\n\tWe are at a Holiday Inn Express in Page, AZ (link to Google Maps)<\/a>\n<\/p>\n \n\t{google_map}36.907099, -111.476784{\/google_map}\n<\/p>\n \n\tAs we have said many times in this blog, our hotels of choice are the Holiday Inn properties. <\/span>Over the years I\/we have spent a lot of nights and have achieved the Platinum Elite status several times in the past. <\/span>Last year I\/we spent over 60 nights in HI hotels and this year will be over 40 nights. <\/span>That includes my NTT travel as well as our personal travel. <\/span>Out status gets us the best rooms and the points pay for several nights a year. <\/span>Last night we stayed in St George, UT and our room had a Jacuzzi bath tub and a fireplace!\n<\/p>\n \n\tI have also mentioned that the primary driver for this travelogue documentation is for our reference and entertainment. <\/span>. <\/span>On this trip I have searched our blog many times for background information. <\/span>The platform I use for the blog is WordPress (hosted on our GoDaddy site) and it has amazing search power. <\/span>It is a ton of fun to go back and read about some of our past travels.\n<\/p>\n \n\tI had mentioned that I would document our Death Valley experience. <\/span>Last Tuesday (11\/12\/19), we did a round trip tour of the southern part of Death Valley. <\/span>We drove from Pahrump to Shoshone and then took the southern Death Valley entrance that took us to Badwater which is 282 feet below sea level. <\/span>One of the information signs explained that the very low humidity (and very little rain – 2 inches per year) yields the barren salt flats. <\/span>If there were more moisture the area would be a lake.\n<\/p>\n \n\t \n\tOn next DV stop was Artist’s Palette. <\/span>This is a 5 mile drive through beautiful canyons. <\/span>About midway through the drive, a beautiful rock formation exhibits many colors which result from different types of minerals – hence the name Artist’s Palette. <\/span>The day we observed the formation, the lighting was not perfect, but the different colors were quite visible.\n<\/p>\n \n\t \n\tFrom there we drove to the Furnace Creek Campground area. <\/span>This area has many buildings adjacent to the campground and several displays of borax mining equipment. <\/span>Since we had been there a couple of times, we did not spend a lot of time there. <\/span>We did drive around the campground. <\/span>It is basically dry camping. <\/span>There were not many campers in the park (not unexpected given the November time frame). <\/span>Speaking of “campers”, we have noted a much larger percentage of truck campers on this trip as compared to past observations. <\/span>I don’t know if this is unique to the area or if folks are going back to that kind of camping unit.\n<\/p>\n \n\tOur last major stop was a drive (long and twisting) to Dante’s View. <\/span>This is an overlook that is at 5476 feet. <\/span>From this point you can see a significant portion of the southern part of the park. <\/span>It is interesting that Dante’s View is almost exactly above Badwater. <\/span>\n<\/p>\n \n\t \n\tOur tour took most of the day and we drove over 200 miles. <\/span>We have said that Death Valley would not appear on our bucket list (if we had one), but once you experience it, you really want to return and enjoy it again. <\/span>We have been fortunate to have done the park tours in the early spring and late fall. <\/span>Summer could be a very marginal experience since the temperatures often reaches 120 degrees!\n<\/p>\n \n\tAfter we left the park we took a different route back to Pahrump (via Death Valley Junction).\n<\/p>\n \n\tLots more to talk about, but it will have to wait for the next post.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Hello from Page AZ Monday Evening – November 18, 2019 (Fourth post of this travelogue) We are at a Holiday Inn Express in Page, AZ (link to Google Maps) {google_map}36.907099, -111.476784{\/google_map} As we have said many times in this blog, … Continue reading ![\"Badwater](\"http:\/\/beltguy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Badwater-Medium-300x225.jpg\")
\n<\/p>\n![\"Artist](\"http:\/\/beltguy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Artist-Palette-Medium-300x225.jpg\")
\n<\/p>\n![\"Dantes](\"http:\/\/beltguy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Dantes-View-5476-feet-Medium-300x225.jpg\")
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