Death Valley Daze

We then headed to the north end of Death Valley to the Mesquite Springs campground for three nights.   Much more chill and scenic than Furnace Creek and still had water (hence the "springs"), but zero cell service:

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It was also a good base camp for exploring the canyons in search of ghost towns and old mines:

Also checked out some gigantic volcanic craters:

But Wednesday, a big storm blew in down from the Sierras.   No precipitation in the valley, but the wind and blowing dirt and grit was ridiculous:

Still managed to hike up a nearby canyon, which provided some relief to the relentless wind.

>>>>Did your brother's batteries keep a charge (assuming there's solar on his van) with the foul weather / overcast? 

Yes, the only time the van has ran out of juice was during a trip to Oregon in August.   We camped under trees for a few days and it was hot as blazes.  Between the shade and the fridge working overtime to stay cool, it ran out of power.   I brought my little portable charging station on this trip and it worked great except the portable solar panels kept getting knocked over in the wind and showered with dust so kept them put away most of the time.

Death Valley denizen:

After camping five nights in Death Valley, we drove over to the base of the Sierras.   On our way over, we stopped in a quasi-ghost town of Darwin.  The mine was shuttered long time ago and almost everyone moved out, but about 50 people (a lot of them on disability) have since taken up residency there.   Apparently, there was a 2011 documentary about the town and its new residents which I will now have to see:

Purple cactus in Darwin:

We spent the next three nights camped in a nearly deserted campground in Owens Valley just south of Lone Pine in between the Sierras and Inyo mountains:

The storm continued and in addition to the winds, we were now getting sleet, snow, and freezing temperatures at night.   We were still able to get out and about and check out the nearby sights, including the site of the Manzanar interment camp where 11,000 civilians of Japanese ancestry were incarcerated during WW2:

Dang Johnny.  I couldn't imagine going to Death Valley in the summer.  Did you do all your exploring at night or at the break of dawn?

We also checked out an area called the Alabama Hills at the base of the highest Sierra - Mt. Whitney.  The Alabama Hills are a  sprawling collection of rock piles and canyons and the filming location for countless Westerns and other movies.

We tried driving up the Whitney portal, but the road was stiill closed for the season..  Funny how the highest point in the lower 48 is about 100 miles from the lowest point in the western hemisphere:

We spent the last day roaming around the base of the Intyo Mountains looking for petroglyphs and old dolomite mines.   Didn't find the rock art, but found the old mines:

Base of Inyos looking over what is left of Owens Lake after LA sucked up all the water coming down from the Sierras:

Took US 395 most of the way back and stopped by June Lake:

When I got to Susanville, my Waze app took me way out into the boonies on Forest Service roads out in rural Shasta and Siskiyou counties.  Was lucky to finally get a motel in Burney.   The area got hammered last night and woke up to eight inches of snow.  Traveling from Burney over to Shasta and up over Siskiyou Pass was nerve-wracking. I-5 around Shasta was the worst with the road covered in ice and snow with no discernible lanes.  Had to pull over for a while until the snow plows came.   Fortunately, there was little snow going over Siskiyou Pass but high winds still made for some white knuckled driving:

>>>are you tent camping? 

Yes, I was in a tent.  My brother has his van, but it can be a bit cramped (slept in the van during an Alaskan trip because of the bears and mosquitoes).   It got down to freezing several nights, but I have a good sleeping bag, a Pendleton blanket, and a Mexican blanket so I stay warm enough.   The wind and constant flapping of the tent was the worst part.

>>>>Surprised you didn't stop at the hot springs outside Bridgeport if you passed by on 395.

Hot springs were tempting but I have not been vaccinated yet and wasn't enamored with the idea sharing a pool with strangers.   I should become eligible next month and it will be a much different story after that.   

>>>> Superstition Mtns east of Phoenix.

That's a nice area, especially in winter.  Did you find the Lost Dutchman's mine?