Death Valley from Oregon in October?

[schoeney]

Well I know this thread is probably better suited for the travel/trip forum BUT I was hoping to get lots of input quickly so I am posting here.

Some buddies and I are thinking about making a quick trip from Portland, Oregon to Death Valley this coming week. (October
24-28).

We are wondering what route we should take given the weather conditions this time of year. I prefer to avoid 1-5 (boring) but others prefer it for this trip (at least from Portland to the Chico,CA area). In addition we are wondering if Lone Pine to Beatty is a good route to get the "Death Valley experience", then head back up toward Reno. Once we get to Reno on the way back "up" we are fine.

On th east side of the mountains it is a heck of alot colder (worry about frost?)in the daylight morning hours...but it gets more sun(vs. rain).

I would appreciate input from anyone that might be familiar with this trip or parts of it. We only have the 5 days to do it so time is somewhat of a factor. It appears to be approximately 1900 miles round trip.

Thanks