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<\/a><\/p>\nDeath Valley is an incredible, harsh environment. Daytime temps in the summer can reach 120 degrees Fahrenheit. It has the lowest\u00a0spot in the U.S., at 282 feet BELOW sea level. In it’s lowest areas there are miles of barren, dried up salt flats. To the average visitor, it looks like a hot, dry desert, but upon closer examination, it’s really a hot, dry desert! Even today, in early\u00a0February, it felt hot, as we stood in the dry, 75 degree sunshine (Sorry, to all our friends and family back in PA-don’t worry, I’ll be back joining your lovely weather very soon).\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0As you stand and look at the miles of dry, barren soil, showing patches of white, salt deposits, you also can’t help\u00a0noticing the high mountain peaks, covered with snow that seem to stand guard around the hot valley below. Tyler and I debated how wide the valley was, and if either of us thought\u00a0could walk across it in the summer, without ending up like a French fry, or worse! I wondered if we did run in to trouble, would vultures really show up and start circling? I also\u00a0pondered if the endangered California Condor\u00a0might be with them? I think I would be worth an endangered species!\u00a0We challenged each other to return in the summer and give it a try (I’ll let him know in a few months that I had something suddenly come up, and won’t be able to make it!). Like many other sights we’ve seen, and places we’ve visited on this trip (and described), we highly recommend that you get yourself out here and see them in person. If someone sends you a photo or two to click on, and it looks or sounds interesting, put it on your bucket list to visit .\u00a0 It may not be the destination of your vacation, but if its\u00a0only a few hours away, take the time to\u00a0jump off the beaten path\u00a0and check some of them out-you might just be pleasantly surprised!<\/p>\n
Day 7 has ended, and\u00a0 so has our Big West Trip. We are thankful (and blessed) to\u00a0arrive safely at our final destination\u00a0in Paso Robles, CA. I finally had the privilege of meeting Tyler’s girlfriend Amelia, who is just like he described to us-pretty,\u00a0warm,\u00a0funny with a bubbly spirit! She fits in nicely with the Wood crew! We ended our evening with a great dinner at Fish Gaucho, <\/em>and I look forward to spending my last couple\u00a0days in CA\u00a0bumming around with the two of them! Our final trip tally: 3,875 miles. I’ll still\u00a0be blogging my last two days here, but will kick back and let someone else drive me around! Good night from California!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" After an exciting, and interesting night in\u00a0Las\u00a0Vegas last night, we left a much more quiet and calm strip this morning and headed west, into California. On our agenda for today was the hottest place in the U.S., and the lowest place below sea level in the U.S.-Death Valley. On our way to Death valley NP, … Continue reading Big West Trip-Day 7-Hot Time Today<\/span> <\/a>\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>