Mojave Desert Love
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I love to travel to sunny places because I love the sunshine and I love the heat! My ideal temperature on any given day is about 95 degrees. I can comfortably tolerate 107 degrees in Las Vegas because the dry heat is so much better than 95 degrees in high humidity Virginia Beach!
As a confessed lover of tropical temperatures and sunny destinations, it’s no wonder that my new obsession is the desert!
Discover Mojave
The Mister and I recently spent some time at Mojave Desert. We were at Mojave National Preserve in the area of Barstow, California (according to my Snapchat filter ;-).
In route and on our way back to Las Vegas from Los Angeles, this turned out to be a wonderful stop that wasn’t exactly planned.
I had my heart set on Death Valley, desert land in Eastern California, and also the driest and hottest spot in North America!
Temps have gotten to a record high of 134° F! I’m most fascinated with Death Valley because it is home to the lowest elevation on the continent (minus 282 feet below sea level) at Badwater Basin, the lowest point accessible by car. Fascinating, right?!
Not Exactly Death Valley
Since it was January, I wan’t concerned about the extreme heat at Death Valley. I was, however concerned with getting a ton of amazing pictures and videos in the daylight. But again, it was January, so by the time we would have arrived at about 5:30pm, it would have been dark.
Instead of Death Valley, we visited the Mojave Desert, which extends from California and surrounds Las Vegas.
The Mojave Desert lands are AMAZING, so this wasn’t any consolation prize after not making it to Death Valley! Mojave is the driest desert in North America and has extreme highs in elevations above 2,000 feet and extreme lows (Death Valley) 282 feet below sea level! I’m not sure of the elevation where we were standing.
I do know that we weren’t on the low Death Valley side of Mojave, which is where I originally wanted to be (smile ;-).
We were, however surrounded by gorgeous red rock mountains and wild open desert space. This time, I’m thankful it was January because the temperature was mild at about 55 degrees. I had on a cardigan sweater and knee-high boots and was more than comfortable.
similar Target cardigan | Amazon red retro dress | Vince Camuto boots | Overstock necklace | Julie Vos bracelet | similar to my Tenzin LA ring | Sugarfix Earrings | Givenchy red lipstick | The Mister’s shirt |
Nature Unrefined
The vastness of the land in its natural, unrefined glory is the epitome of inspiring!
I was wishing that the car was loaded with all sorts of props and clothes to dress up! I had a dozen scenes painted in my mind, and I was ready to create on this unique blank canvas!
I can’t wait to head back to Mojave Desert in the warmer months and give you an update on the temperatures in the Spring and Summer.
As part of the Preserve, you can explore natural features like Mojave Wilderness and its impressive Joshua tree forests, Kelso Dune Fields of large sand deposits, or the ghost town of Kelso. Mojave Preserve is also commonly traveled by 4-wheel drive vehicles on the historic Mojave Road.
I can’t wait to go further east into Mojave Desert to get to Death Valley and the Badwater Basin experience! Stay tuned…
You can watch my video at Mojave National Preserve on my IGTV Channel HERE.
Map at the entrance of Mojave National Preserve
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The desert sounds great
Oh, it’s so beautiful!…And lower in temps this time of year 😉
Love you blogging style <3
Wow, these are beautiful pictures – I love the coloring of them! I can only imagine how fast the Mojave is in real life!
Lucy, so happy you love the desert pictures! Thank You for stopping by to see them 😉
Love sunny places!???
Emma! We’re so much alike because I do, too!!!
This is really nice, I’ve not been to any desert, Mojave does sound nice, I don’t need Death Valley, either! I love dry heat, too.
Rosie, Mojave was beautiful! I will go to Death Valley for you and report back! LOL!
That is awesome! I generally don’t like when the weather is too hot (east coast girl here)! BUT I love traveling and I visit CA quite often. Maybe next time I’ll make this a trip. Thanks for the share!!
Whitney, I’m so happy to share 😉 Let me know if you do end up visiting Mojave Desert or Death Valley!
Too hot for this girl, but looks like a great trip!
Ha Ha! I’m weird like that and love the HOT temps!
You look absolutely stunning! A real desert rose!
You’re the sweetest! Thank You 😉
I lived in the desert of California for 3 years and think of it often. It is a beautiful place and people do not give it enough credit… until they’ve visited.
Julie! You’re so fortunate to have experienced these amazing landscapes! You’re right, people often don’t understand the desert’s majesty until they see for themselves!
I love the photos. Makes me want to travel.
Yaasss, Sherry! Go travel- do it now!
I would love to visit someday. It would be like a dream come true.
You’re so right, it’s natural beauty is like a dream come true!
you like the pictures beauty and air to relax you . I like to take 500hp dune buggies and race in the lose sand and open space . love your car to.
Ha Ha! That’s why this desert space is so amazing…Something for everybody!
love the hair
He, He! Thanks, Arlene! I was hoping this was really about my “hair” and not a typo for “air”, LOL! I have a post about my hair care routine on it’s way to the blog 😉 Stay tuned…
I spent 3 years at 29 Palms in the Mojave Desert. Summer heat is brutal.
Yeah, you had WHOLE summers in Mojave! That sounds like a lot!!!
Wow, what a place to visit – definitely something I’d love to do!
You’d really enjoy Mojave’s vast beauty! I’m excited to return in a different season and share more!
I’d love to see that area. And considering how cold it is here in KY today, even 100 heat would be fine by me!
Hi, Tamra! LOL! It is beautiful here in Mojave! Hoping you can escape here for some sunshine 😉
Never heard of this place, seems dry, definitely lots to see, stay hydrated
Yes, very dry—it’s the desert 😉
I spent 3 years at 29 Palms in the Mojave Desert. It has its attractions. I’ll take North East Texas over it any day. I like grass, trees, and lakes!
Ha Ha! Someone else that lived here also said that!