Are we there yet??: Las Vegas and Death Valley

If the punters in Las Vegas were relying on us to sustain the industry, they were sorely disappointed. We checked ourselves into a very luxurious RV park which we got for half price – check out the photo! We drove up the ‘strip’ in our van – not normally recommended – found a car park and then spent the rest of the evening walking for miles ogling the sights and treating ourselves to a meal. Not one cent was spent on the pokies – even though we were out until 3.00 am! We did intend to go back the next night - but at our age one late night is enough to do us in. We might be ‘hiking fit’ but we sure aren’t ‘party fit’!

We also visited Hoover Dam (in the heat of the day – so more ice cream required!). Security has certainly been upped since I was there in 2003 –now they search all vehicles and no-one is allowed to carry anything more than a small backpack with them.

On our way to Death Valley we had an interesting overnight stop at the China Ranch Date Farm. This is a family owned ranch, part of Harvest Hosts. We treated ourselves to their delicious date shakes - true! - and date loaf and wandered at will around the date palms in the middle of the desert.

From really hot we went to really, really, really hot. The name of the town in the middle of Death Valley, Furnace Creek, should give a clue! This is an oasis in a stunning, arid wasteland where it is amazing that anything survives. Four mountain ranges lie between Death Valley and the Pacific Coast, so there is no moisture left in them thar winds! From -200 ft below sea level in the valley we maxed out the petrol consumption and climbed (virtually in a straight line!) to over 5000 ft – then went down 5,000 feet and climbed another 5000 ft until we reached the eastern side of the Sierra Nevadas. Next stop – snow!!