Flying and Death Valley

This morning we woke up at 3 am to be out of the house by 4 am, to catch a 6:30 am flight!  We are both good at getting up early, and since we had flown out at 7 am to Prince Edward Island last year, we thought it would be fast getting through security.  We arrived at the Memphis airport on time and checked our bags quickly, and then had to wait in the security line for 45 minutes.  A TSA officer was walking around with her dog.  I got through with no major issues, but Geoff's chest was patted down for some reason.  Even with the delays, we still had a half hour before the flight left. 

We had a layover in Los Angeles, and had lunch at the airport.  Everything was horribly overpriced and not very good, and that's all I'm going to say about that. 

Then we flew to Las Vegas, where our trip would begin.  We arrived, picked up our white ford mustang rental car, and we were on our way! 

First, we went to a local Walmart to buy snack food and water.  Since our first stop was Death Valley, we decided it would be good to have lots of water, and also non-perishable food in case we got hungry.  We got wheat thins, craisins, salted mixed nuts, apples, and M&Ms. 

As we drove down the road, I was amazed at all the mountains!  It was an amazing view.  I took lots of pictures out of the car window. 

Then we arrived in Death Valley.  They had recently had rain, so it was only about 93 degrees.  In fact, it was hotter in Jackson, TN at that point in time than it was in Death Valley!  The sign says, "Caution Extreme Heat Danger" but it wasn't that hot. 

In fact, there was a little rainbow over some mountains!

Then Geoff and I decided to hike to the overlook.  

 This was the view!

This was the view from another direction!

The view was breathtaking!  It is amazing how beautiful rocks can be! 

After that, we went to the little visitor's center, and then to the sand dunes. 

By this time it was getting late, so we headed out of the park.  We ate at a McDonald's where you could see mountains out of the window.  Finally we arrived at our hotel.  It was a very exciting first day of vacation!