I
Rangeley in Death Valley National Park. The summer rain is still in the basin 3 months later.
Roaming Rangeley Fall 2023 California
Saturday – November 4, 2023
G: Elizabeth has had a busy fall. She is still working events part time and did some social travelling as well. Since we returned from our last road trip she has been to South Carolina, Dallas for work, a long weekend in Prescott and a trip to Long Island to see her siblings. I do still have my business, but I have had the itch to get out and explore again. I proposed to Elizabeth to go to Spain and walk the Camino Portuguese. It does start in Porto, Portugal and goes to Santiago Spain. It is only 160 miles, but just didn’t fit into her schedule. So… how about Rangeley and I drive to Seattle, she fly in and we cruise around Washington and British Columbia then she flies home and Range and I drive. She was “isn’t it going to be cold and rainy?” Yes but that is part of the draw I replied. She didn’t agree.
OK – so the compromise is Rangeley and I will take off for almost 2 weeks and see what we can see. I need to be home November 18th for a friends wedding, but other than that we won’t be on a schedule. The plan is to leave home on Monday and drive past Las Vegas. On Tuesday drive through Death Valley National Park and head to Lone Pine – the gateway to Mount Whitney. From there continue north, hopefully making it to Mount Hood and the Columbia River in Oregon. Then follow the river west to Astoria, where the Columbia meets the Pacific and then drive south along the coast. I have lots of thoughts and ideas of things to do, but no firm plans or schedule at this time. I don’t know what lays ahead for us at this time, but you just need to keep reading to find out. I will probably do 3 posts for the 2 weeks. Elizabeth isn’t with us so the entries will not be as detailed with me writing and taking pictures.
Monday November 6, 2023
We started our journey today, driving to Pahrump, Nevada. Rangeley snuck out of the house this morning when I started packing the car. He wasn’t taking any chances of being left as he dashed through the back hatch and into the back seat where he rides. He is an outstanding traveler. It was an uneventful day covering 366 miles.
I had to modify my plans today. I had wanted to go up through Lone Line and drive through Yosemite east to west over Tioga Pass. Unfortunately they closed the pass today because the forecast is for snow tonight and tomorrow. No guarantee it will be reopened Wednesday morning, so tomorrow after driving through Death Valley, I will head south of the Sierras to get to the west side. Then Thursday drive a loop (and hike) through Yosemite. Friday, continue north as planned. Well they just closed the Crater Lake loop road for the season as well. So will need to modify those plans as well.
Tuesday November 7, 2023
Today was a fun day as we headed to Death Valley National Park. On August 20th the park received 2.2″ of rain, a single day record. Since Badwater Basin is 282 feet below sea level the water had no where to go. The soil also does not absorb the water, so the basin is now a “lake” even though it has been 2 1/2 months since it has rained there. The rains caused a lot of damage. The park was totally closed for almost 2 months and only the main roads are open now. The primary road through the park still has many places where it is only one lane wide.
Dogs are not allowed at the low point, so we went to the Devil’s Golf Course, which is 5 miles from the actual low point. There was still sitting water at the DGC. It was fun walking across the salt flat as well.
It was sunny and 81 degrees when we got in the car to leave. When we arrived in Mojave, CA (our home for the night) it was 47 and windy. Brrr.
If you want to read about our previous Death Valley visit click the link here: Death Valley May 2021
Wednesday November 8, 2023
We stayed in Tehachapi, California last night. Just as we are driving around the Sierras, so does the trucking industry. This is a very rural area, 120 miles from LA. There is a truck stop across the street. This morning at sunrise it was hopping. There were over 100 trucks in their very full parking lot with a few more parked on the street. I know we have talked about truckers before, but I do appreciate all that they do to bring us just about everything we use in our daily lives.
We drove north about 220 miles today to Mariposa, one of the gateway towns to Yosemite. On the way we stopped a couple times, which is always nice to break up the drive. The second stop was at a pioneer village. There is fun history all over the US. Once in Mariposa we did a great walk from out motel to a reservoir a couple miles away. Rangeley loved it.
Thursday November 9, 2023
What a great day in Yosemite. Beautiful sunny skies with a frosty start. The busy areas of Yosemite are not dog friendly, but it is a big Park, so Rangeley had plenty of exercise as well. We started with a 1+ mile walk down the old access road to Tuolumne Grove, a stand of Giant Sequoias. Not sure if he was supposed to do the two loops through the forest or stay on the old road but there was no one else there, so we had no issues.
After confirming Tioga Pass was closed (due to icy roads) we headed to the Yosemite Valley. What a spectacular place. This is where a majority of the people go, so less places for Rangeley. Temperatures were in to 40s mid day, so I was able to park in the shade and eat a meal sitting down inside. He is an amazing traveler. He is obviously rewarded by going to lots of cool places.
At one of our stops we could see Yosemite Falls. It drops a total of 2,425 feet. The upper falls is 1,430 feet. November is not a great time to view the falls as the water flows tend to be low. It still is beautiful though. See pictures below.
El Cap in the distance 
Cool frost shadow on the bridge 
Rangeley enjoys the beautiful Yosemite Valley views. Well maybe he is just wanting to go swimming. It is very hard to see, but Yosemite falls is in the distance. 
Zoomed in on Yosemite Falls 
El Cap reflection 
One of many waterfalls in the valley. 
The classic Yosemite view, El Cap, Half Dome and a waterfall. 
Rangeley loves playing in the rivers
The iconic climbing wall – El Capitan was quite busy today. We saw at least 20 climbers at various places on the wall. It was a fun social stop as several people were stopped along the road watching. There was a tour bus of probably 8 people and the guide was very knowledgeable. The wall is over 3,000 feet of vertical granite. The pictures below show how much gear a typical climber needs to bring with them as it takes several days to reach the top. Alex Hannold is not a typical climber. He took less than 4 hours to climb without using any ropes in Free Solo.
This morning we will continue north, probably to Mount Shasta. Thanks for reading along.
Once the travel bug bites, there is no known antidote….unknown
Not all those who wander are lost.
J. R. R. TOLKIEN
About Us
Visitors will want to know who is on the other side of the page. Use this space to write about your business.
Gary and Elizabeth's Adventures 