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Conclusion
I can already tell when I retire that I'm going to move away and be a desert hermit (hopefully the kind without the creepy personality ;) because it is still one of my all-time favorite places in the USA to hang. I'm trying to decide whether I like the Mojave or Sonoran desert better (although I think Sonoran may still get the edge). Maybe I've just been desensitized to the metro urbanization but it's definitely a simpler pace out in the boonies and the solitude is unmatched, not to mention the hidden beauty if you know where and how to look.
For such a short trip, we actually managed to execute a decent balance between fitting in many destinations, yet keeping it light enough where it wasn't a speedfest every single day.
This trip was also artificially made cheap, due to all 6 nights in hotels being free (cashing in Best Western/LVH rewards points) and $200 worth of free gas (thanks to Dad's Costco reward points). So of course this was a fantastic trip for the budget.
Favorite Places: We never left my favorite place (haha). Nothing really stands out above the rest, because it was all full of awesome. Finding the U2 Joshua Tree, although it may seem silly to some people, was killer for me. Fighting the high winds at Ubehebe Crater and Dante's View, although probably not enjoyable for everyone, was exhilarating. It's the little things, sometimes.
Least Desirables: Anywhere that things were closed and locked up. Not that it's their fault because we were there in the middle of the week, but had we known, we could have made more efficient use of our time. The ghost town of Randsburg, Red Rock Canyon SP, and Kennedy Meadows (We'll forgive you this time, Mark ;) may have been crown jewels had they been timed better. Oh, and roadwork in the middle of the day still gets me all worked up like nothing else. If it was in a place with astounding views or explorable landmarks, that's one thing. But stuck in one place with no attractions around you... well, I guess I just have to work better on my patience. (Uh huh...)
Next? Alaska 2013. We just gotta do it. What good is hitting all 48 states when you're not on track to finish the last two? I thank those responding to my previous trip report about how to do Alaska; I will take those comments into consideration. The only real question is whether to call it Roadtrip #6B or #7, seeing as it's only 1 state and we'll probably drive less than 2000 miles again (which is usually what's defined as a mini-roadtrip for us).
Statistics:
Total Miles: 1,829
Total Stops: 17
Total Elapsed Time: 5 days, 13 hours
Total States: 2 (California, Nevada)
Total National Parks/Areas: 4 (Death Valley NP, Trona Pinnacles NNL, Red Rock Canyon NCA, Mojave National Preserve)
Total State Parks: 1 (Red Rock Canyon SP, CA)
Type of rental vehicle: 2012 Toyota Sienna
Gallons of fuel: 84.03 (21.82 MPG)
Total cost of trip: ~$370 (free lodging and [mostly] gas, but paid for rental, hotel amenities, food, admission, and souvenirs)
Pictures:
Less days on the road means less pictures, but I still managed to keep around 400 pics. I've picked out the best 75 to summarize our trip. You can catch them in my RTA Albums or on Facebook in higher quality. (It's a public album so you can view them even if you don't have a FB account.)
Adios!
Thanks for watching. Always fun to plot out the diaries for future roadtrippers, as well as for my own sentiment. See you next time!
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