Today we wrapped up our stay in California and headed through the Mojave Desert towards Nevada.
And honestly, we had no idea what we would be faced with when we traveled across Highway 58 towards Interstate 19.
We knew that we would be headed towards the Mojave Desert, but neither of us had ever been in or through the area.
So we set out with the truck and camper and hit the road, ready for whatever was ahead of us.
As we left Bakersfield, the landscape quickly changed from groves of fruit and nut trees to desert terrain.
In the distance we could see hundreds of wind turbines that were perched on the hillside. Some were absolute huge!
But the smaller ones that were lined right next to each other were moving so fast that it was really an interesting sight to see!
I can only imagine how much power they were generating today!
The Airplane ‘Graveyard’
Then, as we drove into Mojave, we came across the Airplane ‘Graveyard’.
The Mojave Air and Space Port is also a storage facility for commercial airliners. Due to its vast area and dry, low-humidity desert conditions it is the perfect place to store a plane.
But it is interesting because this area is located in a very remote area, away from any large metropolitan areas and other major airports.
The planes are parked in the north field for storage, and you can actually see it from Highway 58. However, not all planes make it out of here ‘alive’.
If the aircraft reaches the end of their useful lifetime, they are scrapped at the Mojave aircraft boneyard.
So after we drove down a few side roads to try to get a closer look at the planes, we decided to hop back on the highway to continue our travels towards Nevada.
The Scenery of the Mojave Desert
During our drive we saw very few towns, and a lot of deserted homes. However, as strange as it may sound, the scenery was beautiful.
From the rolling desert hills to the mountains peeking up through in the distance, there was always something that caught our eye.
Even the flatter, desert lands were intriguing. You could see for miles upon miles. And we could even see the highway that we would be traveling way off in the distance.
However, one of the most beautiful things that we saw in the Mojave Desert was the Joshua trees.
This was the first time that either of us had ever seen a Joshua tree in person.
The twisted, bristled trees stood tall against the brush and were easy to spot in the distance.
As we drove we both would point out every tree that we saw. But that quickly ended when we continued our travels and began to see several of them.
But isn’t that the beauty of traveling – seeing and enjoying things that are new to you? We have seen many ‘new’ things on this trip, and as we head towards Las Vegas, I am confident that we will continue to do so!
Happy Traveling! Jim and Mary
CURRENT TRIP STATS
- Day 92 of 365
- States : 12 / 50
- National Parks / Monuments : 12
- Stayed In : Las Vegas, Nevada
- Miles Driven : 314.2
- Total Trip Miles To Date : 9740.8
- Total Gallons Used : 726.93
- Biking Miles : 0.0
- Biking Miles To Date : 142.5
- Hiking Miles : 0.0
- Hiking Miles To Date : 189.5
About Our Living Simple Tour
On September 9th, 2019, we set out in our NuCamp T@B 400 Teardrop Camper to travel to every state. You can check out all of our dates here : Dates for the States
Follow along by signing up for our twice weekly email updates at the bottom of the page. You can also follow us on Facebook : Live Simple Tour Facebook and Instagram : Live Simple Now Instagram Page.
So enjoying your travels. I am not bragging but my husband was offered a wonderful job back in the 60’s before the Interstate system. He was a packaging engineer for a Chicago corporation. They interviewed me also before he was offered the job. We would spend anywhere from one to two months in a location, all traveled to by car. One assignment might be in a small town in Alabama and the next might be in Washington state. They never rushed us so we took some interesting routes across America. We did this for about five years till we were expecting our son. We had what we needed in the company supplied car. We usually were able to find an apartment or a motel with cooking facilities. We always flew home to Chicago for Christmas holiday time. It was truly fun and educational, seeing all that beautiful America has to offer. So you can understand why I enjoy reading your travels. You have hit many familiar spots along the way. Oh, we did buy a Brittany Spaniel in Oregon and she enjoyed the travels too (not so much the swamps of Mobile Bay).
What great memories that you must have!! So glad that you can reminiscence through our journey across the country over the next year. And just as a side note, I grew up with a Brittany Spaniel! Happy Traveling! Mary and Jim