Monday 24 October Las Vegas to Death Valley

From Las Vegas we headed for death valley. Eric had suggested we go via Red Rock Canyon, but our legendary navigation skills soon had us heading in the wrong direction. We turned off the interstate at Baker - a strange little town which consists of one dusty street, five service stations, about 10 fast food joints, and two little supermarkets whose stock seems to comprise of beer, spirits and canned beans.

From Baker we turned north and drove through increasingly desolate country. We stopped at a little place called Shoshone for lunch. We'd been fantasising about a picnic lunch on some green grass under a shady tree. We found just what we wanted - outside the sheriff's office. The sheriff didn't seem to mind, so we had a very pleasant break.

From Shoshone the road wound through rugged hills, then descended for miles down to the floor of Death Valley itself. The lowest point in the western hemisphere is found here, at a place appropriately named Badwater. There had been recent rains (highly unusual in this area) and there was sufficient water to create beautiful reflections of the surrounding hills. We walked out over the salt to get as close as possible to the water for the best pictures. However the crust kept breaking underfoot, dropping us ankle-deep into black mud, so we didn't get as far out as we would have liked.

Our accommodation was at Furnace Creek. This is a surprisingly pretty place, with small cabins under shady trees, a swimming pool and golf course. We had a look around, had dinner at the café and so to bed.