Thursday morning I depart early so I can drive through Death Valley National Park and Panamint Valley on my way to San Diego. When I pass by Indian Springs I notice drones doing touch and go practice at Creech Air Force Base. I am using a wide angle lens, but you should be able make out the drone coming in low in the center of the photo. The pilot could very well be sitting in a simulator cockpit in South Dakota which is where they sit when they are hunting down terrorists to kill.

This is the view from my cockpit. The autopilot is on, so I kick back and take a couple of pictures.

Death Valley is 112 degrees. I stop to take some pictures. Here are some of Zabriskie Point.

I pull into the Furnace Creek Visitor Center to have my passport cancelled.

The sign advises visitors not to hike after 10AM due to the extreme heat.

Much of Death Valley is just dirt.

The sand dunes in Death Valley.

I stop at Stovepipe Wells Ranger Station for another passport cancellation. Furnace Creek was at -190 feet below sea level. Stovepipe Wells is at sea level.

The next valley over is  Panamint Valley. It is every bit as desolate, but is cooler at a nippy 102 degrees. The valley is just dirt, sand and salt. Sand often drifts over the road which, just like snow, road crews have to remove.

Remembering a line from Dante - "If you always see the road ahead of you it’s not always worth the trip." - I take the road least traveled from here to San Diego.

Temperatures don't break until I am almost in San Diego. It is a pleasant 72 degrees when I roll into San Diego at 6PM to stay at the La Quinta in the Mission District where I meet my son.

My son treats me to a meal at Fogo de Chao, a Brazilian Steakhouse in the gaslight district.

Nothing like a couple of Stone Delicious IPAs after a hard day's ride...



...and all the meat you care to eat. You have a circular disk on your table and you start with the green side up which indicates that you are eating from the hors devours buffet and are not ready for meat.

You could actually make a meal from the hors devours buffet which also includes cold meats.

 

When you flip the disk over to expose the other side, servers descend on you offering dozens of different types of hot freshly grilled meats that are carved at your table.

Tasty.