From Retro Diners to Ghost Towns: Discovering the Mojave on a Road Trip

On episode 57, we recap our Mojave Road Trip which took us from Southern California to Kingman Arizona.

We look for opportunities to get our travel fix. Sometimes it's through epic trips. But other times, it can be a quick trip over a weekend and that's what this episode covers.

Stops along the way include:
Peggy Sue's 50s Diner 
Nipton California 
Mountain View Cemetery in Kingman Arizona

Peggy Sue's 50s Diner

Peggy Sue's is an original roadside Diner, built in 1954 with 9 counter stools and 3 booths. It sets in on the shadow of the Calico Mountains and was built from railroad ties and mortar from the nearby Union Pacific Rail yard.  Today, the eatery serves up classic 50's style diner meals. It offers a large gift shop. And when you're done, visit the dinosaur sculpture garden in the back.

 

Nipton California

Here we stumbled upon an entire town for sale. We had to pull the car over when we saw some historic markers. There were photo opportunities including the historic Hotel California to an old school house. Plus, we got a chance to meet a few of the locals - perhaps comprising half of the very very small population of this town.

It was in this town where we also were introduced to the incredible blues playing of Justin Johnson. Check out one of the Justin Johnson CDs here. Or check out this YouTube link for starters - Justin Johnson Shovel Guitar. Amazing!

Foodie Corner

On our Foodie Corner, we stop at Los Domingos Mexican Restaurant in Barstow

 

Car Camping

On this trip, we had our first ever car camping experience. We took advantage of our Harvest Host membership. The benefit of adding a car camping night is that we were able to limit the hours of driving on our second day.

Sleep was made possible on our recently purchased Exped Megamat Duo. We have a size that fits within the back section of our Honda Odyssey minivan.

As noted in the podcast, it helps to be prepared for the potential bathroom experience when car camping and not  having access to a bathroom.  For this, we came prepared with TravelJane Disposable Urinal packs.

  

 

Exploring The Mojave National Preserve

On this trip, our Mojave exploration was centered around soaking up view from our car.  Plus, our stop in Nipton gave us a new perspective on life in the Mojave. We have hiked through the Mojave desert on prior trips. Do stop into the Mojave National Preserve Visitor Center for more information on this wonderful desert landscape.

 

Travel Resources

And while preparing to explore the country for your own road trips, you can find links to a number of books to get you in the travel mindset on our Amazon Store Page - check out the section: Books That Inspire Travel 

We also invite you to visit our Amazon Storefront for more travel resources that we recommend - all of which, we personally use in our travels.

GET YOUR TRAVEL GEAR HERE! - The Places Where We Go Amazon Storefront

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The Places Where We Go

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We’ll see you at the places where we go.

Julie & Art

 

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