Next stop - Death Valley. The weather forecast wasn't great, and sure enough, as soon as we hit the eastern edge of Yosemite, the heavens opened. We figured that the rain would stop before we got to Death Valley, so as we carried on driving over the soaking wet roads, we kept looking for the gap in the clouds, only it didn't appear.
We stopped a few times on our way to take pictures of the stunning scenery, but in order to do so, we had to get out the waterproof jackets and protect both ourselves and the cameras from the elements. It was amusing to see so many people in shorts and t-shirts sheltering under what jackets they had to protect themselves - of course, James and I have spent far too much time on holidays in the rain to go anywhere, let alone Death Valley, without waterproofs, so we were protected.
Of course, when it rains in Death Valley, it's a big thing. All the rain water falling on the surrounding hillsides cascades and flows into the valley and starts to wash away the road. We drove down into the valley, wearing our waterproofs and sturdy Merrells, wondering if we were going to make it all the way to Furnace Creek before the roads disappeared. Luckily, there was only one spot that had crumbled, but our Kia tank ploughed through with just dirty paintwork to show for it. We got to the Furnace Creek Ranch and were presented with possibly the smallest hotel room in the world, ever. I dashed out in the rain to go for a swim in the huge naturally-heated swimming pool before we went for dinner at the local restaurant. Unfortunately, it appears the park wasn't quite designed for as many guests as arrived that day in the rain, so there was a bit of a wait for dinner. Food was nice, if a little pricey (not like there was much choice on eating establishment in the middle of the desert). Breakfast in the morning was not so good, with some unappetising breakfast cooked stuff, tinned fruit, or toasted breads / muffins on offer from the pricey buffet.Given the choice, I think next time we'd head for the more expensive Furnace Creek Inn - the posh hotel complex just up the road. The tiny room was just too claustrophobic for us and all our luggage.
As we drove off in the morning, the rising sun quickly dried up the previous night's rain and by just 10am, it was already well into the 80's. The valley itself if a beautiful, if strange place, and the hills / mountains to the sides of the valley have some stunning features that looked amazing in the morning sunlight. We had a long way to travel from here to our next stop - Zion National Park over in the bottom left corner of Utah.