Journal entry – 25 Feb 2016, Thurs – Heading bravely toward Death (Valley)

After seeing Bill and Carol off to work we set about packing up everything that had migrated into the house from the RV. Michelle stopped by with the girls before dropping Bella off at school, so we got to chat for a few minutes.

All loaded up, we headed over to Sprouts for produce and other perishible items. A quick stop at the gas station and we were off! On to Death Valley!

Long drive, and most of it is through the empty desert. Nice to be away from “civilization” and out of any sort of urban sprawl. We enjoy the drive, the open-ness. Don’t enjoy the 3 miles of gnarly wash-board gravel road where, I suppose, they’re supposed to be doing construction of some sort. The last leg of the trip, actually in the park itself, is up over a mountain. So it’s a few miles of climbing just to drop down into first gear and crawl back down the other side.

There’s a conveniently-located campground at the base of the mountain that we’re aiming for, in Stovepipe Wells. Only $12 a night, with water spigots and a dump station. Without that destination already in mind we’d have never been aiming to arrive at night – we would have stopped in the BLM desert just before entering the park and found a flat spot to stop.

The campground is basically a gravel parking lot with double-wide numbered spots. We pull toward the back and I get leveled while Ashley goes to pay. Quick and easy, if not the most amazing grounds we’ve ever stayed at.