This morning saw an early start and a delightful breakfast burrito before we headed out in search of Death Valley. As it was making our drive 2 hours longer just for the sake of it we were hoping the scenery would be worth it.
As we left the Vegas city limits we were dubious, long straight roads through a fairly featureless landscape with the exception of a prison wasn’t a great start – and Google taking us down a dirt road to an abandoned airstrip also didn’t help. 
Samara being bored almost to sleep we swapped just in time for the roads and scenery to improve as we headed into Death Valley proper, the temperature rising into the 20s creating a pleasant climate as we wound through the park over the dips and rises, giving us glimpses of the arid mountainous terrain, sand dunes, and dusty plains. 
During the drive we entered our 20th and final State of the trip, California, noticing as we crossed the border the price of fuel began to rise, supermarkets started charging for bags and the accents changed once again.
The terrain becoming featureless once more having crossed the Sierra-Nevada’s we soldiered on only stopping to stock up the pantry and with a fuel stop that left Samara seething.
As headlights came on we were still short of our Oakhurst goal by 45 minutes or so – creating a battle between my retinas and the ultra high powered headlights and high beams of American cars, with the trucks especially being at just the right height to blind you.
Eventually making it after nine and a half hours on the road we were welcomed by a room with a view we couldn’t see and the news that the approaching storm may scuttle all our plans for tomorrow…
Day One Hundred and Thirty Seven Stats:
Miles travelled – 515 (829 km)
Money Spent:
Food – $10.65 (£8.07)
Fuel – $41 (£31.07)
Accommodation – $54.39 (£42) through Hotels.com
Steps – 3,036
Plan for tomorrow: Yosemite National Park, California
Champagne Taste on a Beer Budget 