Hell ain’t so bad

Last night was our final evening in Kayenta with Brent and Pam, and we all enjoyed a wonderful dinner at the Painted Pony, a very fine restaurant in St George. We were all so stuffed that we decided we would imitate whales in the pool for one last swim. The pool temperature was 90 F and perfect for noodling around. I’m partial to the purple noodle, of course.

Packed up and ready to go

One last look at the red cliffs of Kayenta

This morning we headed out for the next leg of our trip, with the route to Bishop, CA, taking us through Death Valley. The temperatures in Death Valley in recent days have threatened to break records, although a check of the predicted temperature was only 111 F. Doesn’t sound so bad after reports of temperatures in the upper 120’s.

We got a very early start and had a fine drive to Las Vegas with the top down. At 7 am, the temperature was extremely comfortable. As we approached Las Vegas though, we once again saw threatening dark clouds and lightening in our near future and decided to put the top up. How nice to have the top fixed! No annoying duct tape flapping!

Macho Mike with Holster Man Purse

Pahrump, Nevada, was our last chance to play the slots. We had to gas up, so I gathered four quarters with the intention of playing one of the ever-present slots in the gas station, but it was video poker only, and I decided I’d rather hit the road. So we passed up the chance to claim a fortune in Pahrump.

The clouds never left us as we entered Death Valley and we enjoyed the cool air and the desolate sights. The colors of the rocks were so beautiful- these pictures don’t quite capture it, of course, but we do have a lovely picture of Mike with his cowboy man purse.

A sampling of German tourists

As expected, everyone around us at the view sites and visitor center were German. We’ve had that happen at Bryce in the past, too. Even at our lunch stop, nearly all the other customers were German. I was amused watching one table eat their burgers with knives and forks.

We had rain sprinkles on us the entire drive in Death Valley, and the temperature at the visitor center was only 100 F. Phffft. That’s nothing. We just spent several days in St George in temperatures around 110 F! We’re so tough.