LandRoverLasVegas
Observer
Last Sunday June 30th was supposed to be the hottest day on Earth so I thought why not go to Death Valley, the lowest point on the continent and the hottest place on Earth at the same time? I thought either I'm crazy or adventurous. The only difference between the two is how prepared I would be.
Next question. What vehicle to take? My first thought was to take a brand new LR4 right off the showroom floor to demonstrate how a new, stock Land Rover could take the punishment. But that would be too easy. The General Manager said “Take the 130”. My first thought was, “Great!” But under heavy load (up steep hills) the already anemic air conditioning temporarily shuts down. Not fun in 130+ temperatures. I protested that it would be loud, hot and uncomfortable to run around in it all day in Death Valley and could even be unsafe! He didn't want to hear it, and he's the boss, so I reluctantly grabbed the keys. Besides, it would make for a better story he said.
I grabbed my friend Mike and we took a handheld GPS, a Spot Emergency Locater, lots of food and 6 gallons of water in an ice-filled cooler. We filled up in South West Las Vegas and headed North West up Blue Diamond Road (NV 160) towards Pahrump at 9:45am. Once we hit Pahrump, we headed west and into California.
Our first sight of “civilization” was the Death Valley Junction around 11:00am at the California 127 and 190, a very small town in the Amargosa Valley that consists of about 10 buildings and one full time resident. One of the buildings is a 23-room hotel and believe it or not, a beautiful opera house aptly named the Amargosa Opera House. The owner and resident Marta Becket still puts on shows there from October thru May. The story behind the town is that it was actually a mining town opened around 1925 to house the miners from the nearby Pacific Borax Mining Company. Marta discovered the long abandoned town while stuck there with a flat tire and she never left! We had some great burgers and spoke to the friendly staff. A visitor to the hotel named Hank offered to show us a few spots nearby off the 190 highway, like the living quarters of the workers for the long gone Death Valley Rail Road. These rock huts were topped with canvas back in the day so when you look at them now, all that remains are foundations and the wires that held the canvas “roofs” up. Interestingly there are still numerous rusty tin food cans and many tobacco canisters lying all around. You can see where tracks were laid at one time.
Our next stop was about 4 miles away down to Echo Canyon which is a scenic 9 mile drive from the highway; it was mostly gravel with some large rocks here and there, but nothing very challenging to drive through. Inside the vehicle temperature was 120degrees by this time. The canyon road led us to the Inyo Mine, an old mining camp that opened in 1906 that had a boarding house, general store and a blacksmith shop. Operating on and off for decades, it officially closed in 1940 after several attempts to turn a profit. There are still many structures that you can just walk right into. By this time it was 121 degrees at 2:30pm. Cool by Death Valley standards! Did I mention that the a/c shut itself down again due to the load on the engine? It was a crisp 139 degree in the vehicle.
We left Hank and his daughter and her friend and went back through Echo Canyon back to the 190 and into Death Valley where we stopped for some pictures and more water. A thermometer that was in the shade indicated 130 degrees! Were then on our way to Badwater Basin, 17 miles to the South. Several news outlets were there including CNN. If you look at one of the photos, you can see the hills behind us that read “SEA LEVEL”, 282 feet above us. The basin was surreal. Now I know what Mars must look like. Hot, barren and lifeless. At this point it was 133 degrees according to some of the folks that brought their own thermometers. We won't actually know the exact official temperature for months I'm told. All I know is that the intense heat physically hurt your arms and face the second you walked out of the vehicle. Breathing was challenging, as the hot, dry air burns your lungs with every breath.
We took some photos and had enough of the heat, so we got back into the Defender and went back to Las Vegas, which was a cool 115 and the a/c was on again…
The Defender was a true champ, never even quite hitting the half way mark on the temperature gauge and getting us there and back safely, a true testament to the vehicle. Would I have done it in a new LR4 if I had the chance to do it again and not have to have dealt with bouncing around all day; a loud interior and an a/c that shuts down under load in 133 degree weather? No. I wouldn't have done it any other way…
Next question. What vehicle to take? My first thought was to take a brand new LR4 right off the showroom floor to demonstrate how a new, stock Land Rover could take the punishment. But that would be too easy. The General Manager said “Take the 130”. My first thought was, “Great!” But under heavy load (up steep hills) the already anemic air conditioning temporarily shuts down. Not fun in 130+ temperatures. I protested that it would be loud, hot and uncomfortable to run around in it all day in Death Valley and could even be unsafe! He didn't want to hear it, and he's the boss, so I reluctantly grabbed the keys. Besides, it would make for a better story he said.
I grabbed my friend Mike and we took a handheld GPS, a Spot Emergency Locater, lots of food and 6 gallons of water in an ice-filled cooler. We filled up in South West Las Vegas and headed North West up Blue Diamond Road (NV 160) towards Pahrump at 9:45am. Once we hit Pahrump, we headed west and into California.
Our first sight of “civilization” was the Death Valley Junction around 11:00am at the California 127 and 190, a very small town in the Amargosa Valley that consists of about 10 buildings and one full time resident. One of the buildings is a 23-room hotel and believe it or not, a beautiful opera house aptly named the Amargosa Opera House. The owner and resident Marta Becket still puts on shows there from October thru May. The story behind the town is that it was actually a mining town opened around 1925 to house the miners from the nearby Pacific Borax Mining Company. Marta discovered the long abandoned town while stuck there with a flat tire and she never left! We had some great burgers and spoke to the friendly staff. A visitor to the hotel named Hank offered to show us a few spots nearby off the 190 highway, like the living quarters of the workers for the long gone Death Valley Rail Road. These rock huts were topped with canvas back in the day so when you look at them now, all that remains are foundations and the wires that held the canvas “roofs” up. Interestingly there are still numerous rusty tin food cans and many tobacco canisters lying all around. You can see where tracks were laid at one time.
Our next stop was about 4 miles away down to Echo Canyon which is a scenic 9 mile drive from the highway; it was mostly gravel with some large rocks here and there, but nothing very challenging to drive through. Inside the vehicle temperature was 120degrees by this time. The canyon road led us to the Inyo Mine, an old mining camp that opened in 1906 that had a boarding house, general store and a blacksmith shop. Operating on and off for decades, it officially closed in 1940 after several attempts to turn a profit. There are still many structures that you can just walk right into. By this time it was 121 degrees at 2:30pm. Cool by Death Valley standards! Did I mention that the a/c shut itself down again due to the load on the engine? It was a crisp 139 degree in the vehicle.
We left Hank and his daughter and her friend and went back through Echo Canyon back to the 190 and into Death Valley where we stopped for some pictures and more water. A thermometer that was in the shade indicated 130 degrees! Were then on our way to Badwater Basin, 17 miles to the South. Several news outlets were there including CNN. If you look at one of the photos, you can see the hills behind us that read “SEA LEVEL”, 282 feet above us. The basin was surreal. Now I know what Mars must look like. Hot, barren and lifeless. At this point it was 133 degrees according to some of the folks that brought their own thermometers. We won't actually know the exact official temperature for months I'm told. All I know is that the intense heat physically hurt your arms and face the second you walked out of the vehicle. Breathing was challenging, as the hot, dry air burns your lungs with every breath.
We took some photos and had enough of the heat, so we got back into the Defender and went back to Las Vegas, which was a cool 115 and the a/c was on again…
The Defender was a true champ, never even quite hitting the half way mark on the temperature gauge and getting us there and back safely, a true testament to the vehicle. Would I have done it in a new LR4 if I had the chance to do it again and not have to have dealt with bouncing around all day; a loud interior and an a/c that shuts down under load in 133 degree weather? No. I wouldn't have done it any other way…
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