Death Valley, October 2000

Ridgecrest. Ate breakfast at the hotel, then drove to Trona, and on to Death Valley via highway 190. After a stop at Stovepipe Wells, we went to the sand dunes, and hiked out to a nice spot for smoking and soaking in the wonder of the place. Then on to Furnace Creek, where we checked out the Inn (our room wasn’t ready yet) and the Ranch (ate lunch there), then drove on to Badwater, where we took a walk out onto the salt flats. On the way back to Furnace Creek, we took the Artist’s Drive loop, and stopped for a hike in Golden Canyon.

We checked into the Furnace Creek Inn at 4:30. Our room (#126) had a terrace overlooking the palm garden, and Robin couldn’t have been more pleased. After drinks on the veranda, and a rest in the room, we dressed up for a fantastic dinner in the dining room. Back in our room, we watched the end of the first game of the Yankees-Mets World Series (and much to our pleasure, the Yankees won in the bottom of the 12th inning).