Day two starts early as well (I sense a theme here) and we’re headed off to Death Valley. We climb out of Bakersfield over a small pass. As we head down the pass, you can see the Kern Canyon out in the distance. The caverns loom out there and the morning sun illuminates the whole valley. It’s the one picture I regret not taking on the trip. Riding through the canyon is spectacular! We cross over Walker Pass.

We then head up the 395 sixty some odd miles out of the way to get lunch? Why? Lone pine is literally the only town where you can get lunch at a decent hour.

After lunch we head to the park for the final 100 miles of the day. The first spot is the Paramint Valley:

“”

I’m a bit underwhelmed at first. Actually, I’ll go as far as to say I’m disappointed. Everything is just brown. I guess I could have foreseen that, but the reality of all the deadness just set in. We cruise into Furnace Creek at 5pm and get dinner reservation over at the steakhouse. Who knew you could get a great fillet in the middle of Death Valley!