Trips recommended for the fall time.
In the Owen’s Valley, about a two hour drive north of Los Angeles near the town of Lone Pine, is a string of “almost” ghost towns that are fun to visit and explore. You’ll also get to experience the views and vastness of Owens (Dry) Lake, the Sierra Nevada and Inyo Mountains – each can […]
Gold Butte: How to visit – What to see Ready to go on an overland adventure that is seemingly far, far away, yet close to civilization? Nevada’s newest National Monument, Gold Butte, offers a lot of wide-open desert scenery, colorful and uniquely shaped rock formations, dozens of archeological sites, and miles of back roads to […]
Goldfield, named for the ore mined around it, was once Nevada’s largest city and the state’s biggest economic and political power. With the discovery of gold in 1902, Goldfield would become a rare, post-1900 major gold strike. It also experienced one of the largest gold rushes (and subsequent crashes) in western history. There are plenty […]
In the middle of the Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument sits the remains of the Grand Gulch Mine. This copper/silver/lead mine is a great destination for anyone who wants to explore and enjoy the remote landscapes of the Arizona Strip just south of St. George, Utah. Along the way, you’ll see some of the high country […]
A Tour of the Historic Harvey House in Barstow: A stone’s throw away from that popular historic road known as Route 66 and a little north of downtown Barstow lies one of the more historic gems that the Mojave Desert region has to offer – the Harvey House. Originally named Casa Del Desierto (meaning “House […]
On this trip, we are trading in our usual dirt-road travel for something on two iron rails. Join us as we take this unique train trip on a seldom-traveled route through remote Northern California and Oregon aboard a collection of historic railcars. Our three-day excursion starts in Sacramento and goes through the Feather River Canyon, […]
On the eve of the American Civil War, the largest gold rush in Southern California was taking place in Holcomb Valley of the San Bernardino Mountains. Holcomb Valley is a mountain-top valley just north of Bear Valley where the popular resort of Big Bear Lake is located today. A trip into Holcomb Valley offers a […]
This hike is a great alternative to visiting Hoover Dam and to see the views from its bypass bridge. Hoover Dam is one of the biggest tourist attractions for visitors to the Las Vegas area. For most people, this engineering masterpiece is accessed in a vehicle via two other masterpieces of engineering – a roadway […]
Located north of Ballarat in the Panamint Mountains, Jail Canyon is a colorful, scenic drive with a well-preserved mining camp and mill to explore at the end. Jail Canyon itself is multicolored and very pretty but the scenery getting up to the canyon is quite spectacular, too. With panoramic views of the multi-layered, west-facing Panamint […]
The Kaiparowits Plateau is a remote mountaintop region in south-central Utah that is inside the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and recently renowned for its treasure chest of dinosaur fossils. The plateau also offers a combination of road trips, either leaving out of the towns of Big Water or Escalante. On the trip showcased here, we’ll […]
Inside the newly created Gold Butte National Monument lies a very unique and little place called Little Finland. Big cities like San Francisco have places called Little Italy and L.A. has Little Tokyo, but why would a corner of the Nevada desert have a place named Little Finland? Well, it has nothing to do with […]
There’s a sleepy little town named Lone Pine that offers such a myriad of recreational opportunities for the everyday person to enjoy, it’s amazing that it remains a quaint little town. Even more amazing is that it’s only a 2 to 4 hour drive away from a population of 22 million people – the draw […]
A road trip through the Mojave Desert doesn’t have to be all about looking at the scenery. It can also include visiting places where aviation history was made and is still being made today. We’ll take you on this easy road trip that stretches between Victorville and Palmdale and show you where aviation evolved and […]
In the center of the High Desert’s Victor Valley is one of the largest riparian zones in the Mojave Desert. Known as the Mojave Narrows, it is often overlooked as a place to escape our busy, day-to-day lives and enjoy some of the nearby nature that our region has to offer.By definition, a riparian zone […]
The Mojave National Preserve is one of the newest units of the National Park Service and within its boundaries represents much of the fine qualities of the Mojave Desert. This article, along with our Virtual Tour below, will give you a brief overview of some of the sites to see in the Preserve and where […]
Oso Flaco Lake is an enchanting nature area located just south of Pismo Beach along the Central Coast of California. The Oso Flaco Lake Natural Area is part of the popular Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area and the lake itself is surrounded by one of the largest coastal dune ecosystems on the west coast […]
2N33 aka Pilot Rock Road, Riding High Over Silverwood Lake: Where the Mojave Desert meets the San Bernardino Mountains, there are a number of unknown back roads where you can enjoy the transition from the desert vegetation to the mountain shrubbery. One such road is seldom used and offers great scenery while transitioning from desert […]
With the creation of the new Sand to Snow National Monument on Feb 12, 2016, we decided to check out one of its access points near Yucca Valley, California. We choose to hike up Pipes Canyon near the tourist attraction of Pioneertown. This allowed us to enjoy an almost full day of hiking and the […]
Just north of busy San Francisco is a quiet, peaceful seaside region known as the Point Reyes National Seashore. With its many bays, inlets and estuaries, the Point Reyes area offers plenty of scenic places to explore. There are also dozens of sleepy little towns tucked into the rolling, forested hills here. Point Reyes is […]
Located just east of the Anza-Borrego State Park boundary is a unique geologic phenomenon known as the Pumpkin Patch. Here, you’ll find a patch of land, roughly the size of an average city block, covered with spherically-shaped rocks that are all the size of an average pumpkin. The surrounding desert terrain is very consistent, with […]