Travel update: From Bend, OR to the desert of Southern California
We are currently at a campground near Lone Pine, CA in the eastern Sierra Nevada. We left Bend, OR three days ago and drove six hours through the snow to a rest stop in Susanville, CA. Olaf, our van, is driving well after he had his transmission replaced while we were in Bend, so that is great news.
Sleeping at the rest stop was nothing special, maybe a little less noisey than some others we have stayed at which was nice. To save money, we skipped going to a motel in Susanville, but it was definitely cold at night (21 degrees Farenheit). We woke up with ice on the inside of the windows, which has only happened to us once before when we were camping in Yellowstone in November a few years ago.
The next morning, we woke up as early as we could and drove directly to Reno, NV (about an hour away) to get breakfast. I did not like the energy of Reno and it just reinforced for me that I don't have any desire to travel through Nevada anytime soon.
From Reno, we drove down the eastern Sierras and stayed the night at a Motel 6 in Mammoth Lakes, CA where the temperature got as low as 10 degrees Farenheit. We were so exhausted that the next morning we called the front desk to try to book another night at the motel, but they said they were all booked up because it was Thanksgiving. So instead, we loaded up our van and our pup and made the two hour drive down to Alabama Hills, a popular "#vanlife" dispersed camping area.
While we tried to find a place to camp at Alabama Hills, it was so crowded, again probably because it was Thanksgiving. So we continued on to our second option, a BLM campground called Tuttle Creek that was just up the road from Alabama Hills. It cost $8 per night but there was space and it is nice to have a picnic table and cell service.
We are planning to stay here for at least a few days to recover from this long trip. The nights here are still pretty cold (32 degrees Farenheit) so eventually we plan to head further south and further into the desert.
Let's be friends! Are there any trips you would love to take or favorites you have taken in the past? Do you prefer to travel slowly and take your time or move quickly to see more things?
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