December 27-29, 2018 Death Valley to Shoshone, California

Today we have wind again 20-30 mph. The Funeral mountains  are obscured by all the blowing sand. I went to Stovepipe resort and paid for a shower. That includes the pool. It was pretty sheltered there and warm. But I have had a lot of sun the last few days. 

I am so bad. I go around and look at all the flattened tents in the wind. I remember trying to sleep in the wind in a tent. It was miserable.I am so bad. I go around and look at all the flattened tents in the wind. I remember trying to sleep in the wind in a tent. It was miserable.

These roof top tents seemed to do pretty well in the wind. The dome in the middle was flapping and rocking . These two roof tops are on top of trailers. Interesting concept. Blowing in the wind.

I finished the basket. It came out great.  I will take some good photos of it when it is not so windy and dusty outside.A blown over  dome tent. The other tents are holding their own. The big tent  bit the dust. I notice later that it was gone.  Bet they headed for a motel room somewhere. This guy even brought a year. He tows a trailer and set up a cyclone fence, carpet inside of it and privacy screen on the side. 

At sunset the blowing dust just melded with with clouds. Sunrise this am. I am not usually up this early but this time of year sunrise is about 730 and with all the wind outside I went to bed early. What really got me up was the flying saucer looking cloud. . . .

They call it Death Valley because nothing grows on the valley floor here. We drove by Furnace Creek, 190 feet below sea level. The fuel was 5.18 a gallon. When it is below 42 degrees our heater uses diesel fuel. It is supposed to be  below freezing this week in Shoshone, so John wants to fill up. We bypassed Furnace Creek fuel.  

Furnace Creek Inn with the new casitas below it. They planted a ton of palm trees too.  Zabriskie point was packed, people parked all the way to the highway. We did not go to any of the usual tourist destinations here, so missed all the crowds.  

Mt Charleston over Pahrump , NV. We went through Pahrump on the way to Shoshone to get fuel-only $3.20/gal  and then resupplied at the grocery store. The masterpiece done. 10 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches. Pine needles, some of them dyed. A steer skull in the center. Glass horse head and seed beads. There is cowhide wrapped around the outside with gem chips.  

I whipped out this smaller one while driving yesterday. About 4-5 hours. I am about out of smaller baskets. This is 4 1/2 x 3 inches. The center is a piece of fused glass I made and the beads on the outside are glass.  

Sunset mimicking a palm tree and sunset looking east.