Take the Goldwell Open Air Museum down the highway, just outside Beatty, Nevada.
We settled in at the Oasis at Death Valley, which sits in the center of the national park.
It wasn’t the Hotel California, but the song did start running through my mind.
Credit: Itziar Aio/Getty Images
At 11,049 feet, it towers above the surrounding mountains.
Small wonder that every other voice we heard was speaking a different language.
A staffer at the Oasis told me that Europeans comprise a large portion of the visitors.
Sergei Nikolaev/Getty Images
“They even come in the summer when it’s 125 out,” he said.
“They don’t seem to mind.
To them, this is theWild West, and the Wild West is America.”
Mimi Ditchie Photography/Getty Images
Although, there are products to help with the heat.
We left the park the next morning via 190, north through Towne Pass, in the Panamint Mountains.
Finally, we reached the small town of Trona.
Jim Steinfeldt/Contributor/Getty Images
Next, we stopped off at theCalico Ghost Town, a restored 19th-century mining town-turned-tourist attraction.
Baker continued theTwilight Zonemotif nicely.
We capped the day off at the Mad Greek Cafe, across the street from the Bun Boy Motel.
But the desert has its own rules.
I hesitated, and then heard myself say, “Sure.
What the hell?”
Stay
The Oasis at Death Valley(formerly Furnace Creek Resort) Hwy.
190, Death Valley, Calif.; 800/236-7916.
Eat
Mad Greek Cafe72112 Baker Blvd., Baker, Calif.; 760/733-4354.
Watch for the exuberantly tacky billboards for the Mad Greek.
Do
Mojave National Preserve760/252-6100; free admission.
Take a scenic drive through the Joshua Tree Forest.
Pan for gold and ride the mining train.
Death Valley National Park760/786-3200; entrance fee $30 per vehicle.
Goldwell Open Air Museum1 Golden St., Beatty, Nev.; 702/870-9946; free admission.
