Got Water?

After breakfast and packing up, we took a short side trip in to the Alabama Hills, the movie-making area at the foot of the taller Sierras. They are a totally different kind of rock and color. We drove along "movie road" and noticed they already have signage placed for the filming that will shortly take place here.







Heading eastward now, we skirted the dry Owens Lake and headed into Death Valley National Park. The area was not really what I expected. I had always envisioned, for some reason, a gradual drop into a valley. But in thinking about it, since you have to go from 6,000 feet to under sea level in a relatively short time, it would make sense that the drop would be something more dramatic. And so it was - very ear-popping dramatic. At least entering the Park from the west, you go down a very steep and winding road to a flat, desolate valley floor. There are a few park-related places with services and rooms, but not much else.




The drive into Las Vegas was uneventful and we arrived late afternoon, going through Death Valley Junction and Pahrump. We checked at one place on the Strip, but a spring break weekend is not the time to get rooms on the fly in Vegas. We finally found a room at a Courtyard Mariott in Henderson. Since we were only there to visit with some missionaries and watch conference, it was perfect. There was a building with conference just a few blocks away.