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Across Death ValleyOct 6, 2009
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East on 190 out of Lone Pine
Stop at Panamint Valley Overlook
Above the Panamint Valley
We started out this morning on the 150 mile trip across Death Valley to Pahrump, NV. There was to be an unexpected problem during the trip.
As we left Lone Pine we were in sight of the highest point in the continental United States and we were headed for the lowest point. We headed east on a gently rolling highway 190 until we reached a spot overlooking the Panamint Valley. We stopped there and took a short hike for some nice views of the valley and then headed down the twisting road into and then across the valley. The road then began its ascent up the Panamint Range. And that’s when it happened!
The See Ya was moving right along up the climb when a warning light came on and then the message center said “LOW COOLANT LEVEL!” We eased off onto a turnoff and sat down for lunch to wait for the See Ya to cool. The good news was that I carry a gallon of antifreeze with us. The bad news was that the radiator cap is butted up against the ceiling of the rear compartment, is extremely difficult to open, and I didn’t know what I was doing. Well, it took about an hour, but with Sue’s help, we managed to add about a half gallon of antifreeze to the system and were delighted when the See Ya made the rest of the climb without blowing up!
From the summit we descended into Death Valley where we had planned to park and take the Escape for a side trip to Bad Water (lowest point). But, because we had lost time with the coolant problem, we only stopped for a brief visit at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center before heading into the climb out of the Valley and into Nevada. We were able to see the park inn and some interesting land formations along the road.
We have arrived at our destination of Pahrump, NV and are now comfortably parked in the Preferred RV Resort behind Terrible’s Town Casino.
