiful extinct volcano that has spread black lava several miles in it perimeter. The beautiful but bumpy road leads right up to the crater’s mouth. Ron and I dismounted for a photo op, and Ron wondered why there was no lava and explosions.
We drove back to the center of the valley, about an hour’s drive. After refueling (very expensive here), we headed to today’s highlight, as voted for by the children. These are beautiful sand dunes that are right off of the main road. Orr was napping so I took Shir and Ron and we proceeded to the sand. What a blast. Ron was running and sliding, Shir following closely behind. They sat and they stood, they sifted with their hands, they got sand all over. Orr joined the party a few minutes later. It was already 4:30pm, but still very hot, and we reluctantly decided to return to the car before the kids got too hot. We overcame some mild objections and returned happy and dirty to the RV.
Our campground has no shower facilities but the nearby Furnace Creek Ranch was happy to take $12 from us for use of their swimming pool showers. Since the kids were getting hungry, we first prepared a hotdog dinner, but right after that we went to the showers. Since it was still a bit warm, we even spent a few minutes in the swimming pool before cleansing ourselves. Now we are clean and well fed and back at the same spot as yesterday in the campground. The kids have finally fallen asleep (it took them almost 90 minutes) and Paola is also sleeping. I guess I should join them.
Good night.
Hemi