The best time for this trip is in the spring when the flowers are blooming and the weather is still nice. If there hasn't been much rain, don't go expecting an amazing show of flowers like I was blessed with.
We took a small side trip Friday afternoon to the Poppy Preserve in Palmdale, then continued onto Barstow where we stayed the night. We stayed at the Quality Inn, which had a very good restaurant next to it, hard to find in Barstow. Make sure to buy a packed lunch before you head out the next morning, there aren't many options for food in the Mojave.
The next morning we went down Route 40 and took the Route 66 exit to go see Piscah and Amboy crators. You can drive up Piscah crator making it easy to see. Amboy on the other hand is a pretty decent hike to go to. Pressed for time, we decided to keep going. However, Amboy is undisturbed and is a better crator experiance than the mined Piscah.
Inside the crator at Piscah
some of the lava that surrounds the crator
After the crator, we continued east on route 66, going through the ghost town of Amboy. Some people still live here, if you go to the diner, you may see some of them.
When we got to Essex we headed north on Kelbaker road.
Our next stop was at Mitchell’s Caverns. They give tours at 1:30 on Weekdays, and three times a day on weekends. Call ahead for these times to save time. The tour is well worth the trip, as these caverns are very rare in CA. This is also a great escape from the heat, as the caverns are naturally in the 60s at all time.
When we got to Essex we headed north on Kelbaker road.
Our next stop was at Mitchell’s Caverns. They give tours at 1:30 on Weekdays, and three times a day on weekends. Call ahead for these times to save time. The tour is well worth the trip, as these caverns are very rare in CA. This is also a great escape from the heat, as the caverns are naturally in the 60s at all time.
After the caverns we continued to head north on Kelbaker road to the Kelso Dunes. These dunes are unique because they "boom". Booming dunes do exactly as it sounds, they make a booming sound when moved properly. We could not get the dunes to make noise when we were there, however. This is a good spot to wonder around in, and look at the tracks at the animal that call these dunes home. Just remember, walking on sand is a little tough, don't go further than you want to.
Continuing on Kelbaker road we spent the night in Baker. Baker is a funky little sleep over town known as "The Gateway to Death Valley". Weather permitting, I suggest you camp in Mojave, or continue on to Shashone, a cute little town much closer to Death Valley at the junction of the 127 and 178.
If you do stay in Baker, DON'T stay at Arne's Royal Motel. DO eat at the Mad Greek, and DO get your photo taken with the big thermometer. It's the biggest in the world, you know.
Continuing on Kelbaker road we spent the night in Baker. Baker is a funky little sleep over town known as "The Gateway to Death Valley". Weather permitting, I suggest you camp in Mojave, or continue on to Shashone, a cute little town much closer to Death Valley at the junction of the 127 and 178.
If you do stay in Baker, DON'T stay at Arne's Royal Motel. DO eat at the Mad Greek, and DO get your photo taken with the big thermometer. It's the biggest in the world, you know.
Arne's Royal Hawaiian Motel
When you leave Baker, take the 127 north towards Death Valley. Shashone is a nice place to stop for a pee break and a little history. An old man runs a Death Valley museum here. I can't remember what it is named, but look for the rocks on the posts in the front yard. If you ask him, he'll tell you the geologic history of Death Valley, rock by rock. The oldest one he has is 4.5 billion years old! Take the 190 towards Death Valley after you’ve seen the tour.
If you are only spending a day in Death Valley, you won’t have time to go north and see such gems as Scotty’s Castle and the Race Tracks. But that doesn’t mean you won’t have time for a nice hike and wonderful sites in the southern part of the Valley.
I highly suggest you take the loop hike at Golver's Gulch. There are many other hikes open to you, but this one was quite enjoyable. It took us a few hours to do, but was well worth it. The view from the top is just outstanding. zabriskie point on one side, and a view across the valley to Badwater and the Panamint Mountains beyond on the other.
After that check out Furnace Creek for lunch. After Furnace Creek continue on 190 west. There are plenty of places to stop on your way out. Choose them based on what you want to see. 190 connects with Wildrose Rd. and Panament Valley Rd.
If you have a high clearance vehicle, turn off at Trona after you leave the park. The town is before Ridgecrest. You can’t miss it, it’ll be the biggest town you’ve seen all day. Take the turn off for the Trona Pinnacles. A 12 mile drive on a washboard road will take you to a scene straight out of Star Trek. We went about 4 miles on this road before turning around because it was too dark.
If you don’t want to go to Ridgecrest for dinner take the shortcut of Trona Road to the 395, but look closely! It’s hard to miss.
Now you are on your way back home. I hope you enjoyed your weekend!
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