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I bought a bumper sticker. I should be in Mississippi tomorrow night. So I will start the blog then. Don't worry you guys will see it.

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Nick! Death Valley is, a stop & drive thru, well, worth your time. I spent three summers in DV, just out of high school, doing research work. There's no better time to visit DV than in September. You'll probably experience heat in 100-110 degree range, but, if your lucky, you might even be able to catch a 115-125 degree day. And, best of all, for the most part, there won't be any crowds, since the tourist season runs from Oct. 15 thru April 15. The landscape of the valley is very impressive, the north end is the coolest in temps, and the south end, which is where Bad Water (lowest point in the United States -282 ft or 282 feet below sea level) is located tends to garnish the hottest temps. From Bad Water, you can see the highest point in the lower 48 states, that being Mt. Whitney in California at over 14,000 feet. I don't know if the canyon made of Talc is still driveable anymore. But, there is a canyon near Furnace Creek Ranch (the official tourist central location -- pricey) It's pretty interesting since its primarily all talc. Dante's View will give you a bird's eye view of the entire valley. how to get there is well marked. Although my spelling might be wrong, there's a meteor crater at the north end called Ubehebe (pronounced you-ba-hee-bee)Crater. The first tie I saw it, while standing at the rim, there was someone yoldeling in the bottom. We hiked down onto the bottom, and the guy who was yoldeling turned out to be Anthony Quinn (who starred in lots of movies including "Zorba-the Greek," 1965?) Near the crater you'll find, the one thing, I believe that put Death Valley on the map, at least in the 20th Century, and that is what has become known as Scotty's Castle. Death Valley Scotty (Walter Scott) was a miner, well, that's what he said, but, in reality was a quick-buck artist, fraud, story-teller, con-man, but, had a very colorful personality. Scotty, left home at a very young age, from Kentucky, or Tennesee, and joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, in the late 1890's, finally, working his way west to work in the Borax works (20-Mule Team Borax). The big town near Death Valley, at the time, was Ryolite (had plumbed water, and a population of thousands, several banks, a full blown downtown, lots of bars, shops, several insurance companies, and a first class railroad station. It was served by the Tonapah and Tidewater Railroad. If you'd like to really see what happens to something when not maintained for 100 years, Ryolite will dazzle you. there are a few crumbling buildings left, and the railroad station, but, when the metal ran out, so, did the people in Ryolite. Ryolite is not on any tourist map, but, on my last visit (1997), there was a ranger who came tours of Ryolite. Ryolite has a house still standing made of entirely of whiskey bottles. Ryolite is located on the road (paved) heading out, just north of the Furnace Creek Ranch, east (short drive) to Beatty, Nevada (it's a better location for eating, gas, supplies, and the main casino has a good price selection of food in their cafe. On the way to Beatty, to the left, is the road to Ryolite. It's marked. Still a dirt road. Scotty was well-known in these parts. He always bragged about his hidden gold mine, and always had wads of cash, although no one remembered seeing him sell any gold. Scotty lived most of his life in Death Valley and the area around it. His scam was working rich people in the east by getting them to invest in his "gold" mining ventures. One of the people he hooked into his gold Mine ventures was Albert Johnson, a man who had TB very bad, and, in the east he had constant breathing problems. Scotty suggested he come out to Death Valley (never thinking that he really would) as, the valley air was dry, and Scotty thought he would be able to capture a better life. Well, Johnson, decided he'd head west, see how his mining operations were going, and try the air. In, a, nut shell, Johnson's health did improve a lot, Johnson was indebted to Scotty for saving his life, and, early on, realized there was no gold mine, but, continued to finance the mine. he and Scotty became very good friends. Albert brought his wife out and began to build a home in the higher northern elevations of DV. Under DV is a large underground River called the Amagrosa River. Johnson, built a turbine, which harnessed this underground water flow and generated power to his home -- the castle. Scotty, of, course told all the locals that he, and his lesser partner, Johnson, were building a castle. Johnson did build Scotty his own residence on the castle grounds. Scotty seldom used it and could be seen enjoying all the castle goodies. And, the castle, is one-pretty amazing place, and has a complete automatic music system using real horns, strings, piano, drums and a pipe organ. It's a/c is water from the underground river trinkling though rocks around the fireplaces, and keeps the castle a cool 68 degrees. Well, I could write forever, but, yea, Death Valley is a worthwhile stop. Another gem of the Eastern California - Western Nevada region is Lake Tahoe, the third largest Alpine (above 6000 ft) lake in the world. Lake Tahoe is 94% pure, with only one outlet, the Truckee River, and flows east (not west). Lake Tahoe has a water temp of 39 degrees year round. the area boasts the largest concentration of ski resorts in the world, and offers world-class shows and casino gambling. Lake Tahoe is about 50 miles west of Reno on U.S. highway 50 - named the #1 lonely highway in America. Tahoe might be too far north of you route, but, I thought I'd mention it. Have a safe journey, Nick!

nick... You're not in San Francisco yet, are you? I heard the leader of Hell's Angels was killed there. So...where were you last night? *If you're interested in reading my articles, Click Here.