Las Vegas and Death Valley: Death Valley Day 2

We met Michael and Mikie in the dining room around 8:00 for breakfast and then got on the road for today's activities.  Our first stop was the Furnace Creek Ranch store where we picked up ice, sandwiches and supplies for the day.  Then it was off for a drive through Echo Canyon, actually we would only do part of Echo Canyon as the last section is very difficult and according to the rangers, you need a winch to get through.  The first part of Echo Canyon is pretty easy and could be driven by any high clearance vehicle although there were a couple spots of gravel where it felt good to have 4-wheel drive, but nothing too bad.

Recently I purchased a GoPro camera for use on our upcoming South Pacific cruise.  The GoPro is a small, rugged camera often used in in outdoor activities to capture the action.  It comes with a waterproof housing and many mounting options.  It shoots full 1080P HD and has a very wide angle lens which allows a very wide angle of view.  One of our guides had one on our Grand Canyon rafting trip and was very impressed with how well it worked so I decided I needed one to use underwater when we are snorkeling in the South Pacific.  I decided to try it out on our off-road excursions in Death Valley by mounting it to the hood of the car with a suction cup mount and see what happened.

My GoPro camera mounted to the hood of the 4-Runner.

Here is some video I shot on our drive through Echo Canyon.  It's not terribly interesting, but it gives you an idea of how the camera works (I had to reduce the quality to get a small enough file to load here).

Rather than describe our drive, here are some pictures we took along the way.

The "Eye of the Needle".

There were very few wildflowers in Death Valley, but we did find a few.

After stopping to look at the "Eye of the Needle" we drove up the canyon a couple of miles further and stopped to look for the old mining camp of Schwab.  After a 3/4 mile hike we found Schwab, but all that was left were a lot of old cans, all the buildings and foundations were long gone and buried.

Michael and Mikie on the trail to Schwab.

Just a few cans were all the was left on the old mining camp.

Further on down the road we came to the abandoned Inyo Mine site.  Some of the mill and outbuildings were still standing and you could hike up into the hills and see some of the old mines.  We didn't do that, but we talked to someone who did and they said you could actually walk back into them quite a ways.  I don't know whether I would be brave enough for that.

We ate lunch at the Inyo Mine site and decided we had gone far enough up the canyon for the day and headed back.  After getting back to the main highway, we headed for Badwater, the lowest spot in the US and one of the lowest spots in the world.  Badwater is 282 feet below sea level and it's interesting to note that it is only 85 miles from Mount Whitney, the highest point in the contiguous United States.  It's an eerie feeling to look up and see the sea level marker on the hillside knowing that you would be almost 300 feet underwater if you were in the ocean.  Below is a picture showing the Sea Level marker, it was a little hard to see so I added a white line to the photo showing sea level.

Val and Mikie 282 feet below sea level.

The salt flats at Badwater.

Val and Mikie.

From Badwater we headed back to Furnace Creek, but did take a side trip up though Artist Drive.  You drive up through the hills where the pastel colors of the rock formations look like an artists pallette.

Val, Mikie and Michael on the trail to one of the scenic viewpoints.

 

Looking at the hills colored by different mineral deposits.

After Artist Drive we returned to the Furnace Creek Inn to clean up and get ready for the evening.  We again met on the upper deck and since it was such a beautiful evening, we decided to forgo dinner in the dining room and just have   hors d'oeuvres for dinner.  Thanks to Mikie supplying most of the food, we really had an enjoyable evening sitting out in the balmy evening talking and enjoying the amazing display of stars above.  We called it a night early as we had a lot to do the next day and would have to get an early start.

Las Vegas and Death Valley: Death Valley Day 1

Today was getaway day so we were up and on the road to Death Valley by 10:00.  We had a pleasant surprise when we checked out this morning, all of our food was comped as well as our room so our trip didn't cost us anything ... unless of course you want to include the money we lost gambling.  ;-) 

Our plan was to head north out of Las Vegas on highway 160 towards Pahrump, and take the Old Spanish Trail Highway to Death Valley which looked like an interesting way to go.  Unfortunately we missed the turn-off and rather than go back we decided to go on to Pahrump and have lunch and then take a different route.  After an unexciting lunch at Denny's, we took Nevada Highway 372 (which turns into California 178) west towards the town of Shoshone and on into Death Valley National Park on Badwater Road.  It was an interesting drive, but if you've ever been to Death Valley you know it's a stark barren landscape which is part of the allure of the area.

We decided to splurge and stay at the Furnace Creek Inn this trip, and we would be meeting our friends Michael and Mikie who were coming in from Atascadero.  We reached the Inn around three and were soon in our room awaiting the arrival of Michael and Mikie.  

The main entrance to the inn.

The Furnace Creek area is an oasis in the middle of this barren land.  The Furnace Creek Inn is considered one of the great lodges of the national park system and you can see why.  It is a historic building, built in 1927, and is very elegant inside.  The grounds of the Inn are beautiful with waterfalls, ponds and palm trees all accessible by wandering paths and stairs.

The pool is fed by a spring which keeps the water a constant 85 degrees year-round.  There are no chemicals used in the pool as the water is constantly being replaced by the fresh spring waster.  There are two fireplaces at the pool and at night you can sit by the fireplaces when you're not in the water.

Just outside of our room, a doorway leads to a spacious deck overlooking the grounds and Death Valley beyond.  We would be spending a lot of time here during our stay.

Our room is circled in red, you can see the deck to the left.

It was a beautiful, balmy late afternoon so we decided to wait out on the deck for Michael and Mikie.

The deck outside our room.

The view of the grounds and Death Valley from the deck.

Val relaxing.

Michael and Mikie soon arrived and we all gathered to catch up and make plans for tomorrow.

Val, Michael and Mikie enjoying the beautiful evening.

We had dinner reservations for 7:00 and since the weather was so nice we decided to eat outside on the dining room patio.  I wouldn't call the dinner great, but it was very good and the service was excellent.  After lingering over dessert, Michael and Mikie decided to check out the pool and Val and I headed up to our room.  Tomorrow we are planning an off-road drive up into Echo Canyon and then show Michael and Mikie some of the sights of Death Valley as they have never been here before.

Las Vegas and Death Valley: Las Vegas Day 4

Our last day in Las Vegas, time seems to go by so quickly here.  This morning we decided that we would head over to Caesar's Palace which is right across the street from Harrah's.

The easiest way to get into Caesar's from where we crossed the street is the long walk through the forums shops.  Caesar's is a massive property so no matter where you go, it's a walk.

The entrance to the forum shops.

The walk through the shops.

The entrance into Caesar's hotel and casino.

We spent some time gambling, which followed last night's trend except Val did even better and I did even worse.  It looks like it's going to be that kind of trip for me.  Soon we were getting hungry and spotted Gordon Ramsay's Pub and Grill which has recently opened, but unfortunately it was closed for lunch because the staff was going through some sort of training.  We were disappointed as the menu looked very good. 

After lunch we left Caesar's and headed across the street to the Flamingo and then down the street to the Quad again.  After that it was back to Harrah's and up to the room to rest our tired feet.  I used the time to buy some Internet time and update the blog.  We went down to the casino early this evening as we wanted to get to bed early since we head to Death Valley tomorrow morning. 

Our trip to the casino proved fruitful mainly thanks to Harrah's.  There was a promotion going on for our visit which gave us $300 in free slot play so we decided to use it on a $5 machine.  After going through the first $200 winning nothing, we were happily surprised to hit for $600.  We had to play out the rest of the free play and then we split the $600 between us.  This allowed me to break even for the day which meant I would go home with at least some of my gambling money.  As for Val, it just increased her win for the day and even though she still lost overall on the trip, it means she will take most of her money home with her.  We always expect to lose everything, so anything we bring home seems like a win to us.

After our surprise win at the $5 machine we decided to have dinner at the buffet and call it a night.  As usual it has been a great trip and time has flown by.  We are looking forward to meeting up with Michael and Mikie at the Furnace Creek Inn in Death Valley tomorrow and to start exploring Death Valley.  It will be quite a contrast between the masses of people in Las Vegas and the isolation of Death Valley.

Las Vegas and Death Valley: Las Vegas Day 3

After sleeping in again, we decided we would hop on the monorail and head down to Ballys and the Paris.  We were able to get a closer look at the construction of the Linq Project from the monorail and it is really a massive project.

The back half of the site of the Linq Project.

A closer and better view of the towers for the High Roller observation wheel.

The monorail arrives and it's time to head for the Paris.

We walked around a bit and had lunch at the café at the Paris.  The Paris café is much nicer than the one at Harrah’s and we had a very good lunch.  From there we decided to get back on the monorail and head down to the MGM Grand.  The MGM Grand is a huge place so we did a lot of walking.  Val did excellent gambling while I had a terrible day.  In fact I finally just quit and watched her win to preserve what money I had left.  Finally around four, she decided to head to Harrah’s so it was back to the monorail for the trip back.  At Harrah’s it was back to the room to cleanup and relax a bit before we headed out for the evening.

As usual, we spent most of the evening gambling, again with mixed results.  Unfortunately for me, this meant Val had a very good night and I did terrible.  Only a fortuitous win at the end of the night saved me from a complete disaster.  Oh well, there's always tomorrow.  We kind of let time get away from us so dinner tonight was a late meal at KGB Burger, the gourmet burger restaurant at Harrahs's which is pretty good.  After that we returned to the room for the night.  Tomorrow is our last day in Las Vegas before we head to Death Valley.

Las Vegas and Death Valley: Las Vegas Day 2

We slept in this morning and then decided to walk down to the Flamingo to see how they were coming along on The Linq Project which is being built between The Quad (formerly the Imperial Palace) and the Flamingo.  The focal point of the Linq is a huge “Observation” wheel called the High Roller at the rear of the properties which will be accessed through an area of shopping and restaurants.   

Conceptualized picture of the Linq Project

The project has come a long way since we were here in September, but has a long way to go.  The most noticeable changes are the construction of the large towers for the observation wheel 

The towers and frame for the High Roller

and the rebranding of the Imperial Palace to the Quad with a major facelift both front and on the side nearest Harrah’s.  

The new facade of The Quad

The rebranding of the Imperial Palace to the Quad.

Caesars Entertainment owns all those hotels and I believe the intent is to link them all together with Linq project.

Once at the Flamingo, we decided to have an early lunch as we had reservations at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse in Harrah’s for dinner and wanted to make sure we had an appetite.  Ruth’s Chris is a national upscale steakhouse chain and opened just a month ago in Harrah’s replacing the steakhouse called The Range.  After lunch we walked around the Wildlife Habitat at the Flamingo. It's a very nice spot in the middle of all the hotel wings.  

We tried our luck gambling at the Flamingo with mixed results and then headed off to see what had changed at The Quad.  It turned out, most of the changes were outside as the casino was still pretty dumpy and looked about the same except for some areas being closed off.  We gambled a little with Val doing pretty well, watched the “dealertainers” perform and headed back to Harrah’s.  A little more gambling and then it was back to the room to relax and get ready for my birthday dinner at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse.

Our meal at Ruth’s Chris turned out to be very nice, the restaurant overlooks the Strip and has a very nice, modern décor.  Our dinner was excellent, but we were a little disappointed in the steak.  We had the porterhouse for two and it was very good, but with Ruth’s Chris reputation, we expected a bit more.  They surprised us with a great dessert which was a gift for my birthday so all in all, a wonderful evening.  We will be dining there again in the future.

We finished dinner around nine and spent the rest of the evening in the casino with mixed gambling results.  We didn’t lose all of our daily gambling allotment, but we certainly didn’t come out ahead for the day.  It was off to bed around midnight, the end of a great birthday for me.

Las Vegas and Death Valley: Las Vegas Day 1

We left Tehachapi around 9:00 and headed east on Highway 58 towards Barstow and I-15.  Traffic was very light on both 58 and I-15 so we were in Las Vegas by 1:00.  As usual we are staying at Harrah's which, as I’ve said before, is not one of the best hotels in town, but the location is great and it is fine with us.  We checked in, but our room wasn’t ready so we checked our bags and had an uninspiring lunch at the café and then did some gambling until our room was ready around 3:00.  We were happily surprised to see we were comped a nice suite on the 32^nd floor.  I told them we were here for my birthday so maybe that helped get us a nice room.

We spent the rest of the afternoon unpacking and relaxing and then decided to go down to the casino for the evening.  Before we went, I wanted to take a shower and while I was in the shower Val decorated the room with balloons and a birthday banner, a nice surprise.  Our gambling was up and down all evening and we ended up losing most of our daily gambling allotment, but we had a lot of fun and we were on our way to bed by 11:30.

Las Vegas and Death Valley

Time to hit the road again, this time for a short trip to Las Vegas and Death Valley.  I told Val I would like to spend my birthday in Las Vegas and we talked to our friends Michael and Mikie (they went with us on our White Rim Road trip) about a trip to Death Valley so we decided to combine the two.  So Val and I will be spending the first four days in Las Vegas and then Michael and Mikie will join us at the Furnace Creek Inn in Death Valley.

As usual, when we head east, we get a jump on the trip by making the quick drive to Tehachapi to make the drive to Las Vegas shorter and give us more time on our first day.  We left home just after noon and were in Tehachapi just before three.  After checking in and getting situated we headed out for an early dinner at the Red House BBQ.  As I have mentioned before, this is a bonus for staying in Tehachapi as they have excellent BBQ.  To be honest, our ribs today were not up to there usual standards, but they were still good.  Val and I both got sides of Mac & Cheese and coleslaw and they were both very good.  The Mac & Cheese is really tasty.

The Red House BBQ

We ate early because the Academy Awards are on tonight and we wanted to watch the show tonight which starts at 5:30.  This year we managed to see all the nominated films and most of the best actor / actress nominee films so we are interested in the results.

I'm not sure whether I will have an Internet connection the rest of the trip so I may end up having to report on this trip when we get home, we'll see what happens.  Stay tuned.