We pulled into our AirBNB in Pahrump Nevada around midnight (Pacific time), so we allowed ourselves to sleep in a bit today. Once we got everyone out the door, we headed to Death Valley. It’s a good thing Lily suggested we stop at a General Store because even though all we got was a bunch of snacks (beef jerky, chex mix, peanuts, V8 donuts etc), those snacks lasted us until Dinner because there turned out to be very little to eat in the Death Valley area. While purchasing the snacks, the cashier volunteered that Pahrump is home to one of the few legal prostitution houses in the United States (locals refer to it as a chicken-house), that it is $1,500 per session and that it’s currently shut down due to Covid. I had no idea that existed.
We’ve been enjoying the Encanto soundrack and a book called Circe on this trip. Here are some videos of Lydia singing along to Encanto with Clarissa:
When we arrived at Death Valley, the first thing we did was go to Zabriskie point, and then we hiked about 4 miles round-trip on the trail that started at the Zabriskie trail-head. We didn’t go to the Red Cathedral or the Gower Gulch because it felt like too much given our water situation, and how some of the kids were fading. But what we did do was incredible. The scenery was completely fantastic, and we left the hike feeling super satisfied.
After Zabriskie point, we went to the visitor’s center for a map and advice and then we made a plan.
First we drove artist’s drive. Everyone in the car, except me, fell asleep just before getting there and missed it. But I loved it so much (and didn’t restrain myself very well as I woke Lily up a time or two just to point out some great views). There were some really fun parts that got very narrow, with red rock flanking on each side, and the coloring was amazing. I didn’t think to take videos until my favorite parts were over, but hopefully the below captures some of the essence.
After artist’s drive we went to Badwater. It is the lowest point in North America (282 feet below sea-level). When we arrived, everyone except me and Lydia were asleep, so Lydia and I read while the others snoozed. Lily didn’t sleep much last night, so she was particularly tired. I enjoyed my Lincoln Highway book while Lydia read her Greek Mythology Book.
At 3:00, Lily and I decided nap-time was over, and woke everyone up. Then we did a super-fun one mile walk like I have never done before. We crossed salty dirty on a path worn by foot-traffic. And the deeper in we got, the more salty the dirt got, until at the end, the crust of the earth we were standing on was in all sorts of crazy formations, like the ground was cracked under our feet, and in some places it looked like it was peeling off the earth.
After Badwater, we went to the sand-dunes. I was stressed that we would get there and there would not be enough sunlight which would be a particular shame because it was in the opposite direction of Yucca valley where we were staying for the night. But when we got there, it turned out we had plenty of light for a good 30-40 minutes of fun. The kids were so happy and I’m pretty sure it was the favorite part of the day for all the kids (Lydia said it was her favorite part). We all took our shoes off to feel the sand which was remarkably soft.The kids jumped in the sand, made sand angels, ran around, threw sand (which Lily and I swiftly shut down multiple times), and just had so much fun experiencing the sand dunes. At one point, Ammon was making a sand-angel and saying, “this is the life!”. I also did a little jumping in the sand.
Lily and I were laughing because not too long ago, Ammon said to us, “You know what my heaven would be? My heaven would be a room with padding on the walls, so I could run around and bounce of the walls, and I wouldn’t get hurt, and even even if I did, it wouldn’t matter because I’m already dead.” Lily and I chuckled as we thought that sand dunes was a pretty near approximation to his even. He was running and jumping and being crazy, essentially bouncing off the sand. But he couldn’t get hurt because the sand was so very soft.
The walk back to the car was very rough on our feet because we were still all in bare-feet and it got rocky before the car.
Then we drove for 5 hours to Yucca valley. It wasn’t until 2 hours from our place for the night that we found a Del Taco in Baker Nevada. There we were at 8:30 at night, not having had a real meal for over 24 hours. Fast food tacos and burritos never tasted so good.
Then I drove to our AirBnB. On our trips, we also enjoy our music, podcast and book selections, largely thanks to Lily who usually prepares for the trips with great content. On this trip we have been enjoying The Encanto Soundrack, a book called Circe, which is about a witch from Greek Mythology, and I have really been enjoying Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.