Thank God for Thanksgiving....Break! 😄😉😍
As life is getting busier with more meetings, more classes, more birthday parties I get closer to realizing that the most valuable thing in our modern lives are holidays. And one can't really blame us (mostly my dear husband) to travel at every escape we possibly can. And so brewed the packed to the brim road trip of ours. From the arid expanse of Death Valley National Park to the neon sins of Las Vegas; from the blazing red Valley of Fire State Park to the queer greens of the Joshua Tree National Park. It was 6 days of driving, of hiking and much the glee of the the younger champs of rock climbing! Welcome to the read about our first road trip in California. 😊
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| Here we come!!! 👌 |
Day 1: Love Pine, Oh You Beauty!
Lone Pine was a good four and a half hour away from home and on a bright sunny Saturday morning we set off in our little red car. Thanks to no one really knows what by the time we left home, it was close to a late 9:30 am. But, after that there was no tuning around as our car devoured mile after mile, first on I5 and then on US395. Rupkatha, my 6 years old, was promised a treat at McDonald's for getting good grades (no, we're not miser parents, I promise she chose the place). Soon we took an exit in a middle-of-nowhere kind of a place after seeing a big yellow M there. But, as soon as we turned right from the exit, a long array of Mexican food trucks welcomed us. Thanks to a very kind Rupkatha we of course were soon munching pork tortas & pork quesadillas from a truck there while sipping pineapple juice. It was one of the best Mexican foods I have ever had. Little wonderous moments of life!
Soon we were in Lone Pine. As suggested by our friend, Lee, we drove all the way up to the Mt. Whitney Campgrounds at 8000 feet elevation. Warm and snug as we were in the car, the cold pinched the moment we stepped out of the car. Draped in big warm jackets and shoes, we stepped away from the maddening crown to inhale the pristine 'lonely' beauty all around us. The snow capped heads of the Sierra Nevada were mesmerizing in the early afternoon setting sun. Without the age-beaten worrying minds, the kids ran around in the cold simply enjoying life. The drive down back to our hotel was beautiful too. We kept stopping at every other lookout point to soak in more and more of the expanse and beauty around. At ground zero, there are some very interesting boulders all over the horizon. Some crazy graffiti artist has drawn one big human face on a massive boulder and of course, we simply had to scramble right to the middle of its brows! It was super fun & I would say this is a must if you're there in the area.
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| Graffiti |
Best Western was our abode for the next two nights. I simply love it when we stay in the same hotel for more than a night. It simply means I can sprawl & unpack as much as I wish to without having to think about checking out the very next day. We yelped our grub for the night and settled for an American-Chinese place called the Merry-go-around. Usually we are a little weary of such restaurants, but, the food here hit us with a pleasant surprise. We ordered the egg drop soup (delicious!), the swai stir fry (delicious!) and the chicken with vegetables (delicious!). It was light, tasty and the ambience was very kid friendly. The kids drew pictures of the restaurant while waiting and the owner kindly sported them by putting their art work on their gallery. Literally a picture perfect day it was.
Day 2: Death Valley, where death lived!
My crazy husband beat the morning rooster and set out at 5 to catch the sunrise kissing the Sierra Nevada peaks. And I must admit he was rewarded well. Though, he got us enough pictures to enjoy the moment later, but, what he must have felt must have been ethereal. Luckily, I am a mother to two early rising kids and were on the road by 8 after a hearty breakfast.
The charm of Death Valley slow cooks itself into one's heart. Or maybe the fact that I moved from the green & wet Oregon makes the arid & brown landscapes sink in slower. Once there, stop at a not so crowded pull out point to simply absorb the expanse of the valley. Mile after mile stretches the sands, the rocks, the mountains. It's their playground, it's their home and here the 'death' valley 'lives'. Our first stop was the Father Crowley Point and here's where the wind becomes a screaming yelling banshee. Faces wind swept, hair flown away we stepped out to hear the wind howling away in the valley (almost a canyon) below. Next, stop were the Mesquite Flat Sand Dune. This of course became a hot favorite for Abesh, who's little head popped in and out of sight as he climbed dune after dune with glee, and Rupkatha, who dug her knees into the sand and started filling her little hat.
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| Waiting for the Fun to start... |
Goodbye sands and hello Visitor Center. I would certainly recommend the Visitor Center to all especially if you have inquisitive little ones. They have an interactive museum there where one can experience geological changes, night skies and learn about dessert animals. We grabbed some cold sandwiches for our lunch, filling and light on our hiking tummies. Next, we stopped at the Golden Canyon. The entire hike thru the canyon is maybe a 4.something. We didn't complete the entire hike; however, hiked enough to start training our legs for the next few hours and days; and, more importantly enough for the two tiny souls to jump and scramble on rocks.
Now, can you imagine you are 282 feet below the sea level and all the water is just gone? That's where we were at the Badwater Basin and Salt Flats. It is seriously a very queer feeling to see the sea level sign somewhere high in the mountains. We walked around the salt flat imagining if this was really a sea millions of years ago. With that queer emotion, we started the scenic drive called the Artist's Drive. It has quite a few interesting points like the Artist's Palette, etc. However, the fun is when the you're driving thru the canyon and the walls close in enough to make you hairs on your neck sit up straight.
Even though it has been a long long day, we chugged along all the way to the Dante's point to enjoy the sunset. Sadly, we were a tad late in bidding the sun goodbye, though we did get to enjoy our fair share of the evening colors. All this while my little 5 year old dreamed on. Dusk started setting in and finally we started making our way back to the hotel. But, not so fast my friend, not so fast. We stopped at The Ranch at Death Valley for some dinner and a scrumptious buffet welcomed us in. A tad on the expensive side at $30 for adults and $15 for kids over five, it was oh so worth it (a decision I wrongly had opposed and my husband had correctly pursued). After bowls of soup, endless slices of turkey and gravy, cheesecakes and pies we decided to stop at our last destination of the day. Back at the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes which were now soaked in silvery moonlight and the distant starts blinked back at us with promises of beautiful days to come. With a heavy heart we bid a good night to the silvery dunes and drove all the way back to out hotel with two little ones happily snoring at the back.
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| Queer Emotions |
Day 3: For there is no Beauty without Color
In many ways the simplicity and the barrenness of the Death Valley had humbled us and yet one more time we were to return to it. Bags - check, breakfast - check, we checked out from our hotel and drove towards the valley. If you're a napper and your driver doesn't mind, this is a good time to catch a quick nap. I'm not a napper and even I napped. 😃
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| But She Remained the Prettiest |
Suggestion: allow the kids to enjoy (hike/climb/run) thru the day and when you embark on long journeys, let then sleep. Keeps them from being restless in long drives.
Day 4: There is a Shade of Red for Every Traveler Here!!
High on happiness and yummy nit bits from Cafe Belle Medelline, we set froth to the Valley of Fire State Park, about an hour's drive away from Las Vegas. Honestly we were a little skeptic about what awaited us as this was yet another friend's recommendation. And the 25 minutes wait at the entrance gate just added to the whole weariness. But, boy oh boy this place is insanely amazing. Cloud luck followed us here as well, and with a good amount of cloud cover the redness of the rocks, boulders and mountains around us was absolutely jaw dropping. Bless Ayan (our friend)! :)
Our first stop were the Beehives. Big round boulders that the wind had shaped and designed like massive beehives and we humans buzzed around busily and happily. Don't miss this one! Next we stopped at the Visitor Center from where one can get a great view of the Balancing Rock just a few yards away. Right next to the Visitor Center there is an area with ample of red rocks to climb on, scramble on. The kids and my husband climbed to tops that made my heart skip a fair few beats. There were these holes or tiny caves if I might daresay that covered the face of the rocks and a perfect organic playground for the little ones. Oh how they had a time of their lives going in and out of those tiny caves!
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| Buzzzzzzzzzz |
As we drove around the Vale oh-ing and ah-ing, my DH chased his leprechaun all the way to the Pink/Pastel Canyon. Now, the trail signs aren't really the best here, so we actually went on the wrong trail, the Crazy Mountains. And you know one of those moments of your life, when you take the wrong turn and somehow it just ends up in being a blessing in disguise. This was one such moment in ours! Right from the start, layers of colored rocks ran alongside till we reached a point where browns, yellows, whites and pinks meandered under our feet. It was as though someone had take some massive chalks and colored the whole place down. So if you're chasing the pastel canyon, I would say do take this wrong trail.
Back to the parking lot, we started on the 'right' trail this time, the Wave of Fire trail. It's an easy 1.something miles loop trail and it's over flat rocks and boulders. What seemed like just another rocky terrain to hike on, gave way to really pretty white and pink rocks and boulders where we stopped for an extra light lunch of nuts for the grown ups and goldfish for the little ones (the mother in me was a tad panicked but, the kids were just fine). Seeing all the pink around us, we were confused if that was it, but, the trail posts led us on and on till we reached the real pastel/pink canyon. Here Rupkatha penned it the best when she said, she was living her dream as the sand was pink, the hills were pink, the rocks were pink, the canyon was pink and that she didn't want to leave from there ever. Perfectly said...it was dreamy perfect! We stopped there a while as the kids pretend played their baking show game. But, as all good things must come to an end, so did this one and we walked through the closing canyon walls back to the road.
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| Dream On.... |
But, for crazy travelers like us the day didn't quite end there. After a quick light snack the kids again snored away to glory as we drove all the way back to Vegas. Batteries recharged and better dressed for Vegas, we went to dine at this super fancy place, Mon Ami Gabi. My dear husband had diligently read the reviews and ordered the Escargots for starters and I must applaud him for that. We humored the kids and got them kids meals of mac-n-cheese and pasta in red sauce (which were just $8 each). Even those were made with real good pasta and were very very delicious and came with a healthy side of beans and apple slices. Post that we, went out for a night walk on the Strip where the kids just kept looking up at all the neons blinking away. We walked around Venetian and enjoyed the Grand Canal there. Once back to our room, we tucked one last time in our fancy beds in our fancy room in our fancy hotel.
Tip: if you do not have a reservation and do want to wait in the line, go early. We went at like 6ish and we seated immediately.
Day 5: A Little Michelin Nibble for All
While walking around Paris Las Vegas, posters told us that a nibble from the Brioche by Guy Savoy (two Michelin Stars winner) was a must. And we humored the posters and got a few brioches and quiches, the best one being the strawberry banana one Abesh had. :) With bags packed, we checked out of our hotel and sped towards the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. Very honestly speaking, after all the colors and structures at the Valley of Fire the day before, the red rock comes across a tad mundane and subdued. But, if you're in the area and have the America the Beautiful Pass, then why not? 😃 We first drove around just soaking in the place. In many ways the expanse and the reds followed here as well. Our first stop were the Calico Hills. The entire is hike is a good 6 miles but, this is one of those hikes where you can decide what is your Zen and then you just around. The reds of the Calico Hills walk beside you on one side and you're simply enjoying the beauty right from the start. It was insanely windy when we got there and oh my, it was chilly. So expect cold winds when travelling in the winter months.
Suggestion: always pack wind sheeters for everyone in the team preferably the ones than cover parts of the face as well. Even light scarves are a good idea which you can wrap around your ears and mouth when it's not crazy cold but, there's the biting chilly winds.
Next we stopped at the Lost Creek - Children's Discovery Trail and did some more hiking following rocks which would have been a bed to a creek in a wetter month. The 360° view from the parking lot and more so from the dried up creek is humbling as you stand tiny in front of the majestic Oak Creek Canyon ahead of you. The Red Rock Canyon is the perfect place for professional rock climbing, something Abesh has been promised he'd be registered for once he's done learning how to swim. 😊
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| Lost in Love at the Lost Creek 😍 |
The hands of the clock keep racing and with that it was our time to bud adieu to Nevada and start our drive back to California. We wanted to stop at the Kelso Dunes, however, sadly by the time we got there it was well past the sunset time and all we were welcomed with was pitch darkness. Finally, we parked our car in front of room 116 at the America's Best Value Inn at Twenty-Nine Palms, just 10 minutes away from the Joshua Tree National Park.
Day 6: Curtain Fall!
This was the earliest morning of my motherhood in a very very long time. Both the kids had slipped into their night sleep at 6 the previous evening and were now waking me up at 5:15 in the morning full of energy and with hungry bellies. The traveler in us was awakened too and there was no way we would miss a chance to see the sunrise. We quickly devoured breakfast and zoomed all the way to the Oasis Visitor Center and drove to a spot to get the best pictures possible. The orange hues all around us was worth wonky sleep schedules. The mother in me was plain glad and overjoyed that I was able to let my children experience from fancy stays to sunrise in a dessert - in many ways the whole deal! We went to the Keys View point and the crazy winds simply followed us there as well. Abesh and I waited in the car and the whole car shook, the winds were so strong. We were in nature's 4D show complete with the shaking, sounds and the views. With that we drove back to our hotel for some more food and hot bath before we started the day.
Re-rested, we made our way back to the Oasis Visitor Center. Thanks to yet another friend's suggestion (I know, right...thank God for friends), Julia, the kids participated in the Junior Ranger Challenge while at Joshua. Our first stop this time was the, Cholla Cactus Garden. And oh my God, it was so different. Tall white 'fuzzy' cactus plants dotted the landscape and there's a boardwalk/trail walk through the garden. But, beware what appear to be fuzzy are actually tiny sharp thorns which stick to you the moment you touch them and can be fairly painful. We made out of the trail with no thorns attached and hearts full of delight.
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| Fuzzy Buddy |
Tip: be very careful when going here with curious little ones. Hold on to them and explain in advance not to touch the Cholla cactus plants.
Next, we stopped at the Arch Rock. It is a little over half a mile of hike from the parking lot to the arch rock with very little and basic rock climbing at the very end. Of course if you wish to get to the actual arch you must climb big ones. Goes without saying we had the very wish and fulfilled the wish too. 😉 Next, we stopped at the very popular Skull Rock. There is a Discovery Trail on the opposite of the road from the Skull Rock and I won't say it's a must a but, it a nice little hike thru the rocks and boulders. Just 0.3 miles into the hike, it takes you thru a Slot Canyon where you can see colorful Lichen growth as well. We didn't complete the trail and made our way back to the Skull Rock. After some mandatory pictures of the kids against the daunting hollow eyes of the rock we continued exploring further and the let the kids climb over boulders big and small. That was some fun!
Suggestion: I would saw you can skip the Discovery Trail or just do till the Slot Canyon. Enjoy the rocks and boulders further down the Skull Rock.
Yet another day when lunch was nuts, apples and very light. We continued our journey to the last of the hike day and trip to the Hidden Valley Trail. Luckily we got parking spot right opposite the trail head and right next to parking lot is a massive stretch of Joshua Trees dotted with some cactus and what nots. We embarked on the trail to go thru some boulders and fall into yet another stretch of Joshua trees and some very red rocks all around. One thing to look out for is whenever you're in the sun it's all good, but, the moment you're in the shadows it does get cold cold cold. So dress accordingly. Abesh and I hiked at our tortoise pace soaking the gorgeous oranges and red of the setting sun all round us. Rupkatha and DH hiked at their rabbit pace and covered most of the valley and met us back at our car.
The little ones had little sheets to fill in their ranger booklets as they explored and hiked thru the day. All sheets filled, they were now super excited to get to the Joshua Tree Visitor Center to submit their booklets. We raced there and make it in time where the two of them were awarded badges, stickers and took the pledge to be a friend of nature as Junior Rangers. Did I mention that we saw a Koyote while entering and exiting the Park...that was one gripping moment, twice over!
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| More rock to climb...oh yeah! |
With that it we came to the end of packed, fun and amazing road trip. Did I say end? Oh no, just the beginning of planning of the next one.
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