After a hardy breakfast we went into the park and drove to the 'rainbow vista at
the end. Spectacular as usual. We next did several of the turnoffs before
stopping by the visitors center for our departure. I bought a road atlas abd
parks DVD. The Atlas came in handy routing us a different way from the GPS
method. Libbie was also able to track our progress on the maps to check on the
GPS. We took Rte 14 over a volcano which was a very scenic route. Stopped in
Cedar City for lunch then stopped again in Death Valley junction for photos of
the opera house. We took 190 into the Valley and stopped at the sign for photos.
Did not master the technique of using our self timer. Libbie did a video and i
did a ridiculous 2 second self timer image. We drove down into Furnace Creek.
The temp was 123. It felt like a hair dryer hitting our face. Even our room felt
warm with the AC running full bore. It was really hot. I was't sure what i got
us into. We got into the car to go expoloring. Found the Artists Drive and took
it. I made the mistake of leaving the engine running at the first overlook and
the temp gauge went all the way to hot. Not good because the rest of the drive
was uphill and we started out hot. I carefully monitored our temps and made sure
to shut the engine off at each stop. The rocks were spectacular. We got back to
Furnace Ranch and went to the Saloon for hamburgers. Beforehand we went to our
room and had the crackers with Yellow Tail Shiraz. I probably had too many
glasses because I felt a little drunk. Or maybe it was the heat and day of
driving. I had a Western BBQ Burger which came with fries. It was huge and yummy
but pricey for a hamburger. $35 for two burgers with fries!!! We drove to the
restaurant and back to our room which was about 300 or 400 feet from the
restaurant. I was exhausted and my foot hurt so driving seemed a good option.