Us deserts

In 2001, we spent nearly 2 months in the 3 Californian Deserts (Great Basin, Mojave and Sonoran).

We have especially appreciated Death Valley (we went there 4 times) for its sheer size and scope of nature wonders. In only half a day you can see dunes, explosive craters or ghost town.The restaurant in Stovepipe Wells is perfect and so is the pool.

Mojave is not the empty and barren place that Los Angelenos crossed within 2 hours on their way to Las Vegas. It’s full of hidden gems, kind peoples and wildlife.

We have visited these place in summer, fall and winter and every season has it’s advantage.

Summer is really hot and a bit dangerous if you try to escape off the beaten track. But we liked it anyhow.

Winter is much better to make hikes or just to do some off pavement jeeping. You can have a problem and still stay alive for a while.

We also try three different kind of vehicule :

a regular car which is OK if you are happy to stay close to the crowd and the few desert motels. a motorhome which allowed us to show some nice landscape to our old parents, but we get stuck in the sand and these things are not allowed in hot places during summer. and finally a camper-truck which is the best solution in these places. It’s small enough so that you can reach the most remote campsite, with 4 wheel drive to follow the sandy arroyo in Anza and sturdy enough so that you don’t breack everything too quickly The 60 pictures selection is supposed to show you some perfect landscape, lots of rocks and sands, a few animals or cactus and nearly nobody else but us. Our biggest regret is to have missed the springtime flower in Anza-Borrego, that means there might be once a USdesert II.