Under the Sea in Death Valley

Monterey to Las Vegas

Mileage; 1825

We said goodbye to Monterey and Dan & Jan at about 6:30am and headed out toward Death Valley National Park with hopes of seeing the renowned wildflowers and fantastic landscapes. Everyone knows that things don't always go as planned. The wildflowers were a no-show because of cooler than normal temps. However, as we drove from 4000+ feet above sea level to below the sea level floor, descending into Death Valley, Peter Gabriel's "Passion" was our driving soundtrack making the winding journey down to the bottom other worldly. The floor of Death Valley was pooled with water from recent rains that mimicked the horizon and sky. Both the landscapes and dynamic sunset that literally changed with each passing second and was over within five minutes and left us spinning.

Out of Death Valley into the dark desert night, we rolled into Beatty, NV North East of Las Vegas and grabbed a bite to eat in a smoky bar called the Sourdough Canteen, it was written in the pages of a western novel, all the characters imaginable were there, as well as a 200 lb Golden Retriever named Jake who could have eaten Addy for an appetizer, but turned out to be friendly. The stop filled our bellies with beer and pizza which made the last leg of the trip to Vegas difficult at best. Bleary eyed, relieved and excited to see Rachael we were greeted with open arms and a comfortable and excitingly beautiful apartment overlooking a golf course and the outskirts of town. Tomorrow we wake in the city that never sleeps.