SoCal Memorial Day trip: Day 1 - Death Valley
This past Memorial Day, I wanted to check off a final few places from my California bucket list before moving next month. So I decided to head down to southern California to visit Death Valley National Park, Mojave National Preserve, Joshua Tree National Park, Palm Springs, and some cool ghost towns. On Friday, I drove seven hours down to Panamint Springs Resort, a tiny "resort" right on the western edge of Death Valley NP. I discovered a fear I didn't know I had - driving alone in the desert on remote roads in the middle of the night with nothing and no one around for miles. Kinda scary! Anyway, this hotel had like 10 motel rooms and a bar/restaurant. These remote desert hotels don't really have a lobby or 24-hour check in...since I got there late at night, there was a piece of paper with my name taped to the door of the restaurant, telling me my room was unlocked and the key inside. Rudimentary, but it got the job done! Here are some shots of Panami...