If we were to go by the 'direct' Australian way of naming things, then we had something to worry about with Death Valley. We had arrived at our staging post for this auspicious stage in our trip by passing through a town called Cartago, population 92. Our actual staging post was Olancha, somewhat larger with a population of 192. We stayed at The Ranch Motel, chosen from a blurry photo on the internet. The photos turned out not to be blurry after all; it was the building that was blurry and had a tumbleweed For Sale sign attached to the remains of its picket fence. The whole area was very ranchy with signs for Jed's Really Good Jerky, Elk, Buffalo, Venison or Alligator. We even ate at the Ranch House Cafe and witnessed an amazing electrical storm on the way back without even getting wet. Lots of stars too at night; all getting a bit reminiscent of the Australian Outback.
It did rain that night which meant that the seats on the bike were nice and wet in the morning and did us proud for the 101 degrees Fahrenheit in Death Valley. Steaming! We were still not feeling as hot as we had been in lesser temperatures in Asia. We stopped at Visitor Centres hoping to get a drink but they didn't sell drinks, just maps and tourist tut - a clear business opportunity going missing. We passed the lowest point in the USA and Mr Garmin registered -82m. Death Valley is quite vast, but not on the Outback scale, and we were through it by the afternoon. It was nonetheless very impressive and far less monotonous than the Australian Northern Territories.
We cruised the strip a couple of times but we were heavily under vehicled. It was also very hot which added to our lack of cool. The hotels weren't the only ones plying their wares with cards being offered to us every fifty yards offering, 'Girls Direct - we can get them to you in minutes', or ' Hot Ass-scorts'. The Chippendales, Hot from Down Under, were also in town for the girls. All this is out there on the sidewalk as you walk by, with the girls in thongs (not the flip-flop variety) and nipple tassels selling we were not quite sure what, but it certainly wasn't Cornflakes. No tan lines on them either. This seedy side was ever present. Not sure how we felt about the slot-machine addicts still going strong in the morning when we left at 08.00 either...
We avoided turning into pillars of salt on exiting and our next stop was Zion National Park. We just happened to stumble on a little town at the entrance called Springdale and it was absolutely knock-out. We made it our base for a few days and used up one of our days off to go canyoneering. This is Mormon heartland, but there are no silly musicals here just some absolutely incredible scenery and really friendly people. The tourist set-up is also both very professional and just at the right level. It is one of those places that you honestly ask yourself... what could possibly be better? With our Annual Pass to America's National Parks we also visited Bryce which was also incredible, but very different. Bryce Canyon National Park, or at least the road through it is actually a ridge, not a canyon. Although not getting up to the @3,000m of Tioga Pass in Yosemite, it didn't fall far short at 2,750m.
The thing about these places is the hugeness; it's not about being able to see for miles, it's for tens and tens of miles without any sign of human endeavour. It will be a nice lead-in to the Grand Canyon.
No wonder the Americans say there is no need to leave their own country, as they can see anything they want and better back in the US of A.
And despite being diagnosed with terminal gearbox cancer the bike is still going strong, 'O Death Valley, where is thy sting?'
Paul & Francoise
Good to see your latest places
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