California, here we are! We are doing fine. Internet connections problems on Saturday, no cell phone service... too much fun at Grand Canyon and Zion and way late getting into Vegas so nothing got posted. We're stopped for lunch right now at Panamint Valley Resort, California on State Route 190 at the east side of Death Valley National Park. We just crossed Death Valley and reached sea level there. Then Benz had the challenge of climbing 4900 feet in a few miles. CHALLENGE would understate our situation!! We stopped several times to run water on the radiator to add evaporative cooling as the temperature needle reached the red zone. Just as I was about to use the last of our several gallons of water.... Officer Daharsh of the California Highway Patrol stopped by to help us and he had more water. THANKS! Your timing and helpfulness were perfect. He followed us up the last 1000 feet, we gave him a photo and our blog address, he gave us more water, then we bid adieu and we dropped 9 miles to this lunch stop. Amazing how the temp needle drops when descending! So, clearly Benz is at her limits with cooling capacity in these desert mountain conditions. So, we're going to take Officer Daharsh's suggestion and drop south through the valley instead of climbing the next mountain ridge. So, maybe we won't reach Yosemite tonight!
That's a quick update. We'll post more later.
That's a quick update. We'll post more later.
1 comment:
Hello, Mark and Julie. Today I recieved a welcomed phone call from Haley who works at Shenandoah National Park. She informed me that she had something to return to me. I could not imagine what I had lost and how it ended up on the east coast. To my suprise she told me that you had dropped off the cantine that I gave you here in Death Valley. As fate would have it, the brand new Chief Ranger of Death Valley National Park is in Shenandoah/ Blue Ridge and is going to bring the cantine back to Death Valley when he reports for duty in a few weeks. So, I will be reunited with the cantine once again. There will be photo's taken at the reunion and I will get you some photo's. Maybe I will start a blog called : "The Well Traveled Cantine". It was a pleasure spending a few minutes of time with you, may your journey continue to be safe, and God Speed. Officer Daharsh #17941 CHP.
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