"Egyptian Ballet" (The Sand Dance)

Again up early, slept really well, recommend Vagabond Inn's, very basic and seen better days but clean & comfortable. On the road by 07:15 heading out of Ridgecrest, the light is fanstastic wish I had wide angle lens so you could appreciate the size of this country (may be next Birthday).

Ridgecrest first thing, it has a Naval Base in the Desert...

We travel about 60 miles before the need coffee hits, stop at a Truck stop, should have kept driving, dumped the coffee aargh... Drive a way more and come across a little cafe, may be the last chance to get coffee and bite to eat before we enter Death Valley proper.

Some stock opposite the cafe.

Well full of Steak & Eggs and enough coffee to float a Battleship on we we enter Death Valley National Park.

Vanishing point in both directions.... Great film by the way, a must see.

Salt Flats at Owens Lake

Made us giggle... So far we haven't see many cars or bikes and the roads are excellent.

Panamint Springs

We are well 7,000 ft here in the middle of nowhere very windy and restrooms, well sort of, holes in the ground and the smell, what are they like when the temp is up... Phooheee....

This one is for the Rush fan's

It' all about the Geology here.....

You just don't get the scale of the place from the Photo's, stunning is only the start....

Mesquite Dunes

The Badlands at Zabriskie's point - Furnace Creek

We thought this chap was zipping along (note the small motor attached to the back wheel), plenty of people on push bikes and the Motorbikes out number the cars. The long sweeping roads are bike made.
We were a little concerned about fuel through here, but shouldn't have worried, must have been two or three Petrol stations on the route.
And on the subject of fuel, found that the C/card didn't work in the pumps, always wanted a zip code. And you also needed to pay up front or leave your card with the cashier before you pumped the fuel. Also some places you needed to flip a leaver once you removed the nozzle, took a few minutes to realise this...

This doesn't really show that it was very windy, but the blurring of the distance is actually dust storms. This also where technology let us down, lost connection on the iPad but we still had the maps on the iPad and the good old map book. The roads were also well sign posted so wasn't a problem, may be a SatNav could be useful....

On the I 95 now and heading to Las Vegas, stop at India Springs for a ice cream (Peanut Butter lolly...very nice) and coffee. Pass by a large Air Force base and it occurs to me that just over those mountains is Area 51....

We hit Las Vegas, still no connection so do it the old fashion way, paper map. Its like any other city, the driving of locals needs a lot to be desired. With Ali's navigation skills we get to the Hotel, first impressions, a bit big and over the top.

Not all bad.... The good old pig....

Book in and the receptionist gives us a map to get to the lift, how big is this place ! We need the map....

The view from the room and a very nice room at that, a little more expensive than the Vagabond, good old Hotels.com done us proud again.

We head and have look around, as I said previously, over the top. Not too impressed with the hawkers, just ignore them but their everywhere trying to press flyers in your hands, also wearing tee shirts for Girls direct too your room, the seeder side.
We manager to find somewhere to eat, Outback's, went there with Ali back '95 when we visited Florida. We have a good feed, and take in more of the strip before heading back to knock out some ZZZZ.

The route taken today 303 miles in all