Roadtripping in the Mojave Desert

Disappointment struck when we stepped outside to meet our rental car shuttle. We had reserved a convertible and it was freezing out! We were looking forward to driving through the desert with the top down, carefree, destination unknown! We had planned to make our way to Death Valley National Park so once we were in the car, we set the GPS and set out towards what we thought was the right direction. 

We got on the I-15and turned when the GPS told us to. We ended up on a very long and lonely stretch of highway. The area was beautiful and we had the road to ourselves but something told me that we were going the wrong way. We kept driving until we arrived in a small town. We stopped at a little diner to get some lunch before continuing for a few more hours through the desert. The GPS continued to bark directions and whenever it said to turn, we turned. We started to loose faith in our GPS when it took us to an extremely desolate gravel road in the middle of nowhere!  

By this time, we knew we were lost but we didn’t care anymore. The landscape was breathtaking and we were getting to see a lot. Death Valley would wait until the next day. We just enjoyed the quiet isolation. We drove on that dirt road for a long time before stopping for a break to take pictures and stretch our legs. 

As I stood in the middle of the Mojave Desert with not a sound or soul around except the dust and wind, an eerie thought entered my mind; If we were to break down out there, there would be no way to get help and if it’s this isolated during the day, I could only imagine how scary the desert would be at night. We were not prepared to spend the night out there so we turned around and headed back the way we came. 

Once we were back in Las Vegas, we set the GPS to bring us to our hotel. I was hoping for a route that would avoid taking us down The Strip but that’s where we ended up, in bumper to bumper rush hour traffic on a Friday Night in Las Vegas! My head was pounding and my nerves were frayed by the time I handed the car keys over the hotel valet. 

It was still early enough to stay up so after some quick showers and a change of clothes, we headed back onto The Strip, this time on foot. We spent the night doing a bit of gambling, people watching and taking pictures. By midnight, we were in bed, resting up for the next day’s adventure to The Valley of Fire State Park and Death Valley National Park!