Bakersfield – Panamint Springs

Spent another 3.5 hours on the road today. Had the usual, ambulances (!), lunatics tailgating me despite doing the speed limit (55mph) and more winding roads. However, we came across our first roundabout without warning – which caused mild panic. Managed to navigate it without incident fortunately!
Drove through some amazing scenery today – to our right, “telly-tubby” land (high round mountains covered in grass) but to our left in huge contrast – desert-like, pointy, rocky mountains. All very beautiful.

Passed through what was obviously oil country – lots of little oil rigs dotted on either side of the road. Some small settlements along the way – appeared to be a pretty bleak place to live.

Arrived at our spot for the night (River Lakes Ranch golf course through Harvest Host, ie: free) and went for a walk to a local shopping precinct about 20 mins away. Happy to report that I managed to get some “reader” glasses at Walgreens (since BOTH of the arms have fallen off my reading glasses and balancing them on my face has become somewhat of a challenging past time). Also went to a comic shop for the first time ever – was exactly what you’d expect (if your only reference, like mine, is Big Bang Theory) and the guy behind the register was exactly what you’d expect too 😊

Went to bed early as I didn’t sleep well the previous night – only to be woken in the middle of the night with a start. Heavy rain pelting down on the van making a terrible noise, then eased off almost as quickly as it started to what sounded like soft rain, only to return a few minutes later, pounding on the roof and side of the van.  Second time around, I checked the weather on my iPhone as I didn’t recall rain being forecast (and I DEFINITELY do NOT need to add rain to the mix on my travels – and definitely not in Death Valley tomorrow). As suspected – “Bakersfield – Clear” – then it dawned on me: it’s a bloody SPRINKLER for the green that has come on and started spraying the van! Jarrah – unbelievably – slept through it all!

Got up and had a quick breakfast at the golf club and headed off for Death Valley.  Beautiful scenery again today, fewer lunatics on the road and double-lane highway which is far less intimidating than the 6 lane and of course, better than the single lane road we had most of yesterday.

Surrounded by massive high mountains most of the day – some of them with a sprinkling of snow and whilst we felt like we were on the road to nowhere – apparently, we’re only 5 miles from Johannesburg (for those not in the know – that’s where I was born)!!

Interestingly, passed not only wind farms but also a huge area of solar panels out in the middle of nowhere – the kind of thing that Australia should really be doing. Speaking of which – vegetation very similar to the Karoo and/or the Australian Outback.

Arrived at our camp for the night at about lunchtime (Panamint Springs), had a bite to eat then headed off to find Darwin’s Waterfall. Asked at the general store whether it was OK to take the RV down the dirt road, or if it’s only for 4×4’s. Were assured that it would be “FINE” in an RV and the parking area is “large”. WELL – we bounced and rattled along a corrugated track for 2.5 miles only to come across a parking area that was not only not “large” but also full AND no real room to turn around AND the road ahead (a) leading to god only knows where AND (b) had a sign saying “4 Wheel Drives only”!!  Hmmmm. Not happy Jan!

Mild panic again (how the HELL are we going to get out of here? And more importantly, without destroying the RV?) Anyway, Jarrah jumped out – did a marvelous job of directing me backwards and down a slope so that we could at least turn around. Decided I had NOT gone through all of this only to have to return without seeing the waterfall, so parked a little way down the single-lane road where it widened a bit, allowing cars to still pass and set off to find the waterfall.

Pleasant 1 mile walk – mostly flat through the surrounding mountains but did have to climb up and over some rocks and cross a few small streams to get there.

Back to the camp site after another jarring ride on the dirt road and made yummy spaghetti and meatballs (from Trader Joes) for dinner.

Peak season here in Death Valley – summer is generally pretty much a no-go due to the heat. Highest recorded temp here is 57C – even vans can’t cope with the heat up the mountain passes.

As we only booked about a day in advance – no hook-up sites available, so we’re now “dry camping” (relying on our water tank for showers, onboard toilet, house-batteries and generator to keep devices charged, lights in van etc). Facilities here are very basic – glad we have our own bathroom 😊

Most useful item packed – roll of sellotape
Most useless item packed – toss up between my glasses & Jarrah’s iPhone

MM