February 29-March 4, 2016 Death Valley and Shoshone, California

 

Sunday was the last day of Judy’s B2B hike. Here she is coming in off the valley floor at Badwater after 170 miles and 13 days. What a woman. Here she is waiting for her ride at Badwater back to Furnace Creek Inn for the last night. It was in the mid 80’s.

Straight to the Inn and the pool. Love this place. Sunset from the pool.

Judy, Susan and John having a drink  in front of our room before dinner.  Donna Lamm, Judy, Phyillis, Lorraine, Susan and John at the celebration of the end of the hike dinner at the Inn dining room. Susan, Donna and John had to squeeze in to be in the photo.  What a fun time.

When we got back to Shoshone our RV traveling friends  Diana and Rob’t were in Shoshone. We met them for dinner at the Crowbar. They are one their way to Death Valley to see the superbloom. We are going to join them on Thursday, maybe get some hikes with them. Sunset over the wetlands in Tecopa on my way to the Tues Ladies night dinner.

Today we hit the warm springs pool in Shoshone. In the 80’s, sunny and the pool is warm, and very clean spring water , runs in one end and out the other. No chlorine. This little frog/or toad not sure which was in the pool. Poor little thing was trapped he was too tiny to get up the steep walls. A lady in the pool rescued him and put him on the side.  He is about an inch long. I think these are the millions of frogs we hear singing at night.

The resident desert tortises came out of their winter hibernation. They live in a habitat in Shoshone. They are racing to the food here, and chowing down. We went back down to Death Valley and camped at Sunset campground at Furnace Creek. We have been camping here all winter, and today it was full. I have never seen it full. Even people in tents. It is a pretty grim campground, no trees, shade, tables or grass. It is ok in an RV, esp when it is cool out because the sun warms you up and people camped pretty far apart. Very grim in a tent, between too many RV’s. The nicer tent campgrounds are full too. Guess you take what you get. It is hot now and people are crammed in. Everyone wants to see the superbloom.

A few sights of the campground. An undersized load, Keep Calm Sue is my boss, ‘I drive over stuff ‘ jeep and a field of phacilia-we saw those hiking. In the morning John helped save a life. A paniced woman came and asked us to help her move her husband to the truck he was sick. John went over. The man was hyperventilating and having chest pains, so they called 911 and John stayed with them until the ambulance came and took the patient away to a  helicopter to the hospital in Pahrump.

We went with Rob’t and Diana to hike in Fall Canyon. About an 8 mile round trip through a beautiful narrow canyon. Diana, John and Rob’t ahead.

The canyon boxes out at an 18 foot dry fall. It was in the high 80’s today, but in the shady canyon is was very nice. We had lunch in the end. Diana and Rob’t.

Diana took photos for a young man and he took our photo in front of the dry fall. John, me, Diana and Rob’t. Then we hiked back out.

The light in the canyon was lovely on the way out.

High walls, narrow passageways.

This chuckwalla posed for us at the end of the walk. Afterwards we adjourned to  well earned drinks and snacks at the bus. Then Diana cooked us dinner at their rig.

Cool rocks in the canyon walls, mallow, pink flowering bush, desert tobacco, nightshade and seed pods.