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California Desert

April 16, 2017 By frugalrvT! 9 Comments

We’ve finally reached the California Desert. After all, the whole point of this trip was to retrace the routes and locations listed in my Frugal Shunpiker’s Guides to update the information. So here we go….. I guess the “work” part of the trip has officially kicked in. If only all “work” was so enjoyable!

Death Valley

Our first destination: Death Valley National Park. With winter moving into spring, we wanted to arrive while temperatures were still below average. In Death Valley, “below average” means temps are still a 2-digit number. Whew – we made it. Barely!

It was a quick visit – we knew what we needed to check in the park, knew where we could camp just outside the park entrances (at higher, cooler elevation) and spent just enough time to drive our favorite scenic loops, and take in one new-to-us hike.

Dantes View, Death Valley
Dantes View, Death Valley
Artist's Pallet, Death Valley
Artist’s Pallet, Death Valley
Badwater
Badwater Basin – lowest point in the USA!
Sidewinder Canyon hike
Our chosen hike was Sidewinder Canyon on the Badwater Road since we exited the park that way.
Slot Canyon
We were a little disappointed. There are 5 slot canyons on this hike  (you KNOW we LOVE to hike those) but not all of them are the same. These were mud-stone (not sandstone) so less dramatic and not all were accessible without climbing gear.

Mojave National Preserve

Our next destination, Mojave National Preserve, was a much longer stop, provided more appealing temperatures and we spent six nights in total. Two in each of three very distinct sections of the park.

Mojave Nat Preserve
The densest growth of Joshua Trees in North America is not in Joshua Tree National Park but here in Mojave National Preserve.
Joshua Trees Boondocking
And we knew of a great  free boondocking location – it’s still available too. So we spent two nights here. Sweet!
Kelso Dunes Visitor Center
Kelso Dunes Visitor Center, in Mojave National Preserve
Kelso Dunes Old Railway depot
We had decided we’d treat ourselves to lunch here but were disappointed that the old railway depot lunch counter only serves up “souvenirs and gifts” these days.   The person who ran the lunch counter retired recently.

Kelso Dunes

Second overnight camping stop in Mojave National Preserve was at Kelso Dunes. It’s one of only 30 singing dune fields in the world!Randy hiked to the top of the dunes. Not a fan of dune hiking, I went for a “more sensible” walk myself. He shook so much sand  from his boots and pockets after that hike that I think he could have been fined; removing natural resources from the park is an offence.

Campfire at Kelso Dunes
Temperature was great for a campfire and we found wood and we invited lovely neighbors we met (also in a Roadtrek and from Hawaii), to join us.

We saved our favorite section of this park for last: Hole in the Wall.

Hole in the Wall, the Ring-loop trail
The Ring Loops Trail at Mojave’s Hole in the Wall section off Black Canyon Road.
Ring Loop Trail
The rings that let you climb up (or down) through the canyon make this a super fun hike.
Ring Loop Trail, Mojave NP
It’s our second time doing this hike (we did it 6 years ago, too)  so we knew we wanted to repeat it. Such fun!
California Desert in bloom!
And what a great time of year to be here. The California Desert is in amazing bloom this year!
The Easter Bunny visits Mojave NP
The Easter Bunny?

One thing was consistent throughout the park. We kept running into this guy. He seemed to be hopping from bush to bush. I’m sure I saw him hiding colorful Easter Eggs. We hope he made it to your area this weekend too! Wherever you are!

Happy Easter!!!!

 

 

 

 

Days on the road at time of writing: 34

Camping costs to date: $18

 

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Comments

  1. Phyllis says

    April 16, 2017 at 3:07 pm

    Thank you so much for your updates! It was great to meet you both at Escapade and look forward to seeing you along the by ways. We spent happy days boondocking in Mojave and had great fun on the dunes and climbing the rings at hole in the wall. But you always inspire us to keep exploring!

    Reply
    • frugalrvT! says

      April 17, 2017 at 5:57 pm

      I guess you could say we inspire each other. Let’s keep doing it for a long as we can!

      Reply
  2. Sunny Harvy says

    April 17, 2017 at 1:38 am

    So glad to see you out on the road again. Can I receive your blog posts via email? Thanks for all the work you do. Your guides make our travels so much easier and more interesting.

    Reply
    • frugalrvT! says

      April 17, 2017 at 5:56 pm

      Great to have you following me, Sunny! You will find a “Keep Updated” link on the bottom right-hand panel on your laptop. May have to search for “more” to find it on a mobile device.

      Reply
      • Sunny Harvy says

        April 20, 2017 at 12:22 am

        When I click on that link I get a bunch of coded gobbledygook. Can you possibly sign me up somehow? Thanks.

        Reply
        • frugalrvT! says

          April 20, 2017 at 2:20 am

          Hmmm. Thanks for letting me know, Sunny. Must be something wrong there. I’ll look into how to fix it and let you know when it’s done.

          Reply
          • Sunny Harvy says

            April 20, 2017 at 1:02 pm

            It happens on other blogs sometimes too. I tied from iPad and laptop.

  3. Kathryn Smith says

    June 30, 2017 at 2:43 am

    We are newbies and are planning our first long term trip. We are using you blog for information about what to expect when dry camping. What do you do for internet service when posting to your blog.

    Reply
    • frugalrvT! says

      July 30, 2017 at 1:28 pm

      Welcome newbies. We use a cell phone data plan (have used both AT&T and Verizon) bluetoothed to my laptop. Our signal booster – the We-Boost Drive 4G-X RV (new this year) was quite helpful in areas where the signal is so-so. Sometimes we’re able to find reliable Wi-fi and will use it, when possible, for uploads to avoid excessive data use.

      Reply

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