Natalie and I leave Santa Cruz early in the afternoon for Death Valley. A bunch of last minute tasks prevent us from leaving any earlier. We take the usual route down US 101, then cut across Hwy 46 to I5 and Hwy 58 through Bakersfield and Tehachapi. We stop for an early dinner in Paso Robles at the Wagon Wheel burger place where they have these huge onion rings. We get to Mojave around 7-8pm, and stay at the trailer park just to the north. The manager meets us at the office even though it was already closed for the night. There is a little bit of snow on the ground, as 4 inches of snow fell a few days before. But with the heater, there is no problem, and we stay comfy-warm.
We leave reasonably early (10am) after having a breakfast of bagels and cream cheese with hot tea and chocolate. We continue north on Hwy 14, then cut across to Ridgecrest. We stop at the Kmart to get last minute items such as hiking shoes (how could I forget those!), a toothbrush, some cereal, and some Christmas gifts. We gas up, and have lunch at Kristy's Family Resaurant. Then on through Trona which has lost its red-blood highways, having been resurfaced recently with a more usual color much to the chagrin of Natalie. It's still a bleak place, but not quite so repugnant. We stop at the overlook to Panamint Valley to take some photos. Then we leave it and climb through the Wildrose entrance of the park. It's normally a somewhat rough road since it looks like the park is letting it revert from its original hard top to gravel. As we climb higher, we find more and more patches of snow when the road is in the shade, and the last mile to the ranger station we are driving on solid (but thin) snow. We stop close to the top of Emigrant Pass: the road is well maintained by then, but still has patches of snow. The overlook to the valley that we just crossed is shimmering with the white of the light snow cover; it was a beautiful sight. Then it is down to the other side of the pass to Stovepipe Wells. Finding a spot with electrical hookup is easy at this time of year. We take it slow and easy the rest of the afternoon, and we have dinner in the van.
Natalie is slow to move this morning, and it is 11 o'clock when we leave to explore the nearby Mosaic canyon. It's the first time ever that we can see snow among the higher peaks surrounding us, but then it is the first time that we get here in December. Temperatures are nice and even cool in the shade which is most everywhere at this time of year when the sun is so low above the horizon. There is a surprising number of cars parked at the trail head, but soon we leave everyone behind. The slick water polished rocks and the narrow places in the canyon are always fun to climb as we follow it higher and higher, and we go to the end where there is a 20ft high unclimbable dry water fall. It's mid-afternoon when we are done, and we drive to Furnace Creek to get something to eat, visit the Ranger station to renew our yearly pass, and mail a postcard to my Dad and Pierre. It's dark by the time we get back to camp, and check my email for the first time at the free wifi at the lodge. Natalie is reading my sci-fi book which she is hoping to finish by the time we get to Vegas. This is our last day at Stovepipe Wells.
We visit Natural Bridge canyon south of Furnace Creek just north of Badwater. It's our first time here. Lots of people are parked here to do the same thing. The gravelly trail leads up the wash, and eventually narrows quite a bit before we see the bridge. This is not the shiny hard marble of Mosaic Canyon, but more soft consolidated gravel deposit. The bridge is thick, and that's why it doesn't crumble down. We keep going past the bridge, and leave many of the other visitors behind. We scramble up some dry water falls, and eventually reach one that's too hard to climb up (but not by much: we could probably make it if we had better shoes). We snack on the last of the "fines galettes" I had made as Christmas presents, and turn back. We drive back down the washboard gravel road to the highway,and turn south to Badwater. We hike on the boardwalk; Natalie collects a sample (bad Natalie!). The way to Indian Springs takes us by Zabriskie Point, and we climb to the overlook. There seems to be only other french people around. We don't stay long, and drive to Nevada. We see some big clouds hanging over the mountains, but everything is dry. We get to Indian Springs as it gets dark and find a lovely RV park (I say sacarstically). We have dinner at a smoke filled casino: so so food, but it is the only game in town (pun intended). After, we head back to our 'lovely' RV park for the night.
There are snow flurries when we wake up. Nothing much, but still worrisome at this elevation. But we leave for the station, and at the turn-off, the road starts to climb very steadily from about 3,500ft to 8,500ft. By the time we get up there, the sun is out peeking behind a few fluffy white clouds. Parking, renting boots and skis take time, but all goes well. It's a small station with only two substantial lifts, but the snow is fairly fresh, and the conditions are pretty good. There is no waiting on the lifts (except when we try the small one which is also used by the ski school). We have lunch around 1pm, but even then, their facilities is way too small for the crowd. We each have a slice of pizza with some hot chocolate. Then we go back for a few more runs before leaving at 3pm since I don't know much about what it takes to get to the Las Vegas airport from here. We get to LV early, and we have time to stop by a Barnes and Noble where Natalie can use some of her gift cards. But the last leg is slow because it is rush hour, and it takes us 45 minutes to do the last 3 miles. But we're still on time, and the plane is late. So we wait in the airport. Portland (Natalie is joining her Mom there) is open (although they will have to use chains to leave Portland). Once the plane is off, I wander around, get groceries, and proceed to Sam's campground: but the office is already closed. I don't find much in the neighborhood, so when I see a sign for a $35 Motel 6, I decide to spend the night there; actually it not much different than a night at a Las Vegas campground.
I'm starting to lose interest in making a big travel loop, since it is cold, and the weather will not get any better. But as a last hurrah, I decide to see Hoover dam, and do a short loop taking me further south where the weather is likely to be better. Because of security precautions, going over Hoover Dam is slow, since cars are checked before you can proceed.