A day in Death Valley

It was the second day for Marlise and we planned on going to Las Vegas,
but first we wanted to make a stop in Death Valley.

So we had to wake up early in the morning and start driving.

During the trip we made several stops, to enjoy the views and stretch our legs.

Desert
Desert
Sightseeing
Sightseeing

We also made a stop here, because of the incredible amount of windmills, in the middle of nowhere!!

Wind turbines
Wind turbines

We weren’t even in Death Valley yet and it was already 94 Fahrenheit.
So we had to make another stop, because Marlise wanted to change her pants.
It was just too hot for normal pants.

Getting stuff
Getting stuff
On the road to Death Valley
On the road to Death Valley

Because we saw an open road and we had the feeling we were alone on the road, we started speeding.
And when you drive with an average of 110 MPH, you get around fast.
But our fuel tank was thinking the same, so we had to make a quick fuel stop in the middle of our trip to Death Valley.

And I’m happy we did it!!

Not only to prevent finding ourselves without fuel in the middle of the desert,
but also when we left the gas pump and started speeding again, Highway patrol past us.

We were so lucky that we just left the gas station,
because we were only driving 87 MPH at that moment (and the speed limit was 60 MPH).

They can even track your speed, while they are driving themselves, in the opposite side.
So he made a U-turn in the middle of the road with his big pick-up and started chasing us.
It was quite impressive and shocking at the same time, because I didn’t knew what to expect.

What would the price be for driving 27MPH above the speed limit,
would I lose my driving license,
did they had a radar on another point,
how much time would it take to get it fixed, …

After we stopped, he walked towards us with one hand on his gun and the other hand on the car.

He asked for my driver’s license, papers of the car, and some extra information.
Then he asked ,with a poker face and those typical police glasses, why I was speeding.
So I responded that I wasn’t paying attention and he gave me a weird look and went back to his truck.

When he came back and he gave me the good news.
I would get away with a warning.

But he also told me from the moment they catch me speeding again,
I have to go to court and I would receive this speeding ticket ($400) an additional ticket and some other additional costs.
So like a good citizen, I promised him I wouldn’t happen again and thanked him several times for giving me a warning.

But if you have been speeding most of the time 60MPH feels soooo slow.
But I did my best to keep it as an average speed.

After driving 4 hours we finally arrived at the entrance, of Death Valley.
So it was time to make a picture again.

Death Valley
Death Valley

And of course take some extra pictures of the nice view.

Enjoying the views
Enjoying the views

When you drive through Death Valley there is so much you could go to and see.

You could go to the Sand Dunes

Sand Dunes
Sand Dunes

Or go to Badwater Basin

Badwater Basin
Badwater Basin

Where we took the time to make a “selfie”.

Selfie time
Selfie time

Or climb to high points, so you have a nice overview.

 

DSC_0678
Or check out (like they advertise) the “incredible rock bridge”.
First time we just walked by it, because we couldn’t believe that was it.

The rock bridge
The rock bridge

Or the dried out waterfall.

Dried out waterfall
Dried out waterfall

But after a while I had to do something more exiting, so I started climbing rocks.
Going up wasn’t that hard.

Climbing some rocks
Climbing some rocks
Quite a climb
Quite a climb
Made it
Made it

But the getting down part, was much harder.

Trying to get down
Trying to get down

But eventually I made it down, without falling, breaking something or ….
That made me so happy.

But I made it without falling down
But I made it without falling down

So after “a little adventure” back to the sightseeing,

Sightseeing
Sightseeing
Nice view
Nice view

The views where breathtaking.

Sunset in Death Valley
Sunset in Death Valley

The sun was setting so I it was time to take the bull by the horns

Catch the bull by horns
Catch the bull by horns

But then she got the upper hand.

Riding the bull
Riding the bull

So I started running away and hit the camera by accident, but the self timer made a nice picture by itself.

Death Valley
Death Valley

Eventually the sun vanished behind the mountains, so it was time to drive to Las Vegas.

It's getting dark
It’s getting dark

But first I had to made some extra pictures of the stars, because they are really visual in Death Valley.

Stars
Stars
Stars
Stars

After our last photo was taken, we were back on our way to Las Vegas.
Las Vegas Here we Come!

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Arrived in Los Angeles

Finally I arrived in LA

 

Airport LAX
Airport LAX
Airport LAX
Airport LAX

 

The first thing I had to do, was getting my rental car at Sixt.

I was really happy, I had choosen Sixt!!

Because I saw some waiting lines at other car rental companies,
where you needed to wait longer than four hours.

So I was really really happy, that I only had to wait as long as the time to make this picture.

 

Waiting for my car at Sixt
Waiting for my car at Sixt

As result I got my Chevrolet Cruze, with (T)hug license plates.

My (T)hug car
My (T)hug car
My rental car
My rental car

 

Then I drove to my apartment and settled in.

The apartment is exactly as advertised on the internet, what a godsend !!

The living room with the kitchen, provided with all the “necessary”.

 

My livingroom
My living room
My kitchen
My kitchen

The second floor

The master bedroom
The master bedroom
The office, bathroom and walk-inn closet
The office, bathroom and walk-inn closet

And I even got a private rooftop terrace !!

My personal terrace
My personal terrace
My personal terrace
My personal terrace

Here are some of the views, by day.

Rooftop view
Rooftop view
Rooftop view
Rooftop view
Rooftop view
Rooftop view
Rooftop view
Rooftop view

 

Once settled in, I went out to get a new number and  find a supermarket.

My new number is 0014242909884, but you can still Whatsapp or imessage me, on my Belgium number ;).

I found a supermarket, but i think have to search a new one, because this one had a little to much caution tape in my opinion. The supermarket was as big as a concert hall and half of it was taped like this :p.

 

Dangerous supermarket
Dangerous supermarket

 

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