Death Valley

We’re in the heart of Death Valley at a place called Furnace Creek. Yes, you get the picture, it’s hot and it’s only springtime. We arrived via a stopover to break the journey in Ridgecrest, a moderately sized town about 50 miles from the national park, whose principal purpose seems to be mining and to support the nearby naval base. Why the Navy needs a base in the desert, we didn’t ask.

I was hoping for some Wild West action; saloons with swing doors, card games, dodgy looking characters, and long tales. Well OK, we know its 2011 but we were expecting to find a bar of some sorts and failed miserably. There is the usual assortment of drive through take away places and not much else. We settled for a Chinese which was drive through but also had a few tables, and of course a couple of fish tanks. The food was actually OK, but I wouldn’t put Ridgecrest on your must do list just yet.

Back to DV where the landscape really looks like another world. George Lucas shot some scenes for the first star wars films here and you can see why. The barren land is twisted into some incredible shapes through millennia of seismic activity fused with a Van Gogh like array of colours from the mineral rich rocks. There are some sand dunes, although not many, and ranges of rocks that look like frozen sand dunes. At Dante’s view, about an hour from our base, there’s an everlasting view of the valley below including the lowest point at Badwater , 282 feet below sea level with the salt pan a dazzling white streak along its length. On the valley floor you can walk out onto the salt where the crystals form hexagonal plates. At Panamint Springs in the West of the park, we walked up to the spring where a small waterfall emerges from the arid rock to provide an oasis of flora and the water for the nearby camp. There’s a scenic road along “Artists‘ Drive” where we took a short walk into a kaleidoscope of colour from an assortment of rocks laden with minerals from Borax to Iron ore.

We stayed in the very comfortable Furnace Creek Inn, which has a rich history being the first tourist hotel built in Death Valley. At one point it was an exclusive retreat for the rich and famous. Clark Gable got married here and Marlon Brando used to stay in our room (so we were told anyway. I’m a bit doubtful as the bed was no way big enough – OK, going native there, it wasn’t large enough)

Palm Springs

We finally escaped the clutches of LA and motored out to the beautiful Palm Springs, wedged between two mountain ranges. We arrived about lunchtime and thought we’d pop into downtown which is about a mile south from our motel. After 5 minutes, a bus pulled up which we though was handy, so we hopped on. We were starting to regret climbing aboard as the driver appeared to be disinterested in continuing the journey. The prospect of progress looked bleak when he pulled out a novel and settled back in his chair. Eventually we did move on. A huge lady asked us where we were from. “Aw England. That’s where the food is expensive and the portions are small”. That’s us in a nutshell really.

It’s hot, hot, hot here with the mercury approaching 90F. Naturally, this requires frequent refreshment. We found a very cooling Mexican place serving wonderful Margueritas so we settled in there for a few hours. The restaurants here have water pipes spraying a fine mist onto the diners outside to keep everyone cool, very impressive considering we’re in the desert.

Next day we met up with Chris and Joan who took us to a very good restaurant overlooking a recently built golf course near where they live in Cathedral City. There really are a lot of golf courses here. Despite the desert climate there apparently is an abundance of water from underground aquifers that are constantly being replenished from run off from the mountains. I managed a few holes with some clubs borrowed from Chris which was a bit of a challenge in the heat (99 degrees) and the clubs hadn’t seen the light of day for 30 years so were not quite state of the art. I hooked up with a few local gents, one of whom popped into his house next to the eighth green and reappeared with a few refreshments – fabulous.

On our final day we took the sky tram (cable car to you and me) up to the top of the Chino Canyon and found ourselves in another world. The lift ascends 800 feet and we were suddenly in a forest of pine trees with snow on the ground. The temperature here is typically 30 to 40 degrees cooler than the desert floor, but on our visit we were still able to walk around comfortably in T shirts. There are several well marked walking trails. We followed one called desert view which gave up some tremendous views of the desert valley below.

All in all we were very impressed with Palm Springs and wished we had a few more days but we were booked into Death Valley so it was adios amigos and slap on that sun cream.

Chile - Desert

This really is a magical mystery tour. We’ve no idea what were up to next. We’re in the middle of the driest desert on Earth. You’re probably expecting me to say that it was raining when we arrived. No chance. We haven’t even seen a cloud yet. It last rained in 2001. We’re in a small town, San Pedro de Atacama, which is a little oasis of green thanks to the two rivers that flow into it. We’re surrounded by mountains and volcanoes of course. One is picture perfect, an exact cone. It doesn’t look real, like a comic book volcano. There’s also an active volcano called Laska, which continually smokes like a brooding teenager. Luckily the prevailing wind always takes its ashes into Argentina and away from us.

We’re booked into this luxury, all inclusive adventure holiday camp. Even the drinks are included so I don’t know how they let us in. It’s a kind of Chilean Centre Parks for the Rich. Indeed, all the guests appear to be mega rich, except us of course.

The way it works here is that everyone meets up in the bar before dinner with the guides to decide what excursions to do tomorrow. There’s hiking, horse riding and mountain bike riding, but we just stuck with the walking. You go out in air conditioned mini vans in small groups, usually between 6 and 8 with a guide and then start the walk. At the end of the excursion, the same vehicle is waiting with icy cold beers – brilliant.

Our first trek was in moon valley. It turns out that the moon is in northern Chile, and not in outer space as previously thought. Barren rocks, craters, and dust. You get the picture. If the lunar landings were faked, this is where they did it.

On Christmas day we opted for a gentle stroll up river for a couple of hours to a hot spring. We jumped in and relaxed in the water that was like a warm bath, while the chefs prepared a wonderful lunch with prawns, smoked salmon, salads, cheese with wine and beer. This is the life.

The most memorable hike was up a volcano. Yes, that’s not a typo – a volcano. We were running out of options for excursions the previously night and were somehow talked into this crazy escapade. Next morning, Mags wimped out with some excuse about having a cold, so it was just me and 4 other hardy souls heading out into the hills. The minibus took us most of the way so it wasn’t such a massive challenge. We had to ascend about 500 metres, but this was at altitude so it was a bit trickier – really hard to catch your breath. For some reason, I wasn’t affected as much as other people and found it quite easy to get to the top. We were at 5650 metres, and had amazing views into Bolivia and Argentina, and with the clear day could see for hundreds of kilometres – really exhilarating.

Off to the lakes next where we’re hoping to see a bit of green.