We stayed here to see the lake, but we have discovered this beautiful park. It has everything in it………natural wind made arches, many colours of rocks, petroglyphs, petrified forest,slot canyon, beehive wind formations,springs,Indian marbles and lots of wild life. 

 can you see the elephant 

 can you see the gorilla? 

 these are some petroglyphs They are thousands of years old and drawn by the basket peoples

 and lastly an arch 

 It is very cloudy today but still 95f and very occasional raindrops, it feels thundery and there is hot wind blowing. It feels like being under a constant hair drier.

We spent the morning and early afternoon in the Valley of Fire and then called in at Overton for an ice cream. They have 32 different flavours Lilyana, including cactus flavour. They have rainbow sherbet ice cream which is lime green,orange and bright pink, I’ll have to take a photo of it hee hee. I had boring strawberry cheesecake and toffee biscuit flavours. Yummy.. Grandad had lemon sherbet mmmmm 

So sitting on our veranda and think I just heard thunder 

the rain is lovely and cold its just dropping now and then 

Love to you all xxxx

Anona and Alex look on your Skype for a video message xxx 

We arrived here at lunch time hoping it maybe cooler but it’s 104f here.

As we were leaving Beatty we noticed a dirt track going to some huge sand dunes, so we set off down the track. After 6 miles we were still far away from them and we stopped to take photos. The gravel track was now more sandy and yes the car was stuck! Vince put stones behind the front tyres, put the car in reverse and I pushed the bonnet. Yes the car moved and I nearly fell flat on my face! Anyway vince reversed for a long way until we reached the harder gravel and then he did a 3 point turn successfully..what a relief to get back onto the Tarmac road when we reached it. It gave both of us a scare as we were stuck in the middle of a desert with no one to help us or know we were there.

The journey then on was ok. We are 80 miles from Las Vegas and have no wish to go there!

We are 20 minutes from a state park and the national lake mead park. Here are some photos of Echo Beach which is the nearest to our hotel.  We have a swimming pool here and hot tub. We are not travelling far just having a lazy holiday here until we fly out on Saturday 1.30pm xxxx

    Anona Lily Louis and Otis grandad got in my photo and I didn’t realise. !!! Xx     Ps we are seeing more wildlife here. I saw a golden eagle sitting on a gate post. he was huge. By the lake was a blue heron and a lizard and 2 ducks

its Sunday 7 June and our last day here in Beatty hurray although I’ll miss going through the casino to reach Denny’s for breakfast and the nut and candy company so hugely vast with nobody in it except Strange people.

and Death Valley so sad as it is so different with beautiful rocks and sand and minerals and heat.

We visited more of our favourite spots. Dantes view ,20 mule loop, Badwater,artists palate and devils golf course.

Onto lake mead North shore tomorrow, it’s a 3 hour drive avoiding Las Vegas like the plague!

Photos are beautiful memories:- 

Has grandad only got one leg? Or a wooden one?             

hi everyone we travelled to Scotties Castle first thing this morning on the top road above the death valley ,thought it was a quicker way …we were wrong We were the only car on the road for miles and the whole day has been like that. We went back along to the Ubehebe crater again . This time it wasn’t blowing a gale and so we walked right up the rim very high. Vince went further than me. It was hard going walking on volcanic ash and the sun was blazing down . 

 We went through the valley to stovepipe wells, passing the Devils cornfields and the mesquite sand dunes. 

 We stopped for a coffee and vince handed in a mans bag we found. The spanishAmerican man was very relieved to get it back.we sat on rocking chairs outside on the veranda drinking our coffee and people watching…

Next we went on the road to nowhere …after 18 miles of not passing a single car and climbing up hills from minus sea level to 4500 feet and passing the occasional Yukka and Joshua trees and rocks galore we turned around and enjoyed the return journey! 

In Beatty we stopped at a saloon bar and drank beer out of jam jars with handles. We sat at cable wheels wooden tables surrounded by naff displays of mining implements not impressed.. -2 on trip adviser

In the late afternoon we went to a petrol station/ sweet shop never seen anything so big and grand in my life for so few people.

I can’t believe I am writing this in a casino, what a strange place Beatty is xxx 

 Photos later..

Good luck with alevel exams Anonaxxx love and kisses to Lily and Otis and Louis xxxx 

 

we wanted to go to the places we have missed so far, the first one being 20 mules loop. It is via a dirt road so we were apprehensive about this but our fears were unfounded and the car coped ! 

  

  It was an experience not to be missed. The road twists and turns and goes up and down through sandstones and volcanic rocks. Got some lovely photos and enjoyed the exciting travel along an unpredictable terrain.

Next was Dantes view. The road goes up gradually over 5000 feet it’s only the last bit that has gradients of 15% and crash barriers!

The view was over the whole of Death Valley ie over 100 miles. We were directly above the Badwater salt beds. There was a heat haze and so the photos don’t do it justice, it was amazing. We again went on a steep footpath down and up to see further along the valley. I’m getting loads of exercise.👣👣👣😉😎😎 It was cooler up there on the mountain 94f  

    When we got down to it was 112f ie 43c. We had our lunch and toured the museum. It had all the different rocks of the valley on display and the minerals named and about borax mining.  Outside there were old wooden wagons and mining gears etc. very interesting but not in the heat…..

So today is Friday and we leave on Monday. Saturday and Sunday we are going to revisit our favourite places. I hope my family can one day come here too to see this marvellous valley.Photos later 

we were determined to get to the other end of Death Valley today to the deepest lowest part…..BadWater.taking pictures and stopping along the way as we wanted to.

First we visited the Harmony Borax Works which was in operation in the 1800s  

  Next, “Devils golf course” which is a jagged and strange salt and mineral bed. 

  

  

 Then we did a loop around the “artists drive” it was fascinating. The volcanic rocks over millions of years have been washed by seas and mineral and water and have changed to beautiful colour mixtures with many different textures formations and gradients. the “artists palette” stop was so lovely. The road was very hilly and bendy and as we twisted around each bend we found new sights to admire. We also parked the car and climbed up a steep trail, to take pictures  

   
Next we reached Badwater and found a pool of water and a salt bed. The water is fresh but very salty. We were 282 feet below sea level and sea level was marked way above us on the hill side. This area was stunning and looked like an ice rink. It was really hot and arid and unbelievable that water would be here. The pool has its own water snails and fish, only found here in the world. Lilyana we saw a fox walking along the road close by! The water is from ancient rivers running underground all through the Death Valley. 

   
  We returned a different way and stopped at viewing point Zabriskie Point,well above the Death Valley. So I have done 2 steep walks today👣👣👣🏃

   

 Still have more to see and maybe to revisit before we go. Death Valley is the most amazing place.

Will add more photos tomorrow

here are more train photos Louis love Grandma xxx 

     Who is climbing on the train? Xxxxx love you

hi so far in our holiday we have seen so many beautiful things and done so much each day ,but I have to say that Death Valley is an absolute favourite location that I will never forget. 

 We started out today from Beatty and went to a ghost town Rhyolite 6 miles away. They were mining for gold but it was uneconomical and there was no money left to continue and so everything is left as it was. It only lasted 11 years and 11000’people lived there in its peak. 

 We are following a book about photographing in the Death Valley and so we headed to a volcano UBEHEBE which only emerged 2 thousand years ago so is very young as volcanoes go. The whole area was so wonderful, beautiful and yet lonely. It was blowing a really hot gale up there, a force 6 to 7 I guess, it was blowing so strongly it was hard to keep the camera still.

  We saw a castle Scottie Castle which was built for a man who pretended he had found gold in that area and got people to invest in his mine which didn’t exist. 

We then travelled along the Death Valley for many miles up to the visitors centre, which was very interesting. I hope my pictures give you some idea of the beauty and the landscape. Again it was very hot 104f. We bought an ice cream which melted quicker than I could eat 

    P

   

  

  

  

  

Tomorrow we are going to the lowest part in the whole of America.. Very excited….

hi we travelled a long way today! At first there was a huge plain of cacti and desert, with Yukka trees and a few Joshua trees here and there. It was totally flat except for small hills either side of this wide expanse….

Then we turned a corner in the road and couldn’t believe the change! There were deep canyons and different coloured rocks as we travelled down to Hoover Dam. This was towards the end of the Grand Canyon which is over a hundred miles long. and there was the Colorado River again.

Hundreds of people were visiting the Hoover dam. There was a loud speaker system and Uncle Sam was proclaiming the great American achievements…

   

  

  

 Again it was HOT and we were keeping to the shady parts where possible. The view over Lake Mead were pretty.

On leaving Hoover dam we still had 150 miles to go….

We were in another desert area and the land was arid and no one lived there. We passed a huge prison on the left followed by an airforce base. We were now in Nevada. This was the edge of a vast many square miles of land the airforce and government use to test nuclear weapons. we saw 2 drones land as we travelled past.

Now we were near the Death Valley and at Beatty where we are staying for 6 nights. We couldn’t resist it we had to see Death Valley!

We were at 3500 feet and eventually we got down to minus 235 below sea level! The land is spectacular… More descriptions in the next few days. Very hot and surprisingly there are green parts and bushes growing in parts.

Back in our hotel Hotel 6 it is basic but clean and a comfy bed… But no wifi or hairdryer or fridge or microwave or coffee maker. thank goodness for Denny’s  next door.

Denny’s is a diner within a casino. You have to walk through the casino to get to it. It’s a first for me, never been in a casino! New experience…

Will add photos later as it’s more difficult to download them in Denny’s!! Love to you all xxxx

“What’s the weather like?” I asked this morning.”Well the outside door is hot and I just burnt myself on the handle” was the reply…… 

The journey started off slowly  for 20 miles, stopping at regular spaced traffic lights, then it got much better. 

The sat nav said 91 miles then turn right! This is the only road going across this part of the desert. Again loads of cacti and Yukka trees all in flower with huge white flowers. We stopped for a lunch break at Wikeopi ( we renamed it wakeyuppy) and all in this area were Joshua Trees. They are not wood but made of thick black fibres and have long spikes of dark green all over them at the ends of their fibres…very unusual. It was a beautiful road full of small canyons and mostly yellow rocks.  

 When we got to Kingman, there was suddenly masses of cars,people and shops which was a shock as it seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. It is built on a train rail junction and on the famous Route 66!

It is not quite so hot here 89f and really windy. So a little bit better for us.We visited the Route 66 museum which was outdated and disappointing as it could have been so much better as it has interesting things in it. 

We saw another huge steam train Louis. The  Sante Fe “Kingman 3795” Grandad took some photos of it for you. 

 We visited an American diner and I had an Oreo vanilla milkshake mmmmmm! Lily and Otis would have loved it too. Grandad had iced root beer in an iced glass. It’s non alcoholic Anona. Loved looking at all the photos and posters in there. Betty Boo and Elvis featured strongly. Everywhere features the Route 66 logos.  

  We took a 9 mile trip up into the mountains as we were a bit too early to check into the hotel. Lots of fir trees up there and very green, not like the desert area surrounding it.

The hotel is lovely …shame we’re only here 1 night. There’s a swimming pool and in our room a settee and chairs and a desk.A very big room.

We’re treating ourselves to a steak tonight, before we venture to Death Valley tomorrow.

Happy June 1st to all of you ….we’ve been away 5 weeks now and so much more to see.