Death Valley, California is a dessert valley in the Mojave Desert . It is one of the hottest places in the world (134F recorded in 1913), it has the lowest elevation in the US (282 ft.) , and it is the driest place on the continent with (avg. 2.36 inches per year ). Another interesting fact is that some of the Star Wars movies (Episode IV A New Hope and Episode VI – Return of the Jedi) were filmed in Death Valley.

We passed through and stayed one night at Stovepipe Wells, a way-station in the norther part of Death Valley. The RV park consisted of 14 dusty, gravel sites with few amenities beyond the beautiful views of the surrounding hills and sand dunes. The temperatures in early March are certainly bearable with 70Fs in the day and cooler in the evening.

We drove through Death Valley in the Big Rig and would choose to not to do so next time. It was a slow drive filled with lots of switchbacks, climbs and descents that are better left to smaller vehicles.

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That’s a wrap from Death Valley,

Brian and Betty