In January of 2022, the hubs and I took a long weekend and hopped a plane to Las Vegas. After renting a car, we drove a long loop through Mojave National Preserve, visiting both new and old places (to me). It was a great way to take the edge off the winter blues in the Pacific Northwest.
For most of the trips we take, we pick up food and fuel in town before heading out and car camp in the “wild” along our route. Las Vegas has multiple places where Trader Joe’s and Big 5 are in close proximity to each other so you don’t have to drive all over town looking for supplies.
We don’t make reservations but we do look up interests online before we go. I also pick up a map like the one you can get from National Geographic so it is possible plot out things to do. It helps with visualizing the distance between hikes and other places I want to visit. The national parks website also has a map you can download.
In an effort to not have this post be super long, there are links with more information and photos to some of the areas we visited.
So what did we do on our 3 day weekend? Here’s the rundown on our trip, from Joshua Trees to gorgeous sunrises and sunsets to slot canyons and craters to flat tires and alien jerky…
Day One: Oh, Starry Night
We caught a late flight Friday night so really all we had time to do was pick up our car and supplies and drive towards Mojave. Entering the park on Nipton Road, we took Ivanpah to Morning Star and then looked for the first unpaved road we could drive in to camp. It didn’t take too long to find one where it was obvious other cars had driven in and stayed. You can find out more about dispersed camping in Mojave National Preserve here.
Day Two: Joshua Trees, Rings Trail, Mitchell Caverns and A Fiery Sunset
In the morning we were up with the sunrise about 6:30am.
Did you know Mojave has a higher concentration of Joshua trees than Joshua Tree National Park? Here we could see where recent wildfires had scorched the locals, this was most likely a section of the Dome Fire of 2020.
Before taking off down the road for the day, we decided to climb to a nearby high point following a social path and being careful not to step on vegetation.
We weren’t treated to any desert flowers but the barrel cacti had some rosy spines so I am calling it a win.
Our first stop for the day was the Rings Loop Trail near the Hole-In-The-Wall campground in the center of the preserve. I don’t know if it was because it was January but we arrived at 11:30am to only one other car at the trailhead so basically we enjoyed the trail in solitude. You can read more about our hike here but these pictures sum up the experience.
At about 1pm we took advantage of the picnic tables at the trailhead to have lunch. It felt so good to eat outside in the sun!
Close by the Rings Loop Trail was Mitchell Caverns State Park. This stop had been closed when I was here in 2017 so we didn’t get to visit but I had seen online that it had recently reopened so I talked the hubs into going. It was one of two fee “attractions” we did on the trip but even he admitted it was worth it. We went into the visitor’s center to pay the fee ($10 for parking and $20 for each of us) and then waited outside to see if others showed up for the timed tour. We ended up having 5 in the group, you can see more pictures from inside the cavern here as well as learn more about how to visit the park.
I just love the different vegetation in the desert, as long as I don’t have to come in contact with it!
From the caverns we drove south out of the park on Essex Road to 40 westbound and then turned back into the park at the entrance on Kelbaker Road with the intent of finding another sandy service road to camp on. We were able find a spot just in time to watch the sky glow with the evening sunset around 4:45pm.
Day Three: Amboy Crater, Kelso Dunes, Lave Tube and Two Flat Tires
We woke up early again and watched the day begin. Of course, in January sunrises don’t come too early. I am growing to love the desert more and more, I can see myself seeking out hikes in the drier areas of the country well into the future.
Amboy Crater National Natural Landmark
After breakfast, we drove back out of the park and headed south the short distance to Amboy Crater National Natural Landmark. Starting the hike by 7am, we again had the trail to ourselves.
The hike took us around the back side of the crater and then up into it. We had a choice of crossing through the middle or heading directly up onto its rim, we opted the first and then the second.
It was a wee bit chilly, I am glad we had our jackets!
Route 66
State Route 40 is part of historic Route 66 so there were a few attractions to see in Amboy. There was not much to brag about in the convenience store but we were able to find a restroom.
I had visited Kelso Dunes and the Depot in 2017 but the hubs had never been so we climbed for the views out across towards the San Bernandinos and Death Valley, as well as the workout. No guys posing in their underwear this time, thankfully.
You can find out more about this stop here.
From Kelso, we drove northwest in search of the Mojave Lava Tube. We both wondered how it would compare to other lava tubes we have been in, the reviews online were not overwhelming. But it was something different so I was in! My only concern was the description on the national park website warning about higher clearance being needed. Would the Mitsubishi Outlander get us there?
The road in was not horrible but definitely has its share of washboards. Looking back we really should have parked at the little corral before the end of the road where it becomes a jeep trail but the hubs was convinced we could make it. I really wish I had pictures of how bad it was, I probably don’t have to worry now if the car company found out we drove it. Yes, we made it but only because Gary got out and directed me so I didn’t scrape. There were several other vehicles at the trailhead, all lifted 4x4s…
It was a short trail up to the opening of the lava tube.
The lighting was the best part, you can read more here.
So after surviving the jeep trail I got overconfident and figured we would have no problem on the sandy section out. Nope. Too busy talking, I completely missed a sharp rock jutting out from the side of the road and promptly popped the two right tires. Yes, two. And guess what? Rental cars most likely won’t have even one spare it turns out.
We were SUPER lucky to have a few bars reception so the hubs didn’t have to walk out to the main road AND even luckier that a tow truck was willing to come help us on a Sunday afternoon. Pancho even had two tires to sell us that the car rental company would approve.
And to pile on to my luck (selectively forgetting the two flat tires), the gal in customer service didn’t “turn me” in as she was supposed to do if you get more than one flat tire because I had already basically taken care of the car. So if you are taking notes, check your rental cars for spares like I religiously do now and know that more than one flat tire is considered negligence.
So what now, you say? After passing several hours at Pancho’s shop (house) in Baker, we were back on the road again. I was feeling a pretty deflated and not excited about finding another service road to camp on for our last night but it was too late for a motel. So we drove back into the park at Kelbaker and found the tamest sandy road to barely pull off on. It was pitch dark so we didn’t think anyone would see us from 15 and we promptly went to bed exhausted from the saga of the day.
Day Three: A Walkabout, Greens and Proteins, and Red Rock
Trying to bring up my mood before we headed back towards Vegas for our flight home, we wandered a bit around where we had camped for the night. I could see on my GAIA map we were in the vicinity of Hanks Mountain, Squats Hill and what appeared to be a mine. Despite several miles of walking around on jeep trail and scrambling, we didn’t find the mine but did see some cool rocks and evidence of old mining structures.
It should have been up in there somewhere…
Now back on 15 towards Las Vegas, we had daylight to see what the small town of Baker as all about. Turns out it is aliens! We just had to stop (mostly to use the bathroom and change clothes) but there were plenty of oddities to make you shake your head. I highly recommend…
In search of lunch, I was able to find a natural foods “fast” food stop for salads. I got the Ahi Protein Salad but you can get pizza, burgers, etc. Vegas has 6 locations to choose from and there was one on the west side where we had one more stop to make before dropping off the rental car.
Red Rock Canyon National Conservational Area
Because of the flat tire fiasco, rather than spend more time in Mojave I wanted to get back towards Vegas and not press our luck by sticking to pavement. I was able to get us a timed entry permit into Red Rock Canyon that would allow us a few hours in the area before our flight. Not enough for a long hike, but enough for the scenic drive and a few leg stretchers along the way.
You can find out more about this Vegas day trip on this page.
And that’s all folks! Despite the sour ending of day three, it was a fun filled weekend with some great winter memories in the sun. If you are looking to avoid an expensive getaway to warmer temperatures in the winter, it is hard to beat an excursion that doesn’t cost much more than the plane tickets and rental car.
Have you been to Mojave National Preserve? Do you have a favorite stop? Or do you have another favorite winter sunshine getaway?
For more information on Mojave, visit my Mojave National Preserve page. And to learn more about the native land the park sits on, once the home of the Mojave people, here are some good resources:
https://native-land.ca/maps/territories/mojave/
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Great photos, sounds like a fun trip. My husband loves car camping out west, but I am a wimp. Well, I need a bathroom. Our 5th wheel trailer is my idea of “camping”.
Thank you! I agree, a bathroom is important. Whenever I can, I try and access one nearby before camping for the night or wait until we can get to one in the morning. Backpacking experience does help, though, when that isn’t possible.