before entering the valley we carefully read a leaflet about driving in the desert (not that we didn't have any experience with that, but we read it anyway...).
it is very important to bring enough water: at least one gallon (about 4 liters) per person per day as well as one gallon extra for your car cooling system.
so we thought we might as well hire a water truck...

food is also very important, and one rule of successfully surviving the desert is "eat as much as you can, whenever you can".
so imitating homer simpson I bought the world's largest sandwich in what is probably the world's smallest shop in the world's smallest town...

in this town we were lucky not to encounter any ghosts of long dead cowboys and gold diggers, and we didn't find any gun-slingers either - so we drove on to enter the valley.
well, instead of water we bought some coke and beer, I must admit. but we did take sunglasses, sunscreen, a compass, a packet of pretzels, anti-scorpion skin solution and a monkey wrench.
in one leaflet I have read that on one summer day back in the early 20th century it was so hot that the birds dropped dead from the sky! so we took precautions, and, yes, we are still alive...
survival of the fittest, I guess ;-)

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