3/9/2025

Well the van is then returned. Going to get the van or drop off the van just takes time.

Not sure now is to open mail, start laundry, and put things away. 

Until tomorrow...

3/8/2025

We drove from Bakersfield home. Luckily we got home around 2:00 p.m. so I had enough time to empty and clean the van before I crashed. Everything is just piled in my dining room waiting for me to repack it. I tried to pack things up in the van but it's a little difficult to take things apart when I'm packing things up. 

It takes time to clean and empty the van so I can return it tomorrow.

Until tomorrow...

3/7/2025

We woke up to an amazing sunrise that we got to see before we left Death Valley National Park. 

good job all the way from Death Valley National Park back to Bakersfield California.

We got this one shot before we left the park. 

Interestingly the route that we took leaving the park took us past the borax plant. I definitely looked at it differently after hearing all about the history of the borate mining. 

As I do with all my trips I hung the postcards of the places I visited in the van. 

Until tomorrow...

3/6/2025

We woke up early in order to get to visit Death Valley National Park for day 2. We started out at Artist's Palette where the rocks are amazing colors. 

Next was Badwater Basin where is the giant salt flat. I walked out onto the salt that went on for ages.

 Then we drove to Dante's View. It was a long drive there but totally worth it. The views of the valley were just spectacular. 

Then we drove back up to Harmony Borax Works. Has a very long history of making borax that started back before the gold rush. The main borax producer in America was in Death Valley National Park.

  After that we drove to Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes. I walked on Sand Dunes for a little bit then we drove to Stovepipe Wellsto check it out. Then back to the campsite. 

So tired but have to make dinner. 🙂

Until tomorrow...

3/5/2025

You woke up early and drove from Las Vegas to Death Valley National Park. It was not a long drive so we got to Death Valley midday. Because we entered the park from the East we stopped at a very popular site in the park called Zabriskie Point. Miss Vivien and I walked up to the point to see the beautiful view. It wasn't until we got down I realized dogs were not allowed. Oops!

After seeing this beautiful view we got to our campsite. We decided to camp in the park this time and lucked out because our campsite looked out over beautiful mountains. I could open the back window of the van and see the sunrise and sunset on the mountains. It was glorious. 

So incredibly beautiful. 

Until tomorrow...

3/4/2025

We do a quick tour around the casino. They have this lovely little rain forest in the middle. 

Then we went to Valley of Fire State Park. It's about an hour Northeast out of Vegas. It is famous for something called the fire wave. It's an amazing Rock for formation. 

Such an amazing park. I loved every minute of it. 

Until tomorrow...

3/3/2025

Today we drove to Red Rock Canyon. It's about half an hour Northwest of vegas. It's a wonderful Park and we needed a reserved time to enter the park. This is done to keep the crowds low. There was so much to see and I think we saw the majority of it. 

We had a great day at Red Rock Canyon. 

Until tomorrow...

3/2/2025

Today we drove from Arizona to Las Vegas. We stayed at our Campground in Las Vegas. It's a very interesting Campground because it's attached to a casino. We were also right across from a Walmart which came in handy. 

We didn't get to hike today but we walked around to the Walmart and through the casino. 

Until tomorrow...

3/1/2025

Today we went to the Petrified Forest to see a few things that we missed and then we went to the Painted Desert. The parks are attached. 

Yesterday I said hi to a woman who was taking pictures. Today I ran into the woman again and we talked for about half an hour. She invited me to go to the local saloon. We ended up going for about an hour and it was a very funny situation.  the town we were both staying in has two bars, a gas station, and a mini Mart. It is a very downtrodden town. We went to the local saloon and when we walked in every head was on the swivel. It turns out there was a pool tournament going on and 98% of the bar was men. We sat at the bar and were like bees to honey. We had two men come over and try and chat us up. It was very funny. I think I've met a new friend. 

Until tomorrow...

2/28/2025

We left at 8:30 to drive to the Petrified Forest. We entered the South Gate. After visiting the Visitors Center, we drove part of the loop while stopping to take photos. The dog  and I walked 20k steps. At 3 o'clock we called it a day. 

We saw tons of petrified trees and petroglyphs. 

It was so amazing to see these petrified trees. 

Until tomorrow...