On Thursday night around 6, Stephanie and I started driving towards Death Valley. We made it as far as Mojave. I think it was close to midnight when we stopped at a Motel 6 to sleep. We set our alarm for 8 the next morning, but we both woke up before it went off. We took what would be our last shower until we got back Sunday night, and then continued on our way, getting to the Furnace Creek Visitor Center before noon on Friday.

Our first mission was to find a campsite (we’d made no reservation in advance). To our dismay, the main Furnace Creek campground was full. We continued just up the road and luckily found a spot at the nearly full Texas Spring campground. It’s always unsettling trying to find and then stake a claim on a first-come, first-serve campsite when few are available, but we managed to pay our fee, clamped our receipt to the pole marking our site, and began to set up our tent to mark our territory.

Here are some photos from the first leg of our adventure:

My view from Mojave to Death Valley: yellow butterfly guts

Sierra Nevadas, eastside

Striking salt beds in the valley east of the Sierras

Gouging?

The road across Panamint Valley (also below sea level)

Our home for the next two nights

Your desert campers

Here are links to the other parts of our adventure:

• The Golden Canyon endurance challenge
• Reaching a new low
• Like camping on the moon
• Hiking Keane Wonder Mine
• The flora and fauna of Death Valley
• The Mosaic Canyon narrows

• Like camping on the moon
• Reaching a new low
• The Golden Canyon endurance challenge
• The flora and fauna of Death Valley
• The Mosaic Canyon narrows

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