We packed up the car and started our great adventure. We left Alameda CA early in the morning and headed to Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Park. The car was pretty full.

The adventure begins

Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Park

We bought a National Park pass when we entered the national park. First stop was to see General Grant, the largest Sequoia in the park.

Tall Trees

Hidey Hole

Fire Damage

The tree rings show signs of fire about every thirteen years. The big trees seem to survive.

Tree Tunnel

General Sherman (Tallest Sequoia)

General Sherman

Death Valley

We spent the night in Porterville CA and headed to our next stop, Las Vegas via Death Valley.

Death Valley National Park is larger than the state of Connecticut. It is the driest place on Earth. The prevailing winds come from the West and there are three mountain ranges between Death Valley and the Pacific Ocean. As a result they get less than six inches of rain a year.

There were significant winds through the valley when we traversed it resulting in a sand storm.

Sand

The first stop was the Devil’s golf course. You can see how it got that name….

Devil’s Golf Course

Then we went to badwater basin.

Bad Water Basin

Mark approved

We drove on the Artist’s Drive loop on the way back from badwater basin.

Artist’s Palette

Our last stop in Death Valley was Zabriskie Point.

Zabriskie Point

Hoover Dam

We left Death Valley headed to Las Vegas. We stayed at the Palace Hotel and Casino. The good news was we doubled our money, the bad news was we only bet a dollar. It took longer to get to Vegas than we expected so we got a nice meal and crashed. The next stop after Vegas was the Hoover Dam. This was impressive.

Overlook of Lake Mead

Downstream Face of Hoover Dam

Upstream Face of Hoover Dam

Mark at the Hoover Dam

From Hoover Dam we drove to Glendale AZ to visit Meg’s cousin.  On the drive there, the check engine light came on. We drove to our destination without a problem. The following morning we took the car to Orielly’s Auto Parts to get the engine fault code read. It turned out to be a dealer code U019D, which meant we had to take the car into a dealer to get it fixed. Fortunately a dealer in Scottsdale was able to fix it that day.

We had a standing joke that we would become the green boots mile marker in Death Valley when the car died and we were buried in a sand storm. We were amused until it very nearly transpired. It turns out all we needed were a new radiator, a new engine sensor and two software updates. HaHa, it is funny now.

Mark and Meg

ROAD TRIP

1. Road Trip 1 – The Begining
2. Road Trip 2 – Seqoia NP, Death Valley and Hoover Dam
3. Road Trip 3 – Phoenix
4. Road Trip 4 – Meteor Crater and Petrified Forest National Park
5. Road Trip 5 –  Grand Canyon
6. Road Trip 6 – Canyon de Chelly
7. Road Trip 7 – Great Salt Lake – Antelope Island
8. Road Trip 8 – Dinosaur National Monument
9. Road Trip 9 – Rocky Mountain National Park
10. Road Trip 10 – Wilson’s Creek Battlefield