Chevy Avalanche Fan Club You're Invited To A Death Valley Trip This Month!

A good friend of mine (Tom Dee) who lives in San Jose, is taking his Mercedes Benz ML320 back to Death Valley and we're (my wife Denise and I) going with him.

I would like to invite you to join us in what will be a LOT of fun! I'm sorry for the short notice but due to the weather and the phases of the moon this will be the best weekend to go (November will be colder).

This is a dirt-road trip - nothing too radical as far as 4-wheeling goes but you do want to have 4-wheel drive. There is no blazing of new trails - the entire route has been driven by many others for many years. Tom has maps and GPS and has been here before so we're along for the fun and the ride.

It would be great if you could make this trip with us. It will be a great time and Death Valley is best at this time of year - not too hot and not too cold (at night). Let me know if you're able to go. Here are a lot more details below...

Tom originally went with a semi-professional guide who takes folks to Death Valley (and charges big bucks for it) and once he went he was hooked. Tom's been there a number of times since then - this is Tom's fourth or fifth trip there - he loves it.

The Death Valley trip is October 18, 19, & 20 - a 3 day trip, so you would need to take Friday off. The moon should be full/almost full so it will be awesome at night!

We would hit Panamint Valley, Goler Wash, Surprise Canyon, Titus Canyon, Ubehebe crater, "the racetrack", Lippencott road, Saline valley and more.
The temps this month are in the 80's during the day and 60 at night, which is perfect. November will see the temps at night drop dramatically. With a slight chance of snow at the peaks. So ideally October would be best.

Here are some pictures of his previous trips...

Death Valley pic 1

Death Valley pic 2

You can see many more pics of his first three DV trips (and his great Wax Off wax test) at his web site:
www.deckowski.com

The red star on this map shows Ridgecrest. From Los Angeles, we would drive out the 14 freeway to Trona (after Ridgecrest, by China Lake) and once we're there, it's dirt the rest of the way...

Well, the map won't work so go to Yahoo Maps (or other online map Web site) and take a look at Ridgecrest, CA and Trona, CA - you'll be able to see how to get there and you'll see Death Valley as well.

Things to bring... (note when it says, "I have it" Tom was telling me that he has these items):

Layers of clothes for 3 days.
A tent for 2 people. with stakes and sleeping pad/mat
2 sleeping bags.
Camping chairs
camping table (optional)
lantern (electric or propane....your choice...I use electric)
1/2 gallon of water per person per day. (If you don't drink sodas, then you need at least 1 gallon per person per day) I carry 6 extra gallons for radiator or washing.
Can and dried food for three days. (I have a stove and fuel)
spoons, forks, knives
sunscreen
sunglasses
FRS radio or CB (I have both)
Full size spare (highly recommended) check to see if your tires are LT rated and not P rated (LT=light truck, P= passenger..big difference in side wall construction)
soap
paper towels
garbage bag(s)
3 towels
sodas
good cooler with ice (depending on where we go, we may be able to restock)
extra gasoline ( 5 gallons minimum, 10 would be better)
air pump (I have)
tire plug kit (I have)
machete (I have)
GPS (I have)
A good map with GPS coordinates (I have)
Camera and/or camcorder
toilet paper
toothbrush and toothpaste
all other toiletries (ie-deodorant, brushes, etc)

That's it....the things that I mentioned I have, we can share. However, ideally each truck should be self sufficient, just in case. No need for fire wood, we should be able to pick dead branches and grass.

I hope you can join us for what should be a GREAT trip!

Best regards,

-Dan
"Magic Mtn Dan"

Dan Feinberg
Sylmar, CA
818-356-0678
DanF@aol.com

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