Death Valley / Lake Isabella

On the last day in Vegas, we set off very early, as over 6 hours of driving was on the agenda: Through Death Valley to Lake Isabella. So far, the longest distance covered in one day.

..and what a drive it was. We first went up narrow mountain roads with steep curves, then all the way back down. To Badwater Basin, the lowest point in North America (-85.5m u.M.), one of the hottest places in the world. In summer, it easily reaches 50 degrees or more, while we had 'only' 43 😉 Nevertheless, the protest from the kids was huge when we hiked a few hundred meters out onto the salt flat - they managed just fine. Robin thought the salt was 'pretty good' (yes, he licked the ground to test it 😂🙈)

After a short detour to the air-conditioned Visitor Center, we continued on to the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes. It really looked like the 'real' desert, and the sand was at least as hot as in the Sahara 😂 We did take a short exploration tour and even saw geckos darting across the sand.

After that, we had almost 3 more hours of driving until Lake Isabella ahead. That was quite a stretch. But it was absolutely worth it, because the camping at Lake Isabella was one of the nicest so far. A great playground for the boys, a fire pit for grilling (steak, salmon, and corn on the cob - what a luxury 😋), and a shady tree - what more could a camper's heart desire? 😉

Unfortunately, we were only there for one night, as the next day we headed towards Visalia, and from there into Sequoia National Park (the one with the gigantic trees - more about that in the next post 🤩)