Death Valley National Park

After we finished the Scotty's Castle tour, and got some goodies at the visitor center and begun our descent down the valley towards Stovepipe Wells.  This is really where you get the full sense of the valley with the two mountain ranges on the east and west sides.

Stovepipe Wells Village

This location is run by Death Valley Lodging Company and is filled with long time Cool Workers!  I just took the profile live for them live the week prior to visiting the park so I made arrangements with Trista to visit while there on Tuesday.  We met about 2pm in the afternoon and she gave Oliver and me a tour of the place.

They have a pool, which makes lots of sense considering the summer temperatures can hit 120 degrees.

They have a very nice gift shop complete with Wayne. :)

The main guest areas is surrounded by trees.

The Toll Road Restaurant

Employee Housing Buildings - located behind the main guest buildings

Additional property management buildings

Employee Dining Room (EDR)

More guest rooms

Q and Trista in the Badwater Saloon

The taps in the saloon.  The root beer on the far right is delicious!

This furniture was from an apothecary in New Mexico.

Our bartender

Steve, long time Cool Worker, along with Marco, also a long time Cool Worker

Now for the controversial painting. 

It is of a nude woman, who, if you read the bio of her at the saloon, may or may not be her bare skin.  She was asked to pose for the painter, but whether or not, she actually posed nude is the mystery.  The painting was in the bar when it was run by Xanterra, but there was a guest complaint and it was removed.  When the new owners took over the property, they found it in storage (the maintenance shop) and it was returned to the bar.  After a while, they too, received a complaint and as a compromise, the painting is covered with a shade unless there is a request to see it.  We asked. ;-)  Sorry if I offend.  The story was too good not to share.

Back to the G-rated images.....

I really enjoyed talking with Steve.  He found meeting me was like meeting a celebrity because of how long he had been using Cool Works.  He worked in Alaska for a while and spent several years at Evergreen Lodge near Yosemite.  Between him, Marco, and Trista, they helped get Stovepipe Wells back on our site, because in the ownership transfer, the relationship was lost for a while.  We're glad they're back and I was so pleased to hear about their experiences in Death Valley.

And, then, we got to meet the cat!  Herman is his name, and I guess, sadly, he was left by some RVers.  Luckily though, over time, he began to realize that if he was friendly to the guests, they might feed him.  What a sweet cat!

And with that, I got my NPS stamp at the visitor center and we rode east away from the sun.

Thanks for the wonderful hospitality, Death Valley Lodging Company!  We definitely enjoyed our stay at Stovepipe Wells.

Next Stop: Sea Level and Furnace Creek