A road trip to Death Valley was one of the highlights of our time in spring. During a pandemic, a road trip through different desert environments makes a perfect vacation, with plenty of social distancing opportunities.
A desert is a desert, you might think. And maybe only desert dwellers notice the subtle, and sometimes not so subtle differences between the Sonoran Desert, known as the wettest, and the Mojave Desert with Death Valley, one of the driest spots on earth. During a three-day road trip in the spring, we passed through both.
Why Choose a Road Trip
While we don’t mind flying, my family spent most of our vacation time this past year on road trips. Not only because it’s better for the environment, but it proved to be safer during a pandemic.
A Road Trip Is the Safest Way to Vacation During a Pandemic
Though we are all starting to feel like the pandemic is over, we still have a way to go before we could relax about it. Yes, many people got vaccinated, and more already had Covid, but while this means light at the end of the tunnel, it doesn’t mean we are out of it yet. But road trips offer a relatively safe way to travel.
So, that’s what we did. We’ve taken a few short day trips from Phoenix, where we didn’t interact with anyone at all. When we first left town during the pandemic, we drove to Northern Arizona to hike Lenox Crater. Later, we took a longer road trip to Colorado. After these road trips, we developed a routine.
We carry multiple face masks, hand sanitizers, and plenty of food so we only need an occasional take-out on a multiple-day road trip. In hotel rooms, I sanitize the areas we touch as soon as I enter, before anyone else touches anything. This includes door knobs, light switches, tv remote, and most surfaces we use. And we use hand sanitizers often during the drive.
A Road Trip Offers Greater Flexibility
Besides safety during a pandemic, road trips have always been favorites in our family. They offer the greatest flexibility for a family like ours, that doesn’t usually plan ahead.
For spring break this year, we originally planned a road trip to Taos, New Mexico. But as the date of our departure came close, we realized that it would be cold (without the added benefit of snow) there. So, I suggested Death Valley as a destination instead. We’ve lived within driving distance from it for almost three decades, but have never seen it. We always thought – maybe some day. Besides, it’s a desert, and visiting another desert wasn’t a priority. Now, a road trip to Death Valley seemed the perfect vacation idea during a pandemic.
A year ago, we spent spring break in Costa Rica (and almost got stuck there as the pandemic hit before we got home). This time, we opted for a road trip through a few different deserts.
But the day before we left, we realized a storm was blowing through the area we would be driving through. So, we altered the route, ended up in Death Valley a day later than we originally intended, and added an extra destination to the trip. It worked out better than we hoped for.
1. Explore the Sonoran Desert, Your Starting Point
The Sonoran Desert, where we live, is known as the wettest and greenest desert in the world. When we are waiting for rain, looking at the clear-blue skies with not a single cloud, it’s hard for us to think of it as such most of the year. But as we drove towards the Mojave Desert, this became very clear to us.
In the Sonoran Desert, we have giant saguaros, some of them ancient, living through centuries. They stay green, even when everything else is brown and burned around them.
We also have the unique palo verde trees, named “green sticks” because their trunks are green (even if their leaves are tiny). They stay green, even in the summer, when other trees look dead, and desert grasses are burnt.
Add hundreds of species of cacti, from the tiny pincussion to the organ pipe with its multiple trunks reaching towards the sky, and all the varieties of cholla and barrel cacti in between. Yes, the Sonoran Desert is evergreen, full of vegetation. Always. But especially now, in spring, when desert wildflowers are also in bloom, making this environment even more colorful.
2. Stop at Lake Havasu and London Bridge
We last visited Lake Havasu over a decade ago. That was when we were new residents of Arizona, and we wanted to see everything we could in our new state. We went to Lake Havasu City to see the original London Bridge is. The one from the children’s rhyme that was falling down.
We revisited it now because we tried to stay out of a storm.
London bridge does not belong in Arizona. But here it is, spanning across a man-made lake, in the middle of the desert. There it is, with the English Village, an artificial London look-alike tiny town on its shore.
But aside from all the kitchy stuff, there is some history here. You can walk across the original London Bridge. And you can enjoy water in the desert.
Though on a normal year this is an extremely popular destination in Arizona (the main reason we haven’t returned in about two decades), this year it was the perfect place to be. Not fully deserted, it was still quiet, with only a few people walking on the lake shores, and no boats in the water. If we ever wanted to return here, this was the perfect time.
We spent most of our time in the small waterside park with seagulls (that’s still a mystery to me that they were there), and a pair of ducks. Then walked across the famous London Bridge, originally built between 1176 and 1209, sang about in nursery rhymes as it was “falling down”, bought in 1968 and reconstructed in the Sonoran Desert in 1971.
3. Observe the Transition from the Sonoran to the Mojave Desert
As we drove towards Nevada (though Death Valley is in California, the easiest way to get there from us is through Nevada), the cactus varieties disappeared, as the desert seemed to become more and more desolate. When I started noticing the Joshua tree, I knew we were in the Mojave Desert.
The differences are subtle at first, but if you live in one of these deserts and are used to it, you’ll notice when it changes. The absence of the giant saguaro makes the Mojave Desert look more devoid of life, flatter. And it’s not just the saguaro; there seems to be no cactus in the Mojave Desert. However, it is the home to the Joshua Tree, a large type of yucca variety. Not that the Joshua Tree doesn’t live in the Sonoran Desert. It’s just more prevalent in the Mojave, so it is the classic telltale of this high desert, where winters are colder, hence the absence of cactus varieties.
Still, as desolate as it looks, the Mojave Desert, named after the Mohave tribe native to the area, supports about 2,000 species of plants, and 1,500 species of animals. Not as spectacular as the Sonoran Desert, but still. Looks can be deceiving.
But what the Mojave Desert lacks in vegetation, makes up in colorful rock formations. This was becoming more obvious as we approached Las Vegas.
4. Stop in Las Vegas – There Is More to It Than The Strip
I never had not desire to ever visit Las Vegas, the town as I perceived it before seeing the environment it is in. But our latest version of this road trip took us through it. Besides, it was the best spot to use as a “base of operations” while visiting Death Valley and a few other sites in the area. So, we chose a hotel in the outskirts of the famous city.
See the Vegas Sign and Drive through the Famous Strip
While there, we drove through the famous strip. Twice, in fact. When my teenage daughter heard “Vegas” as one of our stops on our road trip to Death Valley, she wanted to see “the sign, you know, the one you always think of when you hear Vegas.” I didn’t know what she was talking about. Until I saw it.
In the middle of a busy street, the old sign is the center of attention with a busy parking lot built around it. People were lined up to see it, and take a photo of it, or with it. Even during a pandemic. We didn’t stop, but drove by close enough to see and even take a photo of it.
Since the road past the sign lead to the Strip, we drove through. One side of the street looked like something out of Legoland, only a bit larger. Egyptian pyramid and the Luxor near an English castle, New York city buildings and the Statue of Liberty lined the glamorous side.
However, across the street, the buildings told another story. Here, they looked like Elvis could walk out of them. As old as he would be, these structures seemed like have never been renovated or even repainted. The difference between the two sides of the street was striking.
Both sides looked more glamorous at night, to be fair. Yes, we did drive through the strip again, at night. Just to see its lights (so I could rant about the light pollution).
The Best of Vegas – the Environment Surrounding the City
However, the strip Vegas is famous for takes up about two miles of the city. The rest looks like Phoenix without saguaros. But the best part about Vegas: the city is surrounded by some gorgeous scenery, state and national parks where we could spend time outdoors and enjoy the desert – a slightly different desert from our own.
5. Explore Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area
The best part of Las Vegas was Red Rock Canyon, just a few miles west of the city. A protected area of the Mojave Desert, the canyon is popular with rock climbers, and hikers, besides drive-through visitors. You’ll find plenty to see even from the scenic stops, but hiking on some fo the trails offers a more in-depth feel for the place.
We were glad we looked up entrance fees the day before we got there, because, as it turned out, we needed reservations with a designated time when we could enter the park. Given its proximity to the city, this kept the visitors to a manageable number.
Since we got into the area before our designated time, we took a short side trip through an adjacent nature preserve. Hiking through the area, I noticed a baby rabbit near the trail, oblivious to our presence. The views from the top of a hill stretched for miles. But later on, Red Rock Canyon beat it all.
We spent most of our first day in Vegas in Red Rock Canyon, driving the 13-mile scenic road, stopping at each overlook, and trailhead. We took a few hikes, and enjoyed the outdoors surrounded by red rocks, in a different desert from our own.
6. Drive to Death Valley
Next day, we left relatively early and drove to Death Valley, only two hours away. To be fair, we stayed in the outskirts of Vegas, close to the road towards Death Valley, so we probably cut down on the road trip distance that way. We drove through more desolate areas, until we reached Pahrump, an unexpected larger town in the middle of the desert.
We had no reason to stop at Pahrump, but if you need supplies of any kind, it is a good place to get them. It also seems a good place to stop for lunch, snack or even dinner; we’ve seen plenty of restaurants (and casinos) lined up along the main road through town.
7. Take a Look at the Amargosa Opera House
Right before the turnoff to Death Valley, a seemingly deserted opera house sits in the middle of the desert, at first glance with no connection to anything. On closer look, you realize that the Amargosa Opera House in Death Valley Junction, opened in a renovated building in 1968, sits in a small complex. As run-down and deserted as it looks, it is still a functional opera house, where shows only stopped temporarily in March of 2020 because of Covid. An interesting piece of history.
Explore Death Valley National Park
The hottest, driest, and lowest – a large portion of it under sea level – desert in the US, Death Valley National Park is even more desolate than any other desert environment I’ve visited over the years. Still, it is one of the most beautiful. And, despite everything, some life survives even here.
But what it lacks of vegetation, Death Valley makes up in gorgeous geological features. I couldn’t get enough of the colorful rocks surrounding us, as we drove lower in elevation, to sea level, then below. We drove on through Badwater Basin, the lowest point in North America, with views of the surrounding salt flats.
We drove through from the entrance to the farthest point in the park at Stovepipe Well Village. If you need anything, this is the place to buy it. You’ll find a gas station, a camp store and a restaurant here. We didn’t stop, but turned around and drove back, stopping at the Mesquite Flats Sand Dunes.
8. Play in the Sand at the Mesquite Flats Sand Dunes
You won’t find much here, other than sand, and more sand, beautiful vistas in the distance, and a creosote bush now and then. Nevertheless, it is fun to walk in the sand, among the dunes that sometimes hide all other humans. You can feel absolutely alone in the middle of this land filled with golden sand, even as you know that the closest humans, and even the road is close enough to walk to in a few minutes.
Just don’t try to walk barefoot in the sand. I did. The deep sand was so inviting for my bare toes, I had to take my shoes off. They stayed off for a few minutes, until my toes couldn’t take the heat. The intense heat of the sand was unexpected, given that it was cool enough for us to wear long pants and long sleeved shirts.
9. Enjoy Artist’s Drive
A side-trip from the main road, the 9-mile one-way Artist Drive is a must see site when visiting Death Valley. Once you get on this road, you’ll know right away whey they call it Artist’s Drive. You’ll drive through narrow canyons, and no matter where you look, the colors on the rocks look like a perfect artist’s palette – and we didn’t even see it at sunset. You’ll notice all shades of reds, whites, yellows and greens, from the lightest pastels to the darkest shades. I couldn’t get enough of it all. We stopped at the viewpoints for a closer look, but even the views from the road are gorgeous.
10. Stop at Zabriskie Point
Before leaving the park, we stopped at the busiest viewpoint and walked up to the top for a view of the surrounding golden rock formations, badlands.
Leave Death Valley
While many parts of the park reminded me of the Painted Desert and the Badlands on the Navajo Nation’s land, somehow Death Valley was even more desolate. Artist’s Drive offered a higher concentration of colorful rocks. The Salt Flats in Badwater Basin was something I haven’t seen before, and the Sand Dunes were fun – only because we knew we weren’t far from the car with food and carried water.
At the end of the day, we made our way back to Vegas. The next morning, we started making our way back towards our own Sonoran Desert. But we stopped soon after leaving Vegas.
11. Explore the Valley of Fire State Park
On the way home, we stopped at the Valley of Fire State Park, for views and hikes among more red rocks. Mostly red, though we’ve seen other colors, too. We spent time walking around the beehive formations, then took a few hikes among desert rocks in the park. Holes in the rocks, rock formations in all shapes and sizes, from dark red rock to white were the highlights of the park. But we also saw signs of ancient people here, where we stopped to look at the petroglyphs on the side of a flat rock.
Before leaving the park, we stopped to look at the elephant rock, a red rock formation that may or may not resemble an elephant, depending on what angle you look at it from. However, if you stand on the right spot and look at it from the right angle – they have a sign on the trail to help you, just on the side of the road, a short walk from the parking lot – you can’t unsee it. In my case, my daughter had to point it out to me. But I felt better when someone else was looking for it and not finding it until I pointed them in the right direction.
Drive Back towards the Sonoran Desert
After spending most of our morning in the Valley of Fire, we got back on the road towards Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam. More desolate desert environment, with a large man-made lake in the middle of it. With no boats on the lake, and no one around, the place was peaceful and quiet. We saw no reason to stop though, so kept driving back towards our own greener desert.
I felt that familiar “happy to be home” when I saw my first saguaro. The transition wasn’t too abrupt, but as we drove, the desert around us was becoming greener, more vegetation started to appear dominated by prickly pear and cholla cactus besides the palo verde trees, until we drove through a patch of giant, green saguaros. We were back in the Sonoran Desert.
