Day 4 - Death Valley to Twenty-Nine Palms CA
(Billy Bob puts his spin on Day 4)
Cletis left out a few details of our California camp the night before.
Not only did we score
the best site of the trip on top of a small hill it was also
warm enough to pull out the instruments for the first time.
Cletis quickly picked up the 3 notes to Old Joe Clark and was soon blazing
away in unrelated keys. Clearly a natural on the
banjo especially now with the club foot affectation adopted
after meeting Nevada Elvis and admiring his game leg picked up riding
the boxcars.
We were too chicken to start a fire at our illicit campsite
but the nearly full moon lit up the hill top and surrounding paradise after
a sunset ran its predictable course.
Could have been Woody and Leadbelly,
Flatt and Scruggs - but it was Billy Bob and Cletis
connecting on a new level.
After a brief lesson in music theory Cletis nodded off and Billy Bob
wandered the hill in search of noctural wildlife.
The next day was warm finally - so far it had been freezing cold and rain
in Washington, Oregon - then just cold in Idaho - Nevada a balmy 72.
Finally we had blistering heat.
The narrow, deserted 2-lane
road into Death Valley from the north-west is as good as it gets for
blacktop. Barren splendor at its best - not the pretty kind you
see in the badlands National Parks.
A variety of planetscapes
got the boys excited enough to bump happy hour up 8 hours.
The sight of Death Valley off in the distance was stunning -
turned out to be
Panamint Valley,
a low-fly test range for the
China Lake Navel Air Weapons
Station.
This was Billy Bobs 2nd time in
Death Valley
- the first on the ill-fated Tour De Mickeys
years before in an '82 Toyota in August with the
heater on full-blast to keep a 4-cylinder engine running at 114 degrees.
On the way thru Vegas and beyond.
Admiring the nothingness of it all this time we cruised through stopping only
to generate some severe roadside erosion.
Getting into Death Valley is a no-brainer - getting out is the problem.
The long climb to the surrounding mountains from the below
sea-level desert has finished many a mule and radiator alike.