top of page
02/01/2019 • Owens Valley to Death Valley
• This one-day ride has 5 stops. North from LA to Big Pine, CA, then south to Lone Pine, east to Death Valley. South from Panamint Springs, zig-zagging from through the hills from Trona along the Garlock Fault to highway 14, then south back to LA.
1st part • Lancaster to Ridgecrest along CA-14
Click on the pic below to see more ↓
• Drove from Mojave, past Red Rock Canyon, past the intersections with CA-178, through Lone Pine, and into Independence.
2nd part • Dehy Park, Independence, CA
Click on the pic below to see more ↓
• Took a break here. We can't drive past this place as it is a sort of a sacred spot. Patti had asked that some of her ashes be left here, and so I complied. Now we stop to reflect and remember our daughter, and sister, and aunt. It's a lovely spot to take a break, and to get an undisrupted vista of the Sierras from the valley floor.
3rd part • Going up Big Pine Creek Road
Click on the pic below to see more ↓
• Attemped to drive up Big Pine Creek Road to see the valley in snow, but alas, the had a road block with avalanche signs. Yikes!!! That's not something you see everyday.
4th part • Heading into Death Valley
Click on the pic below to see more ↓
• Drove from Lone Pine, around Owens Dry Lake, and over the top toward Death Valley. Headed south at Panamint Springs towards Trona.
5th part • Garlock Fault
Click on the pic below to see more ↓
• This stretch of road, basically from the area of Ridgecrest, running southwest towards Mojave, ends at CA-14 just south of Red Rock Canyon. The entire valley is fairly unmolested by human corruption. A road and a set of railroad tracks, and only a few buildings. Just my kind of drive!
02/04 & 05/2019 • From LA to Hoover Dam, then south to Joshua Tree
• This 2 day trip runs from LA north towards Las Vegas, then follows the Colorado River south to Parker, when we cross the river and head back to the west, towards Los Angeles.
1st part • Day 1 • Mojave to Barstow
Click on the pic below to see more ↓
• Dad and I have always felt that a vacation trip this direction doesn't really feel that it has started until we would get to area between Rosamond (where the turn-off to Edwards AFB is) and the north end of Mojave, which feels like that last bastion of big city influence. From Mojave we headed east to Barstow, where we indulged in an excellent breakfast at Black Bear Diner.
2nd part • Day 1 • Barstow to Las Vegas on I-15
Click on the pic below to see more ↓
• This stretch of road, basically from the area of Ridgecrest, running southwest towards Mojave, ends at CA-14 just south of Red Rock Canyon. The entire valley is fairly unmolested by human corruption. A road and a set of railroad tracks, and only a few buildings. Just my kind of drive!
3rd part • Day 1 • Hoover Dam
Click on the pic below to see more ↓
• Going to Hoover Dam is always impressive. Built in the 1930s, this engineering marvel is spectacular to behold. I always enjoy coming here. The new bridge over the canyon is pretty impressive too, with the exception that they built it in a way to minimize the ability to look down into the canyon while driving.
4th part • Day 1 • Willow Beach along the Colorado River
Click on the pic below to see more ↓
• We turned of US-93 to visit Willow Beach on the east side of the river. We encounters some furry friends that seem plentiful in the area of our country.
5th part • Day 1 • US-93 toward Laughlin, NV
Click on the pic below to see more ↓
• From Willow Beach we continued south on US-93 to Golden Valley, heading west over the hills and down the steep grade to reach Laughlin, NV, which is on the west shore of the Colorado River. We spent the night there.
6th part • Day 2 • Oatman, AZ
Click on the pic below to see more ↓
• Crossed back over the river into Arizona. We headed up to the area of the town of Oatman. A very beautiful area with lots of big rocks. And more burros - everywhere!
7th part • Day 2 • AZ-95 south along the Colorado River
Click on the pic below to see more ↓
• From Oatman we headed south to where I-40 crosses the Colorado, then got on AZ-95 south toward Lake Havasu, then further south to Parker, AZ where we crossed the river.
8th part • Day 2 • CA-62 toward 29 Palms
Click on the pic below to see more ↓
• Once across the river, we followed CA-62 to the town of 29 Palms. Our son Joey was stationed here for a while when he was in the US Marine Corp. This stretch of highway is another one of those I love. Wide open spaces, with very little traffic.
9th part • Day 2 • Joshua Tree National Park
Click on the pic below to see more ↓
• Once at 29 Palms we entered the Joshua Tree National Park, and headed up to Keys View, from where we could see Palm Springs and Mt. San Jacinto. After this we headed back to LA.
bottom of page