Desert in its fullness Part 2

Here, I will continue my previous blog from yesterday. Friday evening we drove through the Panamint Mountain Range to get to Death Valley. The road was steep and curvy. The drive was scenic and serene. Our first stop was Stovepipe Wells visitor center followed by Sand Dunes where we watched an amazing sunset. We drove to our hotel at Amargosa Valley, NV. The Longstreet Inn and Casino is where we lodged for the following two nights. It was just by chance, Ajo found this Inn near Death Valley which was not publicized at many of the Death Valley visitor sites. God's guidance was the reason we were able to get their last available room that day.

Next morning we rented a Jeep from Farabee's Rentals opposite Furnace Creek Inn at Death Valley. First time ever in our life, we were going off road and it was quite exciting. We rented a silver Jeep, Wrangler which was equipped to do off roads in Death Valley. Our destination was "Racetrack Playa" where they have the moving rocks. Due to road constructions, our trip took little longer than expected. We had full tank of gas, our trusty GPS, and food in the car.

The true fun began at the start of Racetrack Valley Road and it was just 28 miles of true adventure. The road was long and bumpy but I would not go back in time to change anything about the trip. Our 28 miles was just a narrow dirt road with loose gravel, washboard and rocks. We were able to go 20 -30 mph most of the time. We took videos, laughed, and took pictures. At the same time, we kept ourselves hydrated. "Gatorade never tasted so good", Ajo said. I totally agree. At Tea Kettle Junction (6 miles from playa), we met Bill from CT, who rented a similar vehicle from Farabee's and was on his way as well to explore the racetrack playa  all by himself. That is truly adventurous.

Racetrack playa did not captivate me from a distant but as I got closer and closer, I realized that it was truly a gem in the desert. We were actually standing on the floor of an ancient lake and it was vast and endless before our eyes. Then we moved on further down the road to see the moving rocks. The tracks which the rocks traveled are obviously apparent but how the rocks move is the unsolved mystery. It was a really windy day at racetrack playa and Bill humorously said, "It's obviously the wind". My hat blew off and as a good husband Ajo ran across the playa chasing my hat around and finally got a hold of it.

Our return was equally fun and exciting. We enjoying pink, purple, and yellow wild flowers in the desert on our way back. I remember the "shirtless" man on the road back who brushed against our Jeep's side view mirror and Ajo did a hand gesture saying "Thank you" or "That's OK" . Fun times!. We returned to stovepipe wells to pump gas and to take a small bathroom break.

We continued to see the pup fish at the salt creek. This pup fish is found only in the salt water creek at Death Valley and nowhere else on earth. What a gem in the desert!. On our way back Furnace Creek, we took a quick stop at Zabriski Point just after sunset. We dropped off the rental Jeep and returned back to the hotel. The sky was clear and stars furnished the skies that night. I parked off pavement to have Ajo  watch the stars from outside while I gazed at them from the car.

We were exhausted and slept that night peacefully. More to follow.