What a Day



Sunrise over Death Valley



Pup Fish



Sunrise came through a notch in the Panamint range around 7 this morning, and we left for parts unknown at 9.  We drove to the Salt Creek area to look at little Pup Fish about as long as your knuckle, and took a group shot of the all us happy A-ers.  Climbing into the Amargosa range, we stopped at Hells Gate for a short breather, to discover that the Wildman's had turned back for Stovepipe after some mechanical problems.  A lot of hoods were up as we assessed the next part of the trip, and the Pollands decided to head back with a possible headgasket casualty. Rolling on into the higher elevations, Roger and Norene began to experience some severe overheating issues due to a blown headgasket in their vehicle. We nursed their car down into Beatty, Nevada, where we all took a lunch break.

John and Lizanne Polland out of luck...

Afterward, we headed to Rhyolite to visit the abandoned town, and discovered that the Griffin car had to be loaded on a flatbed for the return trip to Stovepipe.  We were losing cars left and right, all of a sudden, so we proceeded back to Hells Gate and nervously did a head count, to discover that the Beamons' water pump shaft had failed, sending the fan blade fatally into the heart of their radiator. We realized that we were losing cars at an alarming rate, so the Kafers went back to the breakdown site, while a majority of the group decided to stop at Furnace Creek (where there is cell service) to learn the fate of the Beamons.  A few of us went on back to Stovepipe Wells to see after the other casualties.

So far, we have been able to put the Griffin car back in operation, the Polland A is a question mark, and Wildmans can always trailer theirs home. Beamons are in Paraumph (I can never spell that town) where they have found a sympathetic radiator shop that will do the repairs quickly...so we may see them back here in Stovepipe sometime tomorrow.

From one that is still ready to go....
John and Judy and a couple more A's