Leaving Las Vegas meant we were reunited on a long term basis again with Sandy! Having only used her once in Vegas to get to the outlet shopping centre, she'd had chance to rest up for a few days in The Venetian self-park. There were a few more bags to fit into the car than we had brought to Vegas, so our first challenge was to play boot Jenga, trying to fit everything in without toppling over! Thankfully it all fit into the car and we set off into the desert. Like anywhere in Vegas, it took us about half an hour to get out, but before long we were following signs to The Death Valley. We passed through Red Rock Canyon, watching the rocks form and splay across the landscape. Then headed through mountain springs and the temperature dropped to a cool 86 degrees! Bliss! There was a sign to say that snow tyres and chains required. It's hard to imagine in this heat that these roads would turn icy and snow filled. We filled up Sandy, in Pahrump, just so we couldn't run out of 'gas' in the middle of the hottest place in the world - apparently! We kept seeing little dust tornados rise up randomly in the fields, very random.

We soon found ourselves entering the gateway of Death Valley, having to pay $20 for a permit. The first pay station we stopped at didn't work, and had a number to call, but there was no cell coverage! There was a handy pay phone but we decided to crack onto the next spot. It was approaching 110 degrees and being out of the car for too long was pretty much unbearable! I decided to use the 'restroom' which was basically a tin pot and a composting toilet, so everything pretty much went into the ground, no flush, and all right there... In the heat too... I'm gonna say that this was not a pleasurable experience, however necessary as needed to keep hydrated! We first stopped at Zabriskie Point where we had to climb about 200m up a cliff to reach a stunning vantage point. It was worth the heat and the climb, returning to the car it was creeping past 110 degrees. Next we headed onto Furnace Creek. This was the furthest point we were going into the National park as we still had to reach our destination of Barstow. This place is called Furnace Creek for a very good reason, being the place with the highest recorded temperature in the world ever. As we approached the in car temp was showing 117 degrees!
We soon took a turn towards Badwater, which put us back on the path to exit the park and continue on our journey. This road was about 80 miles long and had many delights along the way, including a six mile loop around the Artists Palate, showing beautiful colours in the rock formation, formed by sulphate and chloride in the rocks. Then there were the salt flats of The Devils Golf Course, and the pool at Badwater that was 282 feet below sea level. It is so called Badwater as a man and his mule were travelling through the desert for days without water and came across this pool. The mule however would not drink the water (due to it being too salty!) and so he called it Badwater. As we drove out to the Devils Golf course the temperature hit 127 degrees! We did get out the car, but not for long!! The road out of the park was so bumpy, like a roller coaster, so much so that Jo had to take a travel sickness pill!! We went through Jubilee pass to cut through the towering mountains and were soon back on the interstate heading towards Baker, then onto Barstow. As we left the park the first fuel station was charging 5.96 (compared to 2.46 we've been paying) Luckily we still had enough fuel to complete our journey!! Although when we filled up it was still 4.59! That's the desert for you, supply and demand capitalised! Into Barstow and we're back on the familiar Route 66. Our hotel is actually on the Route, so will be easy to pick up tomorrow for the last leg into Santa Monica, L.A! A sad day for the end of 66, but a new Californian adventure awaits.

Day: 16
Total Miles driven: 2893 (326)
States Crossed: 7.5 (Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, California)
License Plates Checked: 43
(Vermont and Massachusetts)
Road Kill : 1 + wasps