Hi Loves!
Hope you’re all having a fabulous day. I’m finally getting around to write this post to share with you all. Around this this time last year, my blogger bestie @Ravayna and I decided to do a road trip somewhere in California. We weren’t sure where but we knew it would be so much fun. We always have a good-effortless-time together. We decided to make it a couples’ road trip with our hubs since they both get along very well. To think Ravayna and I could have gone camping by ourselves would be utter disaster! Ha!
The decision was made- Death Valley & Big Bear and, we were going to go in a JUCY USA RV camper van. We picked up our JUCY RV rental which was equipped with a kitchen (stove, sink, refrigerator, utensils & cutlery). It also came with a table and two chairs for dining. Living the life or what ya’ll? Our RV also slept four but we had one per couple. There’s the upper level ‘The Penthouse” that sleeps two and inside the vehicle, sleeps two also. We also got pillows, sheets and blankets.
This was a four day road trip, where we spent two days in Death Valley and two days in Big Bear. We left from Los Angeles to Death Valley and it took us 5 1/2 hours. The drive was beautiful, yet scary and lonely. We took the 405N-5N-14N and followed the GPS out to Death Valley. What was scary for us was that for about 2.5 hours of the final leg of the drive we had no cell service and the drive was lonely. Make sure you either use an in car GPS or a portable one. We decided not to refresh the phone so we wouldn’t lose the directions and thankfully it carried us all the way. Ravayna and her hubs had taken off about an hour before us. Before it got dark, the drive was absolutely beautiful. We caught the mountains, the sunset, and a particular part the road was all red, literally red asphalt. We thought it was beautiful yet a bit trippy. Another scary thing, we were running low on gas and for about 2hrs there were no gas stations. If you’re taking this trip from the Los Angeles direction, make sure you fill up in Lancaster or somewhere Fern County before you make the final turn, off the main road/highway. Oh, use the bathroom too. We ended up spotting one gas station (I cannot remember the name of the area but it was about 1 hr to our destination). Also be prepared for a bit of winding roads and then long straight stretches of unending road. It’s a beautiful drive because you get to capture the sunset, depending on what time you’re traveling.
We planned on camping at Furnace Creek but it was full, so we ended up at Texas Spring Campground instead. Our spot for the RV cost us $16 per night (you can buy tickets at machine onsite) at Texas Spring Campground. This site is great for hiking, beautiful panoramic view of the sunrise and sunset and, immaculate mountain views. It got really windy our second night, so if you ever plan on going, be prepared for wind.
Our first night we cooked Corn Maque Choux (I had to learn this spelling- I though it was corn mac chow-my friends made fun of me), hot dogs, coronas, and marshmallows. We slept in the “Penthouse” of our JUCY RV. The second night, due to the high winds we slept inside the van. Both options were comfortable. If you’re bringing a tent make sure you have a sturdy one or use big rocks to hold it down in case of high winds. We saw a few tents being destroyed on our second night due to the winds.
On our first full day we decided to head to Badwater Basin (Salt Flats), Artiste Mountain, and the Sand Dunes. This was about 1.5 hours drive collectively to visit all three and to return to Texas Spring Campground.
Bad Water Basin (Salt Flats): This was an exceptional place to visit, we were literally at the slowest point in the USA-282 feet below sea level. We were standing on actual salt. The pattern changes as the weather does. If it rains, then you get a pool, if it’s windy the salt patter changes. I walked barefoot for the most part, just to feel the salt under my feet and, it was a great experience.
Artiste Palette (Address: Artists Dr, Furnace Creek, CA 92328)
To be honest, seeing the mountains here is incomparable between a camera shot (even edited) and the naked eye. This place is so beautiful. The mountain was filled with different colors–rays of purple, blush, blue, green, orange- all very subtle yet bold. I was so blown away and in awe of the beauty of this site.
Driving away from Artiste Palette, if you turn right (one way) you continue on this beautiful journey of a few winds and dips (reminds me of Road to Hana in Maui). It is surely a beautiful drive. This route takes you back to the main highway, so not to worry about getting lost. We took a drone shot (the first shot in this post) on the route on top of our JUCY RVs.
Sand Dune:
We made our way to the Sand Dunes in the early evening hoping to have a picnic to end our day. Well, the Sand Dunes had other plans for us. Ha! It was so windy, sand was blowing everywhere and I mean everywhere. It wasn’t necessarily a sand storm but it was windy enough where you couldn’t quite have a conversation without a mouth full of sand. However, it was beautiful to see and I can only imagine on a calm day what it must feel like. There’s unending mounts of sands miles and miles away.
On day three, we made your way to Big Bear. The drive was pretty amazing. We made our first stop to get some food at Big Bear Local. You must try their food, if it says spicy, then it’s spicy.
Then we checked in at the Applehorn Bed & Breakfast where we were welcomed with open arms, warmth and, the coziest cabin. We were overdue for a good bath, and that we did. The owners of the cabin had homemade lavender bath salts, that really made for one perfect bath. I nested in there for about an hour. Later, we were treated with happy hour-pasta, drinks, salad…all so very yummy. The owners both cook, and man, are they talented. They made us feel warm and comfortable. The next morning we were served coffee, orange juice, eggs, and the others had ham and poached eggs. My partner and I do not eat pork but the others enjoyed it. We enjoyed our eggs. Oh, they served us the best overnight oatmeal I’ve ever had in my life. I’m on the quest of replicating it-although not sure I can.
We rested for most of the day. The others went bobsledding but I didn’t. After all that driving, it was much needed for me. We made our way back to Los Angeles in the late afternoon and it was a beautiful drive.
I hope you enjoyed this post as much as we enjoyed the journey and capturing these moments to share with you all. I plan on posting a video on my Instagram soon so make sure you follow me there.
Till next time, Loves.
Happy Camping.
xoxo
Keyma