Departure: Mariposa, CA Arrival: Ridgecrest, CA by: Mammoth Lakes, CA   ( Motel 6, 31+tax) Lodge: Motel 6 Price: 41$+tax Leg Km: 636 (395 Miles) Total Km: 1291 (802 Miles) Summary   -Mono Lake   -Devil's Postpile   -Death Valley	click to zoom the Mariposa-Mammoth Lakes leg click to zoom the Mammoth Lakes-Ridgecrest leg

Friday, 18^th July
Mono Lake
Not long after leaving Yosemite we arrive to Lee Vining. We stop at the city's visitor center to ask for information about Mono Lake. It is suggested that we spend our time at the South Tufa area, about half an hour by car, in the direction of Mammoth Lake.
There is a 3$ fee to enter this federal area. Once we're inside we quickly feel part of the special Mono Lake atmosphere. There is a strong tufa's smell. The environment looks like desert but there are plenty of different animal species. Furthermore, the beach is covered by a carpet of flies. These are the "mono" flies. The name comes from the word used by the native originally living in this area.
The trail leads along the beach, providing beautiful views of the lake and the surroundings. The tour takes about an hour and we leave Mono Lake with the conviction that it would have been a big mistake to miss this place. Unfortunately, the sky is cloudy foiling our idea of waiting for the sunset here.
Mammoth Lakes
It takes about 40 minutes to arrive to Mammoth Lakes. We've some free time that we spend cleaning our car, buying something to eat and washing some clothes. We have a reservation at the Motel6, which will soon become like a home to us.
We eat supper at a nice steak restaurant, the Mammoth Grill & Bar. Meat is really good and we enjoy also the live country music.
Very satisfied with this supper, we go back to our motel. Tomorrow, we must wake up early because waiting for us in the morning is Devil's Postpile and Death Valley in the afternoon.

Friday, 19^th July
Devil's Postpile
We leave our motel at 9 a.m. heading to the Devil's Postpile NM. It's not far from the Mammoth Lakes center. We must park our car at the Mammoth Ski area since Devil's Postpile NM can only be reached by an ecological shuttle service. The ticket costs 7$ and in 20 minutes the bus drops us off at the trailhead. Here a ranger welcomes and gives us a map. The trail is very short, less than one mile. With no effort, we arrive at the monument's base. From here, Devil's Postpile appears exactly how we saw it in the few photos available in the Internet. In fact, the monument is not very big and there is just one angle for a good photo. We read something about the geological process leading to the formation of these strange columns. Then we move to the top of the monument.
Walking on the top, we feel like we’re walking on perfect hexagonal tiles but each of them is nothing else than the top of the columns we saw from the bottom. We are fascinated by this strange place and after walking around a bit we go back to the shuttle's stop. Our visit to the Devil's Postpile takes less than two hours but we're satisfied of our choice. When we arrive to our car, it is already 1 p.m. and it's high time to move to Death Valley. We’re not in a hurry, anyway...we want to avoid the hottest hours of the day.
The journey to Death Valley offers nice views and it takes only two and a half hours to get to Lone Pine, a quick ride. We just stop to eat something at Burger King and to fill our tank with gas. We feel very hot but maybe it's just the Death Valley's suggestion. We wear some light clothing and make sure we have plenty of water and then we go.
Death Valley
As soon as we tour on the Hwy-163 we find a visitor center. There is plenty of information for people heading to Death Valley. We take the official newspaper and the map of the park and we go on.
The road leading to Death Valley is one of the most impressive things we've seen till now during our trip. A road in the middle of nothing, straight, flat, at reality's limits. We stop to take time to take some photos. The sky is cloudy and the temperature is nice. Who could have ever said it? Everything looks better than we could have desired.
One of the most dramatic views is the cracked desert ground. Also the ground can't resist to the sun. While we're taking some photos, we see some of the cars that had passed us a while ago coming back. It looks strange but we don't care too much. After some more miles we see a group of cars stopped up ahead. We think they're probably stopped at some view point but going on we understand how the situation is not too good. A guy tells us that flash-floods have brought a stratus of mud and rocks on the road. It’s so bad that even a 4WD can't pass through.
It seems to me impossible that such a little mud can stop a car but, after trying few meters of driving in the red mud, I clearly understand that the road is really inaccessible. Death Valley denies us. If we want to pass, we must find another way. In the meantime some news arrives by phone. In the next ten hours the road will be closed.
Going back we carefully study all our maps to find some alternate way but the only two options we have are south by Barstow and east from Nevada. We decide to go south hoping that the road there is accessible. We realize both options are way too long to allow us to be in Stovepipe Wells in time. We can only stop somewhere for the night and hope the situation will change tomorrow.
Ridgecrest
I'm pretty tired and also nervous because of the situation. We stop in Ridgecrest, the biggest city before Barstow. We find a room at a Motel6. We call Stovepipe Wells to tell them about the situation and they confirm to us that all the roads to the Death Valley are closed, at least till tomorrow.
It's 7 p.m. and we're pretty hungry. We eat at a KFC and we go to sleep after this eventful day.

 

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