A week in the California Desert

My husband and I visited the Trona Pinnacles outside of Ridgecrest (the gateway to the China Naval Station), Death Valley National Park, the East Mojave National Preserve, Salton City, and Joshua Tree National Park.

Quick Tips:

When traveling in the desert, it is important to stay hydrated. Because of the extremely low humidity, moisture is sucked out of you. You should drink water constantly, even when you don't feel thirsty. A gallon a day is recommended, and for strenuous activity, two gallons. On one of my early trips to the desert, I got terribly sick because I didn't listen. Learn from my mistakes!

Best Way To Get Around:

While there are lots of ways to spend time hiking and camping in the desert wilderness areas, to travel the vast opens spaces of the desert really requires a car. Death Valley and Joshua Tree would be impossible to visit without a car. Many roads in the parks that lead to spectacular sights require high clearance vehicles, or even four wheel drive. It is worth the expense of renting an SUV!

We had a cool, clean, comfortable room. Water from the tap is non-potable, but there are potable water faucets in the outside corridor. Across the street from the Stovepipe Wells Ranger Station, and the Stovepipe Wells Village Store, which sells food, cold drinks, souvenirs, and gasoline. Attached is a restaurant that serves moderately priced meals. I had a great dinner the night we stayed, liver and onions (okay, you have to like liver to think it is great) and a delicious key lime cheesecake.

There is also a pool. Behind the village store, there is a camping ground that includes camper hook-ups.

Between Ridgecrest and the ugly town of Trona, there is dirt road on the right-hand side. You will already be able to see the chemical plant, but this will be a couple of miles before it. Stay to the right on the Y of the dirt road and cross the railroad tracks. You will come to the Trona Pinnacles, which are Tioga Spires, calcified tufa towers left by Lake Owen when it evaporated. Eerie-looking and beautiful, you may recognize these formations from movies and television. Worth the detour!

The extremes of Death Valley are part of its appeal. Huge alluvial fans, earth tortured into crystalline shapes by salinity, gorgeous geological formations, and dusty abandoned sites of human settlement are all here. When we went in April, we spent long periods of time without seeing another soul, which was a very welcome change from some national parks I have visited in the past.

In the valley, your perspective sometimes gets skewed by the distance and emptiness of the place. At night, you can see towns you are approaching for 20 miles or more before you get there. The landscape is very stark, and you can feel how hard it must have been to cross Death Valley before conveniences like cars.

The dirt roads, which require high clearance vehicles or even four-wheel drive, lead to fascinating sights that are worth the slow, bumpy ride to get to. We did not have four-wheel drive, and plan to rent an SUV next time, because the off road stuff was so interesting. But there’s lots to see even if you do not venture off road. The Devil's Golf Course and the Artist's Drive were highlights.

When I first went to Joshua Tree, I was prepared to be disappointed. I had been heard it was amazing over and over, so I was bracing myself to have my expectations dashed. However, it was absolutely fantastic!

Lots of fascinating rock piles, and gorgeous views, along with clean basic amenities and great picnicking areas. I camped there in 1998, after a big El Nino, and the plant life was practically lush, the number of flowering plants were a rare sight. This winter (2002-3) there was less rain, but the place is just unbelievably beautiful. We saw lots of families with small kids, and they were having a blast. The rock piles offer fun climbs for even the youngest kids. But go watch the experts climb some of the numerous flat-faced formations.