Days #561-567 of Our Epic Trip

5-16-2025
H: 98ºF L: 71ºF
Furnace Creek Campground, Death Valley, California

We drove into California to stay in Death Valley National Park. The drive there was gorgeous.

The elevation at our campsite is 201 feet below sea level. It’s hot and the campground is already closed for the season because most people don’t camp here during the summer.

We went to the visitor center and the Inn at Death Valley. We wandered around what appeared to be refurbished old structures which now seem to be part of an outdoor event venue. It would be a pretty place for a wedding.

We enjoyed the quiet at our camper as nighttime descended on Death Valley.

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5-17-2025
H: 97°F L: 67°F
Furnace Creek Campground, Death Valley, California

We realized that you will not get cold water out of the faucet no matter how long you run the water (even after showers) and even at night. That must be why they named the area Furnace Creek. Some internet sleuthing revealed the water coming out of the wells for the campground is around 86˚F according California State Water Board.

We had coffee outside and had a coyote stop by to check us out.

We took the boys for a walk around the campground. Most of the campground is blocked off but we weren’t surprised to see park rangers kicking some people who squatted overnight out of the campground.

We went to the remnants of Harmony Borax Works which is a historic landmark in the park. It was built and operated in the 1880s for four or five years. At the height of operation, 40 employees produced three tons of borax per day. Due to the extreme heat in Death Valley during the summer, they could not get the water to cool enough to process the borax. Borax is still used today as a laundry booster and to make DIY slime among other applications.

We hiked the Golden Canyon Trail for a little ways. It was very pretty.

Our drive going toward Badwater was awesome! The salt flats covered a large area.

Next we drove on a one-way road to see the Artist’s Palette. The pictures don’t do the colors of the rocks justice. Lime, blue, pink and purple – there were so many colors due to minerals in the dirt and rocks.

Our next stop was Devil’s Golf Course. The salt was thick and hard! For some reason I thought the salt would be thin and delicate. I was surprised that it was thick enough that we could walk on it.

Driving further, we arrived at Badwater Basin, the lowest point in North America. The salt looked and kind of felt like walking on snow since it was wet. Daniel tasted it and confirmed it was salt.

Badwater Pool is the end of Amargosa River which runs for 185 miles mostly underground. It was named after a man tried to water his mule but the mule wouldn’t drink the water so the man surmised it must be “bad water”.

We drove to other areas of the park and marveled at the colors and textures of the sand and rocks.

Dante’s View is on a Black Mountain peak at 5475 feet. It provided sweeping views of the valley including the salt plains and Badwater Basin.

We drove by “something” outside of the park and had to check it out. We drove through what looked to be an old residential area containing cement slabs big enough for a mobile home. Then we got to this thing that was half in a hole in a fenced in area. What is this thing?

We walked around The Inn at Death Valley. The grounds were like an oasis in this dry climate. The hotel had a tunnel that led from the parking lot to the lower floor of the hotel. I really liked one of the reception rooms.

We are staying in Death Valley. It gets 2 inches of rain a year. And… it rained pretty heavy during our stay. I got a great picture of the storm moving toward us with lightning.

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5-18-2025
H: 73ºF L: 47ºF
City parking lot, Bishop, California

We drove to our next destination and stopped at a few more areas of interest in Death Valley National Park. We started at Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes.

We also stopped at Devil’s Cornfield full of arrowweed. Apparently, these plants look like corn stalks bundled together.

We pulled over at Father Crowley Vista Point which offered sweeping views of the valley.

The drive into Lone Pine, CA, where we charged the cars, offered amazing views of the Inyo Mountains.

We arrived in Bishop, CA to dry camp for one night. We really like Bishop! There are snow capped mountains, a quaint town, and it feels quiet and safe. Apparently, they get a lot of tourists for mountain climbing and other outdoor activities.

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5-19-2025
H: 73ºF L: 45ºF
Upper Pines Campground, Yosemite National Park, California

We drove most of the day to Yosemite National Park because the Tioga Pass was still closed due to snow so we had to drive all the way around the park. It was so spectacular though. We drove through Stanislaus National Forest. I forget how much I miss big trees and forests.

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5-20-2025
H: 76ºF L: 43ºF
Upper Pines Campground, Yosemite National Park, California

We got settled into our small campsite right in Yosemite Valley. The view from our campsite was awesome!

We took the boys for a walk during coffee time. The views are just stunning! You can walk dogs on roads and paved trails.

We decided to walk and see as much of Yosemite Valley as we could. There is a free shuttle bus that will take you from site to site which we really appreciated toward the end of the day. We first stopped at The Ahwahnee Hotel, which opened in 1927, and was a beautiful example of the architecture which can be found at national parks.

Next we walked to Yosemite Falls. The amount of water flowing over these cliffs is tremendous.

We walked across the meadow and over the river to a little Chapel.

In the evening, we walked the boys to Mirror Lake. It was a nice walk up a closed road. The boys had their picture taken by a tourist like they were celebrities.

In all, we walked 13+ miles today and that’s with using the shuttle bus. The park is very walkable but you don’t have to walk as much as we did if you use the shuttle bus.

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5-21-2025
H: 80°F L: 53°F
Wawona Campground, Yosemite National Park, California

We took a morning coffee time drive to see some of the things we missed while walking in the valley yesterday.

We stopped at where Cascade Creek and Tamarack Creek converge into Cascade Falls. The number of waterfalls in this park is amazing. Everywhere you look there’s another water fall.

We moved to Wawona Campground, another campground within Yosemite National Park. Our site is right on the river. Daniel and I took a walk around the campground and found beautiful flowers.

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5-22-2025
H: 76ºF L: 51ºF
Upper Pines Campground, Yosemite National Park, California

We went to Mariposa Grove to see the sequoia trees including the famous California Tunnel Tree. These big trees were nice but I didn’t think they were as spectacular as the redwoods on the coast.

We moved back to Upper Pines Campground in Yosemite Valley for one night. It’s such a pretty area and we are lucky to have booked these campsites six months in advance.

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Stats

Expenses:

• Tesla Cybertruck fuel: $83.47
• Tesla Model X fuel: $0
• Campsite: $130
• Camping memberships: $38.26
• Food: $62.44

Tesla Cybertruck miles driven: 554.8 (420.5 kWh)

Tesla Model X miles driven: 786.3 (208.7 kWh)

Number of people asking about the Tesla pulling the camper: 1

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