March 16, 2021 The Road To Lone Pine
Boulder Creek RV Resort Lone Pine, California
I walked this morning in the really chilly wind. I did it in honor of my mother who has been faithfully walking in Westminster even when temperatures are in the thirties and it is blustery outside. If she can do it…I need to! I found the post office at the Ranch Resort.
Death Valley is the hottest place on Earth. In 1913 it was 134 degrees here. Last summer it was 128 degrees. It is also the driest national park and the lowest. Death Valley sits at -282 feet. This is also the largest national park outside of Alaska. We have been here before so we didn’t revisit Zabriski Point or the Natural Bridge or Badwater. There were too many places we hadn’t seen yet! There is so much to see that we already have a list of things we want to do next time. There are too many rich opportunities here…we don’t want to miss any.
In the meantime, we moved on to Lone Pine, near Alabama Hills. Our journey took us past Mesquite Dunes. There was drifted sand on the road shoulder after yesterday’s sandstorm.
From our campground on the valley floor at 200 feet below sea level we traveled up to Towne Pass at 4,956 feet.
The Panamint Range was snow covered.
From there we had a 9-mile downhill. The first several miles were a 9% grade which is pretty steep. We passed mountains of volcanic rock, glistening black in the sunshine.
From a dizzying height we had an unbelievable vista of the Panamint Valley far below.
We drove on a serpentine road twisting and turning as we descended the mountain. Tim has nerves of steel! Enjoy the video!
We stopped for a break at the Father Crowley Vista Point at Rainbow Canyon. Here there were colorful layers of volcanic rock. We took a nice hike out to the point.
This canyon serves as a site for Navy flight training maneuvers. The canyon is nicknamed Star Wars Canyon. There were people sitting in chairs along the canyon’s edge, some for hours, waiting for the jets to fly through. It would have been an amazing site to see…but no jets today while we were there. This is a picture of what it would look like.
Ahead, we go our first unimpeded view of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, majestic and imposing. Mount Whitney which sits in Lone Pine, it the highest peak in the lower 48 states.
We also passed a Joshua tree “forest.”
And salt flats.
I loved the beauty and diversity of this drive. In 100 miles, we traversed, mountains, valleys, sand dunes, and a forest. It was truly amazing!
