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Day 9 and 10 - Red Rock Canyon to Death Valley

I awoke of Day 10 at 5am to the sound of a car pulling up next to my van.  I had just finished phase 2 of the van camper conversion and parked on the side of the main road going by red rock canyon, just outside vegas. Vegas had been fun, highlighted by the compelling Cirque O show-- imagine circus with pool. Page and Roman had left Sunday at noon on Day 9 and I had spent the remainder of the day "working".

The 2.5 inch thick air mattress and random array of bags and bins wasn't going to work for this phase of the journey-- a four week road trip around desert California, Arizona and New Mexico. I also needed food-- lots of food-- lots of food that doesn't go bad in 100 degree weather. Pic 1 shows my cart from Costco-- I stumbled upon three critical items at Costco that would begin to make this van a camper-- a package of 8 foam flooring cut in two by two foot blocks, a 3ft wide by 18 inch deep 5 level plastic shelving unit, and a 3 inch thick full size memory foam mattress topper. 

After hours shopping I drove to red rock canyon with a van full of disorganized stuff.  I did a driving tour of the canyon but didn't get out.. I had no where to sleep until I got organized. I found a turnoff off the main road that was isolated and flat. I literally took everything out of the van and placed them on the ground. First step was to use the foam flooring blocks to make a level sleeping surface. The van floor is 4x8 but tilts back to front and has uneven surfaces. I cut the foam and duct taped the pieces to fill gaps and create a 2x6 foot level platform. The shelving unit with only three levels built fit perfectly on the non-bed 2ft wide side of the van and filled all the vertical space. I saved the other two level section for the mid section. Then I unrolled the full size mattress topper, doubled it over to fit the 2ftby 6ft space perfectly. I had six inches of mattress heaven. Some more plastic bins for organization, some sheets and bungee cord to keep everything in place and viola-- a livable space(pic2). 

After being awoken on day 10 I staid awoke, watched the sunrise over Las Vegas and red rocks (pic3) and the drove to get my seat fixed on the van (one middle seat would not fold into the floor).  I then drove to Death Valley, arriving by 430pm. I immediately went for a hike through the badlands of golden canyon, having been a bit jittery after three days of no exercise!!  

The Death Valley scenery at dusk was stunning(pic 4 and 5). My five mile hike wove in and out of the badland hills and revealed sensational sunset vistas and concluded with a walk along the valley just above Badwater, the lowest place in North America. I pulled up to the campsite as the sun was going down and finished my van organization and fell asleep. 




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