We planed to spend a few days exploring Death Valley before moving on to LA. We didn't really know much about the National Park other than it’s famous as the lowest place in North America at 86m below sea level and also one of the hottest. We anticipated seeing a few sights and continuing on our merry way with no dramas. But any opportunity for adventure soon takes ahold of us and we can't say no! Which is how we found ourselves stuck in some unexpected snow in the middle of nowhere at dusk one evening in the park. Before I say more let me fill you in on what we did first.
After stopping to look at some strange colourful rock formations that reminded us a lot of northern Argentina near the southeastern entrance we headed to where else but the visitors centre at Furnace Creek. We had to walk a ways from the parking lot as I don't think the Dodge is allowed to park in the low emissions parking. Once inside we meandered around the exhibits and tried to imagine how hot the typical summer temperature of over 100 degrees fahrenheit really was as it was pants and jacket weather for us.
After stopping to look at some strange colourful rock formations that reminded us a lot of northern Argentina near the southeastern entrance we headed to where else but the visitors centre at Furnace Creek. We had to walk a ways from the parking lot as I don't think the Dodge is allowed to park in the low emissions parking. Once inside we meandered around the exhibits and tried to imagine how hot the typical summer temperature of over 100 degrees fahrenheit really was as it was pants and jacket weather for us.
We then grabbed a park map and drove to Badwater Basin, the lowest point in North America. We wanted to get a photo together but without the tripod that was taken in Mexico this had become more difficult. Just ask someone you might say and this is what we did but once again the person proved that they don't really know how to use an SLR camera and the photo was dark and not focused. We weren't feeling overly enthusiastic about walking out onto the salt flats which looked miserable and brown compared to the brilliant white of the salt flats in Bolivia and besides we didn't want to get our shoes or the car matts all salty so we returned to the car.
Next we drove through 'Artists Drive Canyon' which is a nice drive through a colourfully winding valley. Will must have decided he'd seen enough though as he slept most of the drive. It was late afternoon now so we headed towards our next destination in the hope that we would find a stealth camping spot along the way. Pretending to not see the no camping signs we pulled off the main road (374) down a gravel track and tucked ourselves away in a gravel pit for the night. We found it quite a contradiction that they mine their own gravel from within the National Park given the amount of signs that say keep to the trails to preserve the park. The famous saying is “give the plants a chance”.
We left or camp early the next morning and actually exited the park in order to see the Rhyolite Ghost Town. There wasn't much to see and the bathrooms were closed for the winter; but we had a look around with the place to ourselves and Scout had a runabout. Back inside the park once more we turned off for the 27 mile Titus Canyon trail. The winding canyon road isn't paved but you wouldn't need 4x4 unless it had just rained. The landscape we passed was rich with mining history and we stopped several times to have a look at some abandoned mining buildings and shafts. Scout thought it was all a bit strange and didn't like the spooky old tin shacks.
We left or camp early the next morning and actually exited the park in order to see the Rhyolite Ghost Town. There wasn't much to see and the bathrooms were closed for the winter; but we had a look around with the place to ourselves and Scout had a runabout. Back inside the park once more we turned off for the 27 mile Titus Canyon trail. The winding canyon road isn't paved but you wouldn't need 4x4 unless it had just rained. The landscape we passed was rich with mining history and we stopped several times to have a look at some abandoned mining buildings and shafts. Scout thought it was all a bit strange and didn't like the spooky old tin shacks.
From Titus Canyon we continued north to Scotty's Castle and had a late lunch under the watchful eye of a Coyote. Finished In 1931 Scotty's Castle was built for Gold tycoon Albert Johnson as a winter house. In 1970 a few years after the passing of the Johnson's the National Parks Service brought the mansion and today runs tours though the house and it's myriad of underground tunnels. Will and I didn't do a tour but walked around the grounds and were amazed to see the original solar hot water system and hydroelectric power station.
The final attraction we wanted to visit was called the Race Track, named because of the mysterious rocks that have left trails in the desert without anyone ever seeing them move. The road to the Race Track was a bumpy 4x4 trail with some serious wash board sections and the NPS highly advised having a second spare tire. With only one spare tire we took our chances and I drove along the rough road as the sun was setting and Will drifted off to sleep once more. We were just driving along the side of the Race Track when we heard a flapping sound and discovered that we had a flat tire. I stopped and started making our nacho dinner while Will set about changing the tire. It was pretty cold so we dug a small hole in the middle of the road and filled it up with the pinecones we'd kept since Grand Canyon and had ourselves a roaring little fire that kept us warm during dinner. The winch that lifts the spare tire back up underneath the Dodge wasn't working so after dinner we strapped the flat tire to the bonnet (or should I say hood?) and drove down to the empty parking lot to camp the night. In the morning we discovered that the Race Track had a solid two inches of ice covering it but we still went to check it out. While sliding all over the place we found a few of the famous rocks; though smaller than I'd imagined we could just make out the tracks underneath the ice.
Here's where the true adventure began. Rather than heading back on the evil bumpy road then all the way around through Stovepipe Wells and on to LA we saw that there was another 4x4 road that could be taken by turning off south at Tea Kettle Junction. We didn't know much about the road but that had never stopped us before!
Several times the road split which wasn't on the map at all, but only once did we make the wrong decision and end up in a dead end. Then we hit snow… The going was ok to start with and we were powering through the deep patches. Soon though the deep patches got deeper and became continual forcing us to do a lot of run ups to get up even the slightest hill. We made it around a steep corner and had spent the last two hours digging tracks in the steep section that followed when I decided to go for a walk and see what we would be up against next. I quickly discovered that we weren't going to make it much further and either way the sun was going down fast. We made the call to retreat and had a bit of fun trying to turn the Dodge around on the hill.
The plan was to be in LA the next day so we ambitiously tried to drive all the way back past the Race Track onto the paved road then onto Lancaster. We made it as far as the bitumen by about 10:30pm and as we took the Dodge out of 4WD Will heard a distinct diff whine quickly followed by a burning smell and even resistence in the drivetrain. We pulled over straight away and to our dismay observed smoke pouring out of the front diff housing. Will figured we had burnt out the differential which meant driving could damage it even further. We decided to just set up the bed and after our huge day we were asleep in minutes.
The next morning Will crawled around underneath the truck to see if there was any way he could get oil into the diff but without proper tools and the truck off the ground it was basically impossible. So we walked 2km to the nearest rangers station to investigate getting the Dodge towed. There was no one at the station except a NP maintenance worker who told us which tow company he thought was best. We had our wallets but with no coins to use the pay phone we milled around wondering what to do. Soon enough a LER (Law Enforcement Ranger) turned up and let us into the office to use the phone. Quote one: $3500!!, Quote two: $1250! Yeah right i think we'll take our chances thanks mate! Back at the truck we eased her off super slow and wouldn’t you know it but the Dodge seemed ok. We waved off our LER escort after the first 10km, then turned down the park exit road and cruised on out of Death Valley thankful to be trucking under our own power.
In the morning we swung by a mechanic who had a look and found that we simply had low oil. Super relieved there wasn’t any damage we had both the front and rear diff oil's changed and hit the road for LA and the beach! Will put it down to our heavy day of four-wheel-driving and something about heating and expanding... I say as long as were still moving towards Alaska who cares what it was.
Rochelle & Will
The next morning Will crawled around underneath the truck to see if there was any way he could get oil into the diff but without proper tools and the truck off the ground it was basically impossible. So we walked 2km to the nearest rangers station to investigate getting the Dodge towed. There was no one at the station except a NP maintenance worker who told us which tow company he thought was best. We had our wallets but with no coins to use the pay phone we milled around wondering what to do. Soon enough a LER (Law Enforcement Ranger) turned up and let us into the office to use the phone. Quote one: $3500!!, Quote two: $1250! Yeah right i think we'll take our chances thanks mate! Back at the truck we eased her off super slow and wouldn’t you know it but the Dodge seemed ok. We waved off our LER escort after the first 10km, then turned down the park exit road and cruised on out of Death Valley thankful to be trucking under our own power.
In the morning we swung by a mechanic who had a look and found that we simply had low oil. Super relieved there wasn’t any damage we had both the front and rear diff oil's changed and hit the road for LA and the beach! Will put it down to our heavy day of four-wheel-driving and something about heating and expanding... I say as long as were still moving towards Alaska who cares what it was.
Rochelle & Will