We ambitiously decided to make our first travel adventure a cross-country trip to visit my parents in Palm Springs, California. Starting out in Ohio during January meant that we were in a hurry to put distance between us and the cold quickly. Especially after the brutal cold that had come our way the week before.
Driving the southern route seemed like the best option to avoid the worst winter weather and cold. Since time was of the essence to us and there wouldn’t be much in the way of dispersed camping on BLM land until we got out West, we took the interstate through Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.
We stayed at rest areas along the highway, which isn’t always the worst place to stay, especially being self-contained as we are. Unfortunately, as we drove through Oklahoma, we realized that there were no rest areas to be found by the time night fell. We had to stay in a Walmart parking lot. At least it was quiet.
We woke up to a wind advisory and seeing as we are basically driving a tall, thin box, wind can be a big problem. The prospect of spending the day in a parking lot in Oklahoma made our decision easy: We would risk the wind to continue on our journey.
The wind made driving challenging at times since we were driving across land that was flat and open as far as the eye could see. It was worth the risk because we mostly had blue skies and made it into New Mexico. To a rest area of course. Where we were reminded of how different this part of the country was from where we started.
After spending a freezing and windy night at the rest area, the cold member of the team decided that additional warm sleeping gear was needed. While shopping for said gear in Albuquerque, we saw the perfect little camp stove that would solve our indoor cooking needs.
Gila National Forest
My mom was keeping tabs on our slow but steady progress and suggested that we might want to drive through Tonto National Forest. I looked at the weather nearby and saw temperatures in the 20s and a flood advisory. After looking at a map, I noticed that Gila National Forest was not too far out of our way and more south, so we decided to get off the interstate and head that way.
The drive was beautiful and took us through remote areas where we rarely saw homes or any sign of civilization. We drove through a couple of tiny towns, including Magdelena and Reserve. Driving out of Magdalena, we encountered a snowstorm, but it was over as soon as it began. We went in and out of snowy areas and climbed into the forest.
Cosmic Campground
While researching places to camp in Gila National Forest, we read about Cosmic Campground. Not only was it free, but is an international dark sky sanctuary. It was a cloudy day and cold, so stargazing was out for us; the drive up was gorgeous during dusk. Two elks crossed the road before us as we went up the mountain. A striking sight since I have never seen one in person. Unfortunately, the encounter happened too quick for me to snap a picture. It may have been the coldest night we spent in the van so far (we hadn’t considered the elevation in our weather calculations), but the views in the morning made it worth the visit.
Gila to Arizona
As we left Gila National Forest, we entered Apache National Forest and just so happened to decide to stop for lunch as we entered Arizona. There were pull-offs into the woods just off the road we were on.
We also encountered remnants of previous rain crossing the road in a couple of places.
Tonto National Forest
Even though we didn’t intend on going to Tonto National Forest, in a happy turn of events, we drove through a small portion of it on one of the most white-knuckle portions of our trip to that point.
The entire drive through Arizona into California was beautiful. I’d have to say that desert landscapes are my favorite. Of course, most of my pictures from that drive don’t capture the beauty, so I won’t share them here. Needless to say, I will have plenty of desert pictures from our visit to Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley.
WanderLyd 