The desert highway

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09 & 10th October 2007
Los Angeles to Las Vegas via Twentynine Palms

Having completely tired ourselves out trouping around LA , we felt fully prepared to take on the enormity of freeway traffic. We were collected from Santa Monica by the world’s largest taxi and deposited at the Thrifty car depot by LAX mid morning. For no apparent reason (save possibly cute kiwi accents and smiles) we were upgraded 4 car sizes from a lowly Kia Hatchback to an enormous Dodge Avenger (somewhat like a Holden Commodore for you antipodeans). After an hour driving around LA’s sprawl to collect supplies and figure out the GPS system we launched forth onto the Freeway system towards the Mojave Desert, and it was at this point we discovered just how essential a large car is when you are on a 10 lane motorway packed with oversized pickup trucks. On the edge of the city we stopped for lunch and more supplies at a super mall complex (gross on both counts) before heading into the desert, the ocean edge of which LA occupies. We passed through a massive wind farm before turning onto the first of many endless, straight, desert roads towards Twenty Nine Palms.
Driving into Twenty Nine Palms was like arriving in some old Wild West town, except with pickups and service stations instead of horses and saloons. We checked in to the Harmony Motel, U2 stayed here once, and the Motel has been milking this for all it’s worth ever since. That said it was a really nice place, with a massive room, nice pool and a view over the valley. We ended up having an oversized and over cheesed Mexican dinner down the road at Ramona’s Dinner.

After breakfasting at the motel and piling our ‘way too much stuff’ back into the car, we headed out to the Joshua Tree visitors centre for tickets, maps and useful advice. Once inside the border of the park, we understood straight away that this is a pretty special place. It’s eerily silent, and scorching. The horizon is dotted with amazing formations of sandstone boulders, interspaced with the gnarled trees that give the park its name.
In the west of the park, we explored a small valley called the Hidden Valley, isolated for years due to its ring of surrounding rocky cliffs. The valley floor was abundant with plant life, which in this case meant heaps of cacti and flaxes.
After leaving the park mid-afternoon, we filled up the car and headed north towards the Mojave National park. Before crossing the first saddle into the park, we drove 49 miles east on one long straight road, making full use of the cars air conditioning and cruise control, and passing numerous lonely looking houses, literally in the middle of nowhere. Once over the saddle, we encountered The Mojave Desert proper, of which Joshua Tree, Mojave and Death Valley national parks are all small parts. It’s a startling landscape for Kiwi’s to experience. It’s a massive succession of wide shallow dry lake valleys, defined by mountain ranges and saddles. Once we crossed into each valley, you could see 25-40 miles through crystal clear air to the other side and down to the salt pan at the valley floor. We also were lucky enough to see a coyote crossing the road ahead of us later in the day. Using the GPS and Rosie’s superior navigational skills, we survived our drive into the desert, arriving in Sin City at Sundown, ready for all sorts of inappropriate behavior. Just kidding, you all know we’re little angels.

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Photos

Jumbo rocks view point
Split sandstone boulder (with strange desert beast in the crack)

Desert rocks
(It really does)

Rosie beneath Joshua Tree