And I’m feeling good! (Cue Michael Buble). Well of course we’re feeling good. We’re watching the first sun rise of the year in one of Southern California’s iconic National Parks: Death Valley.
With a four day weekend over the new year and no parties lined up, it seemed only right to celebrate the new year in the Basecamp. And so it was we found ourselves in Death Valley, kind of in the middle of nowhere and certainly a long way from civilization. Although not as far from other people as we thought. Our first intended camping spot was off the beaten track (still in DVNP but actually in Panamint Valley rather than Death Valley proper). Unfortunately, this involved a sketchy off-road experience that proved too challenging for the airstream and too stressful for us. We thought trashing the Basecamp/truck and being abandoned in one of the most inhospitable places on the planet might not be the best start to the year.
Plan B was Stovepipe Wells, a rather unremarkable settlement in Death Valley with a collection of motel type lodging, a saloon, and more importantly, a campsite. Certainly not bursting at the seams but we were surprised to not be the only ones there. Even more surprising were the tent campers. The temperature at night was hovering just above freezing, yet these insane people were out there braving the elements in order to toast the new year here. Well at least they didn’t have to pay for the privilege – Trump’s government shutdown meant the campsite was free.
We decided early on that making it all the way through to midnight was a tad ambitious. With the wind gusting, we popped the cork on our ice cold champagne and hunkered down on the truck bed, gazing up at the vast sky as dusk gave way to the myriad of pin-prick stars. A brief visit to the Badwater Saloon for a hot toddy confirmed our decision to retire early – there would be no parties going on in there.
Nicolas Feuillate champagne (with a nod to last year’s New Year celebrations on the Seabourn cruise)
So we soundly slept through the official start to the year at midnight in the warm and cozy Basecamp, and our start to 2019 began at dusk. We arose early on January 1st to hike the nearby Mesquite Flats sand dunes at dawn. This was our true start to the new year. Without fail the sun rises every day. But it’s not every day you get to feel a bit of the magic that goes along with it.
In addition to Death Valley, our year end road trip featured a couple of other spots. Kernville was a very pleasant surprise, with a tidy creek-side camping spot and some good hiking opportunities along the nearby Kern River. We never seem to get far without visiting a brewery, and surprise surprise, this little town in the back of beyond had one such drinking establishment which punched way above its weight.
Lunch in Alabama Hills, one of our favorite camping spots, gave us another chance to stretch our legs. And an overnight in the town of Bishop gave us a little more insight into an area we normally just breeze through on the way to Mammoth. Of course, Bishop has a brewery too!
Snow on the Sierras makes for a picturesque backdrop for the Basecamp in Alabama Hills
Spot the Basecamp!
Not another brewery!
Still trying to work out why there was a girl in the brewery with a full on Minion onesie
After Death Valley, we had to face the reality that it was back to work the next day, and so began the long trek home. It was on the outskirts of Mojave that Darren planted a seed in my head. What if we camped another night? It took a while to sink in, but I realized we could eke out an extra night in the Basecamp and still get into work on time if we got up early.
Spent the afternoon basking in the sun with a couple of beers and an audio book
Soon starts to get chilly once the sun’s going down
And so we ended the first day of 2019 in the same way as we started. Watching the sun. It dipped low over the desert, silhouetting the Joshua trees against an orange glow, ready for the next new dawn and new day. And we were still feeling good!
