HOT SALT FIELDS TO LAKE ISABELLA

Tues, 5/26/10. The Furnace Creek Ranch was originally built as a working ranch in the 1880's--and later home to the famous 20-mule teams (Borax). The Resort today has 3 restaurants, a saloon, general store, Borax Museum and a variety of recreational activities.

Death Valley is the largest national park in the U.S. and it more than lives up to its name. The valley is a graben--geologic term for a sunken version of the Earth's crust. In July, 1913, a temperature of 134 degrees was recorded. As we drive the narrow roads, the landscape is surreal--, no trees, no grass, Black Mountains in the background. We hike the Badwater Basin salt pan, (107 degrees at the time and blow-you-over winds) . It is 282 ft below sea level, the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere.





Can you spot the sea level sign>???













Artist's Drive dips, dives, curves and weaves through ravines and rocks. The highlight is Artist's Palette where sea green, lemon yellow, periwinkle blue and salmon pink mineral deposits are splashed across a rock background (Patrick would love this).




With a fascinating history and many sights to see, one would have to spend 3-4 days in Death Valley Park. Timbisha Sheshone -an American Indian tribe- still lives and thrives in the park.


Mimi !! - the other day we met Chief Whichaway. Do you remember the name of his tribe?





Looking for a site to cool down, we cross the Sierra Nevada Mountains into California and locate Lake Isabella RV Resort by the Kern River.



























We hook up as the sun is setting. Dinner? Defrost shrimp, remove tails. In one pan, fry up onions. In another, cook peas in chicken broth--add 2 packages of ramen noodles with 1 pack seasoning. Add shrimp, peas, and noodles to the pan of fried onions. Add some tomato/basil tomato sauce (cup). Mix about a 1/2 cup of milk with 1 Tbl flour and add to pan. Stir until thickened. Pretty tasty. Life is good!