MEM-LAS
February 24-27
- Nick arrived in Las Vegas and met up with Brad at the airport. Brad had been in the city since earlier that week on a work trip. We rented a car and drove to the Mandalay Bay, where we would be staying the night.
- Once settled in the hotel, we went in search of food. We ended up having a sandwich and a couple beers at Burger Bar, then went to the casino, where we proceeded to play slots and video poker for a while as we drank on some cocktails. We both slowly but steadily lost money...but just enough at a time to make you feel like it could be won back at any moment (no). After losing for some time, we went to the bar and sat down, where the bartender explained how to lose money at Keno...which we did. Brad wanted to play roulette one more time to try his luck, but again, it didn't work in his favor. Drunk and tired of losing, we went back to the room and crashed for the night.
- We both woke up hungover. After showering, we went to the breakfast buffet and gorged on eggs, lox, bagels, bacon, French toast, fruit and potatoes (I think that's all). Once sufficiently stuffed, we checked out of the hotel and began the drive out of the city. We stopped at Wal Mart for a lantern, then went to Smith's for grocery items and got food for camping (74$).
- The drive north from Vegas via US 95 was pretty uneventful, as there really isn't much to look at as you're flying through the desert.
Mountain ranges followed the highway for a while. 
From Amargosa Valley, we took NV 374 south into California, then just about 10-15 more miles into Death Valley (click on link for the park website). We paid the entrance fee (20$) then went on to the Furnace Creek area (the most visited area of the park). Before getting there, though, we stopped at Zabriskie Point, an overlook in the south of the park. Winds were gusting at around 40-50 mph, making it hard to breathe, let alone walk standing up straight. 
At Furnace Creek Visitor Center, we checked on camping options. The ranger gave us a few tips on where to go. We knew a fire was not going to be a consideration because of the winds, so we opted to eat at the cafe there instead. - After eating, we went to the Stovepipe Wells area. On the way, we stopped at Eureka Sand Dunes and walked into the desert a bit...and then a sandstorm (one of many) hit - and we were bombarded with driving sand. Quite an experience.
We got a campsite once at Stovepipe - an unimpressive campground littered with RVs. Winds at this point were extremely high, and we had concerns about the tent not only staying up, but blowing away (with us in or out of it). Every time the wind gusted (and it was often), the front of the tent was practically flat on the ground. 
We went across the street to check on rooms at the motel, but there was no vacancy there. The clerk mentioned going to Beatty, NV - a small town across the border, about 30 miles away - but this wasn't really an option at this point. It was getting dark and very cold, and still extremely windy. We finally got the tent to stay up and then put the cover on it and strapped it down. 
It was much more stable then, but still, throughout the night, wind gusts put the top of the tent down on our faces, sand blowing through every hole and crack in the screen and canvas. - When we woke up the next morning, we took apart the tent pretty early, since we didn't exactly get a lot of sleep. We went for a nice hike in Mosaic Canyon, near Stovepipe Wells (just south).
At the beginning of the hike, we were walled in by colorful (almost marble-like) rock walls that stretched upward above us for about 50 feet. At some points, it was fairly narrow, getting to about 3 feet wide as we climbed over boulders during the ascent. Once toward the top of the climb, it opened up to a riverbed of sorts and we walked for another half mile or so before turning back. - After the hike, we headed toward the Charcoal Kilns and goldmines. We got to an old abandoned gold mine in the foothills of the western range of Death Valley.
Several entrances to the mines were seen, but all were locked/wired/boarded shut. It was windy, and COLD! Snow was on the ground. 
We explored the area a bit, then headed to the chimney kilns. We made the turnoff on the road to get there (just before the mountain pass) and as we got higher up the mountain, there was more and more snow on the road. The paved road soon turned to gravel, where the snow was even thicker. Eventually we realized (after we began sliding backward) that the car was just not going to make it up the hill. This was a good time to turn back, which we did. 
We took a few seldom traveled park roads through the passes to the western part of the park, the Panamint Valley. The drive was really pretty but a bit monotonous through the pass - great views of the scenery, but really, it's desert... - We arrived in Panamint Springs, a small outpost in the Valley, in early afternoon. Near the campground we located, there was a gas station and bar/restaurant. We got gas, checked out the campground and then went to the bar for beers. We ended up talking to one of the owners about the whole complex (called the Panamint Springs Resort).
A family owned all three, with a brother in the family doing different jobs (running the restaurant, campground, gas station, etc.). We had been sitting at the bar with a few beers when it started snowing. The bartender informed us that this had happened 3 weeks prior, but it had been 13 years since it had last snowed. - We went across the road and set up our campsite (7$) and then decided to go for a hike at Darwin Falls, just down the road. Great hike, through canyon, over rocks and streams to a waterfall.
- Back at camp, we had another beer at the bar then went to the site and built a fire, where we hung out, ate dinner (chicken and corn) and had beers.
- We woke up Sunday morning, having slept so much better that night since the wind wasn't as bad but the tent (not able to be staked) had magically shrunk in size during the night - at times there were pretty heavy gusts.
- We packed up and drove back east over the western (Panamint) Range and back into Death Valley. We took a northern road for about 20 miles to Titus Canyon and went for a hike there.
- Back on the main road in the park, we headed east and left the park toward Beatty, NV. Once in Nevada, we stopped in Rhyolite, a ghost town and checked out the area.
Heading back toward Vegas, we had plans to stay the night in Valley of Fire State Park, which is just about 45 minutes northeast of the city. Before passing through Vegas, we stopped at Tenaya Creek Brewery and had a beer. - We got to the park about an hour later.
It reminded us both of Arches National Park in Utah. V of F is Nevada's oldest and largest state park. It has lots of sandstone arches and rock formations. 
In addition, there were 4,000 year old petroglyphs on the cliff walls. 
We explored the park for a while (seeing the different rock formations and petrified wood) before finding a place to camp. Our campsite was quite nice - no one was around, since we had selected a walk-in site away from everyone. It was quiet, with great views of the surrounding valley. We had a couple beers, built a fire and had dinner. Dinner was chicken and potatoes.
- As it got dark, the coyotes started to howl in the distance, making us a little uneasy. To add to our jitters, a bunch of kangaroo mice were invading our campsite the entire night, and we had to keep chasing them away. Overall, a great place to camp - great weather, scenery.
- The next morning, we packed up and headed to Vegas (after eating at Ihop in North Las Vegas), where we caught our flight back to Memphis.
