I'd like to review the general itinerary for the Death Valley Trip. The specific directions are at this link.

We will leave OCL at 7:30 a.m. on November (in your email)th and proceed to Bishop via Highways 50, 89 and 395. There will be a break in Placerville and in Hope Valley. We will cross Monitor Pass and join 395 near Topaz. Lunch will be at the Meadowcliff Restaurant at about noon. We will arrive in Bishop at approximately 4:00 p.m. and check in to the Best Western Creekside Inn. Dinner is at the Whiskey Creek Restaurant at 7:00 p.m. I recommend getting gas in Bishop because it gets more expensive down the road. Cleo says that there is a really good quilt shop in Bishop.

On the 2nd day, breakfast is on your own. If you like bakeries, Erick Schat's Bakery is outstanding (and close). We will leave the Creekside Inn at 8:30 a.m. and proceed south on 395, stopping in Lone Pine and at Panamint Springs for breaks. We should arive at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center (which is where we will probably check in to the Park. Be sure to bring your Golden Age Passport if you have one.) at about noon. We will have lunch at the Furnace Creek Ranch, and check in, if they will let us do it so early. After lunch we will tour Park highlights such as Bad Water, Devil's Golf Course, Dante's View and Zabriskie Point. Dinner is at 6:15 p.m. at the Furnace Creek INN (not Ranch).

On the 3rd day we will have breakfast on our own and leave for Scotty's Castle at 8:30 a.m. After the Scotty's Castle tour, we will head back for Lincoln Hills. We will suggest some routes. We can travel together or separately, as you wish. We will discuss that further during the trip.

In the event that Monitor Pass is closed due to early snow, Plan B is to cross Donner Pass and join 395 south in Reno. In the extremely unlikely event that Donner Pass is also closed, Plan C is to go by way of Bakersfield and Mojave.

Steve