Took care of some business this morning, mailed packages of stuff back home so there would be a little more room on the bikes, got some breakfast together to make up for the dinner we missed and headed out to Death Valley. We decided to check out Hoover Dam first because it was only 20 miles away. Surprise to us � we got within 5 miles and hit a construction back up. We decided it was not smart to sit in the 5 mile back up with the temperature already high so we turned around and headed for Death Valley. I�m sure I�ve mentioned several times how terribly hot it�s been. Ignore all that because today was the mother of HOT days! It took about 130 miles to get through Death Valley and when we stopped in the middle for some cold water, we discovered it was 118 degrees in the shade!! The asphalt was nearly 200 degrees but we made it. Would you believe there are at least 3 resorts in Death Valley? There is nothing there but brown mountains, sand, a 2-lane road and lots of heat in July. We were shocked to learn that people actually voluntarily book a vacation to Death Valley in July when the temperatures are between 115 and 120 degrees everyday.
We traveled a total of 335 miles today and ended up in Bishop, California. We�re off to Yosemite National Park tomorrow and hopefully cooler weather from here on out.
