The Corners of the Desert
At Bishop, we filled out our gas tank and drove on to Death Valley. 
In spite of all the gorgeous views, we raced to our next point of destination without delay.
Our gas disappeared rapidly, but there were no signs of any sort of human habitat. It was time to make the right turn onto highway 267 towards Death Valley. We saw a town called Bonie Clair on the map, but it was just a couple of abandoned buildings with no gas station.
Of course, we even didn’t bother taking a canister of gas on our trip because we were certain we’d find gas stations on every corner. Who knew that in some places the distance between corners can be about 300 miles?
We were drove about 20-30 minutes after that intersection, and without seeing anybody! I started to think that Death Valley got its name for being a dead zone – empty and lifeless…
When we spotted the road sign for “Scotty’s Castle” with the food and gas services only a few miles ahead, we thought it was a joke or a desert mirage…
But, all of a sudden, we saw the castle… and the cars and crowds of people we didn’t expect in this lifeless place!
Scotty's Castle in Death Valley
On our map of the Death Valley, the castle was not designated. So, it was a great and welcome surprise.
Gas was our number one priority, but we couldn’t find the gas station at the Scotty’s Castle plaza. There were two antique, rusty gasoline pumps that looked like they had been out of order for a long time. They might be part of castle’s exhibition?!?…
But common sense suggested a gas station must be nearby. We stopped worried about the gas and started to explore the valley…
Ubehebe Crater, Death Valley
Next, we drove to Ubehebe Crater, a large volcanic crater, located only a few miles away from Scotty’s Castle. Since it is short but steep hike, I still regret we didn’t take the time to hike to the bottom of the crater.
On the other hand, we did take a half hour to play with the silky sand of Sand Dunes which are just a few miles from Stovepipe Wells where we finally filled out our gas tank.
Sand Dunes, Death Valley
Unfortunately, the sun had already slipped beneath the horizon line which warned us it was time to hit the road for Las Vegas.
God’s Blessing
Very quickly, we found ourselves in the embraces of deep darkness. All we were able to see was a small slice of the road illuminated by the car’s headlights… And we were not certain we were driving in the correct direction… The longer we drove, the more we worried.
In the far distance, street lights slowly emerged. Suddenly, the whole area was flooded with the lights of Pahrump which gladdened our hearts – we were on the right road! The next lights would be the lights of Las Vegas!
Once again, we drove into the pitch-dark night…
Las Vegas appeared as an enormously huge valley flooded with the dazzling light against the gloom of the night! It was an astonishing sight! The valley reminded us of an animal that stretched his body and calmly breathed the fresh air.
We drove into the heart of Las Vegas – streets full of colored lights, loud music, huge fountains, fairy-tale looking hotels, crowds and crowds of cars and people!
That evening we walked and walked along the famous Las Vegas Strip until our bodies refused to move. We watched the Fountains of Bellagio and videotaped it.
We loved the patriotic music at the Belagio Fountains even though it seemed out of context to the mood of Las Vegas. When we got home and our friends saw the video clip, they thought I had added the soundtrack of “God Bless the USA” by Lee Greenwood as a joke. But, that’s what we heard when we were there!
Bellagio Hotel
