Death Valley Off-Road Adventures

I ordered the breakfast kit...

 

Closed and gated just past the charcoal kilns:

https://www.nps.gov/deva/planyourvisit/conditions.htm

 

Rats!

 

I am absolutely roughing it in Death Valley's backcountry tonight...



I recognize another thread regular's third gen in the lot too. Looking sharp!

 

Is this the ranch at Furnace Creek?

 

Close!





(sorry, I only brought the fisheye lens)

Back home and unpacked now, and already planning the next adventure... but also dreading what I'll find when I drain my front diff, which for whatever reason, started erupting gear oil from its vent line during this trip. (The one up by the battery.) And not just a couple drops--I mean an alarming if not physically implausible amount of oil. And if you thought gear oil smelled bad, wait till you smell it burning on your exhaust manifold all day. Ugh.

 

Where is that?

 

Looks like the restaurant at Furnace Creek.

 

Looks like “The Inn at Death Valley” which is the more high-falutin establishment right by the junction of 190 and Badwater Road. As opposed to “The Ranch at Death Valley” down by the visitor center and campgrounds where the rest of us plebeians go.

 

Whadda you know? We stayed at the same dump!


And we got to fill up an empty truck at Furnace Creek for only 104$.

 

LOL... I will take driving around Baja over those prices, anytime!

 

That's the Oasis at Death Valley aka Inn at Death Valley, formerly Furnace Creek Inn. Not confusing at all.

 

It was kind of a dump the last time I was there Looks infinitely better now. It really was a unique experience and when I say "dump", I mean it was looking a bit outdated, it was a nice place to visit.

 

Yep! And I hope I don't come across as too much of a pompous jerk by dropping clues rather than the answer

It was a most excellent trip, one that took me on a much deeper dive into the park's history, and one that I plan to actually write up someday!

For now, though, you just get uncaptioned photos posted by a pompous jerk on the internet.

I recognized your license plate in the lot, which according to my wife, makes me a creep.

We spent the night down with the plebeians though.



Oof.

 

That gas...yikes....this gives me another reason to add Titus Canyon to the list next time I am there. I can fill up in Beatty at least once.

 

Yeah, gotta love NV gas prices.

Panamint Springs also has normal (for CA) pricing, as does Trona, Baker, and most of the 395 corridor.

Stovepipe Wells and Shoshone have elevated prices, but not as bad as Furnace Creek.

There are a couple gas stations on Indian land (one in Bishop, one to the south on 395) that have slightly cheaper gas than the other CA gas stations. FYI.

There may be others, and pricing may vary, but this is what I've observed over the past couple years.

 

When I was in DV in October, Stovepipe Wells was the same as the cheaper 395 prices and less than PSR. Sounds like that’s changed. Not quite DV (or NV) but the Native-owned gas station at Benton Crossing on Hwy 6 north of Bishop has historically been cheaper than the local average.

 

Gas in Shoshone last Friday:

 

Fort Independence, just north of the town. That's my favorite place to top off as it's convenient, never crowded, and usually the cheapest I can find on the drive.

 

A few photos from the east side of Death Valley starting with high winds at Tecopa Hot Springs:


And oasis and a Chevy:

A creative old-school pool ladder: