March 13 - 27, 2021
In March 2020, we were ready to spend two months traveling across the US when the coronavirus hit. It’s been a long year in COVID-19 quarantine but we have our first vaccine shots, so now it’s time for a trailer trip around California. Just a couple of weeks to see some Spring desert flowers and experience the deserts when they aren’t too hot.
Below is a map showing the route we drove during the trip.
Our first desert was Joshua Tree National Park. Since the drive from home would be long we decided to break it up by spending the night at the Kern River Campground outside of Bakersfield. It was quiet and a little cool. While we bundled up during the day, some of our neighbors had kids playing in the cold river.
The Kern River Campground claimed it was FULL but you couldn’t tell from the number of people. Campgrounds were just opening up since the COVID-19 lockdown and they weren’t allowing as many people.
Mojave Air and Space Port
A short distance southeast of Bakersfield is the Mojave Air and Space Port. This is an airport, flight test center, space port, and storage area for airplanes. https://www.mojaveairport.com/
Joshua Tree National Park
We spent our second night at Black Rock Campground, in the northwest part of Joshua Tree National Park.
Driving to the campground we didn’t see too many flowers. Mainly sagebrush, ocotillo, and cacti with a few Joshua trees.
Before we were married, Nancy and camped at Joshua Tree with a church youth group. I have been carrying a picture in my wallet since then. It appears we have changed but Joshua Tree hasn’t.
Back at camp, it was time for a fire and our daily vodka tonic.
The next morning was bright and clear, so it was time to do some exploring in the burb.
We drove the north part of the park to see Hidden Valley. This is a half-mile-wide depression surrounded by boulders and steep rock walls. Hidden Valley contains a wide variety of plants and animals not seen in other parts of Joshua Tree National Park. It’s believed cattle rustlers used it as a hideout in the past.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hidden_Valley_(Joshua_Tree_National_Park)
On the way back to camp the terrain all looked similar, dry ground with sagebrush, and Joshua trees.
No matter what the weather, it’s always time for BBQ. It just takes more time to melt the cheese.
It was cold so we ate early and went inside to stay warm. Before bed, I checked on the BBQ and decided to leave it until morning. Fortunately, our bed and comforter are warm so we didn’t run the heater until we got up in the morning.
Joshua Tree National Park is large and the only way to get from the northern part to the southern part is to drive around the west side. Leaving Yucca Valley, CA we could see the San Bernadino Mountains.
Since we spent the first couple of days in a campground, we decided to do some boondocking in southern Joshua Tree. The southern area is flatter so it leaves many places where campers can pull off the road and park. We parked on BLM land between the national park and US10. This was my first opportunity to use the solar panel with my homemade tracker. It worked great.
As you can see, it was really crowded. The nearest neighbor was 300 feet away and I don’t remember ever actually seeing a person.
In the opposite direction, it was just plain empty. In the distance you can see highway US10.
After setting up camp we took the Suburban into the center of the national park for a day of touring.
https://www.nps.gov/jotr/learn/nature/cholla-cactus-garden.htm
If you check out this website you’ll notice that sometimes there are lots of flowers. The California drought didn’t help.
We were ready for St. Partick’s Day with Nancy’s home-made face masks.
Near the Cottonwood Visitor Center is the Lost Palm Oasis Trail. This is a 7.2 mile day hike. We started at the trailhead and hiked about a mile.
It’s interesting what underground water can do for plant growth. Dry desert everywhere and then an outcropping of palms and trees.
Back at camp, we had a few neighbors encroaching on our space.
Anza-Borrego National Park
From Joshua Tree, we drove to Anza-Borrego National Park. When we lived in Southern California (45 years ago) we had come here camping a few times to see the spring bloom. Since it’s close to LA, it’s a very popular place.
For a month, we tried to book a campsite in the park but everything was taken. Outside the park is an area called Peg Leg where you can camp on the sand. Unfortunately, we didn’t know the area and pulled into a place with deep sand. The farther we pulled in, the softer the sand. Finally, we were stuck.
$200 and a few hours later we arrived at a solid campsite on hard ground about a quarter mile away. We drove the Suburban on the road and the tow truck drove on the sand.
The final campsite was actually nice, with shade during the day and a rock fire ring.
Looking from the highway entrance, you can see how open it was. During the day, lots of ATVs and dune buggies drove around the camp area. It was noisy but also fun to watch.
The most famous hike in Anza-Borrego is Palm Grove. When we were here 45 years ago, I remember looking up the canyon and seeing green plants. Now everything is dry and brown, waiting for the rain to bloom again.
Along the trail, there is a small creek. Unfortunately, when we reached the palm grove it was closed. Someone had started a fire and burned the area so it’s closed off for restoration.
While exploring Palm Grove and other areas of Anza-Borrego State Park we did see some flowering plants but you had to look closely.
The weather was nice and Nancy’s cooking was spectacular. We had shrimp and noodles for dinner.
In the area surrounding the city of Borrego Springs, there are over 130 full-sized metal art sculptures. The artworks range from prehistoric mammals to historical characters, fanciful dinosaurs, and a 350-foot-long fanciful serpent.
Mojave Desert
Leaving Anza-Borrego we drove north, passing the Salton Sea and Palm Springs, around Joshua Tree National Park, through Twentynine Palms, and up to the Mojave Desert. On the second day of this trip, we stopped at the Mojave Air and Space Port which is just outside of Edwards Air Force Base. The Mojave Desert is about 150 miles east of the Mojave Air and Space Port.
This area is dry and desolate with minimal camping. We set up camp next to the Union Pacific train tracks in Kelso. Having learned from sand camping at Anza-Borrego, we drove in with the Suburban to test the ground before pulling the trailer. Beyond the brush in front of the Suburban is Kelso. Not much there except an old train station.
Freight trains traveled by several times a day and at the night.
Looking in the other direction from camp was open desert.
Southwest of camp we drove to Kelso Dunes, a 45 sq. mile area of sand dunes.
Blowing desert winds shape the geography.
20 miles north of camp we went to the Lava Tube Trail. https://www.nps.gov/moja/planyourvisit/lava-tube.htm
The drive was washboard road so later in the day we noticed our Fitbits showed we had over 10,000 steps and we hadn’t hiked much at all.
This was said to be a very popular hike but after seeing it there wasn’t much interest. It looked like the cave had been filled with rock.
After a long day in the desert, it was nice to relax on the La-Z-Boy recliner with an iced tea and watch DVDs.
Driving north, we spent the next night in the Billy Boy Mine area.
The area near our camp was covered with Joshua trees. In one direction they were thriving
and in the other direction, they were burned and dead. The Dome Fire burned the area in August 2020.
Death Valley National Park
From the Mojave Desert, we drove north to Death Valley. As usual, the best campgrounds were full so we didn’t have reservations.
Rather than go to the campground and then backtrack, we decided to do some sightseeing on the way to Sunset Campground. Our first stop was Zabriskie Point. It’s really interesting how the drive can be so bland and then you see something like this. https://www.nps.gov/places/zabriskie-point-scenic-viewpoint.htm
After dropping the trailer at Sunset Campground we went south to see several sights and do a little hiking. The first stop was Natural Bridge Canyon. https://www.hikespeak.com/trails/natural-bridge-canyon-in-death-valley/
It’s interesting how there’s evidence of erosion in a place known for being dry. Apparently, this hasn’t always been true.
South of Natural Bridge Canyon is Bad Water. This is the lowest part of Death Valley so water puddles here and evaporates, leaving salt.
Back toward camp, we stopped at Artists Palette. https://www.nps.gov/places/artists-palette.htm
looking at Sunset Campground, it’s hard to imagine the National Park campgrounds were full. It definitely wasn’t the best campsite but it gave us a base to explore Death Valley.
Just outside camp, we saw some interesting geological formations.
At the ranger station, we saw what to expect over the next few days.
North of Sunset Campground is Salt Creek. https://www.nps.gov/places/salt-creek.htm
We hiked the nature trail and boardwalk to see evidence of large birds hunting for a meal.
There’s not much left of the Harmony Borax Works and the famous Twenty-mule Team but at one time this was a bustling area. https://www.nps.gov/places/harmony-borax-works.htm
After seeing the west side of Death Valley, we moved camp to Stovepipe Wells in the north. This campground was a little more crowded but we still found a good place. There was a strong breeze so people in tents were having to stake them to the ground. We loaned a hammer to several people since the ground was hard and they couldn’t pound in the stakes.
In addition to camping, Stovepipe Wells offers some rooms for rent and they sell gas, for close to $5/gal. The dusty road on the other side of the highway heads to Mosaic Canyon.
The hike into the canyon is easy to start and then you have to do some rock climbing. It’s not as easy as when we were younger.
Leaving Death Valley we took Hwy 190 over Towne Pass. It was a steady climb of 5000 feet in 16 miles. Some areas were 7-9% grades. Even though we left in the morning, the Suburban water temperature went to 246 degF so we pulled over and let it cool before continuing. We did make it back home without issue but this trip sparked our interest in getting a new vehicle to replace the 20-year-old Suburban.
Spring was evident as we drove home under clear blue skies.
Caliornia Desert Trip Summary
Here is a re-post of the drive we took. From the Garmin Basecamp summary, we were gone for 14 days and drove 2084 miles. We climbed a total of 97,000 feet elevation. It says our max speed was 116 mph but I suspect that’s a technical glitch.
