Which Way to the Mojave?

I have never been comfortable with using the GPS when traveling ... I want to map out my trip the old-fashioned way with a map and see the roads line up without question.  What happened to us on the way to the Mojave is a perfect example of why you cannot always trust the GPS to get you to the right place.

On our way out of Nevada, we followed the GPS blindly; however, I had mapped the route so after thirty minutes on the road I knew something was wrong.  So, we stopped and looked at our map to find the right path.  We ended up on a back road and over shot the side road because there were no markers on the roads.  This got us to the main highway and we decided to call the visitor center to find out the best route.  This visitor center was in the next town...not where we wanted to visit...but they should have known how to get us on the right road to the appropriate ranger station.  NOPE!!!  She did tell us that the ranger station would be open until 5 pm and it was only 2 pm so we had plenty of time to make it there.  So...we stopped on the side of the road and found a path that we thought was right.  We then reset the GPS to these coordinates.

Along the way. we realized it was meant to be this way...we discovered sights we would not have seen otherwise.  We found a World War I memorial and stopped to pay our respects for those who lost their lives in the war.  In the process of making our way to the memorial, Sean saw a kangaroo rat!  It was too fast for our camera but he was excited.

The GPS continued to be screwy in directions and said it would take us an hour to drive 8 miles.  It seems pretty ridiculous even if the road became a dirt road some where along the way.  AND IT DID...so we slowed down to a tortoise pace (We never did see one of these guys although there were signs to watch for them everywhere!) and found our way toward the center.  We never saw anyone while we were on the roads but we did scare two cows coming around a curve.  We were very thankful that they were scared enough to run away from the van!

No flag...sad face!

We did make it to the ranger station but we noticed right away that there was something wrong...no flag was waving in front of the building!  The ranger station is in fact open until 5 pm...but it is ONLY open on Saturdays and it was Thursday!  We would not be deterred...we noticed that there was a flag waving across the road so we made our way to this building...it was the fire station set up to fight wild fires.  It was open and a kind fireman allowed us to use the restrooms and find a map of the trails for us.  He made a couple of suggestions and sent us on our way.

We were at the Hole in the Wall trail and we were excited to make our way on the mile long trail to see the desert.  It was very different then Death Valley.  It was a "cool" 98 degrees and there was a breeze that was actually uplifting and refreshing.  Within a quarter of a mile we found ourselves at some large rocks that had petroglyphs!  We felt like we were discovering something for the first time!  It seems like they would be protected more but they were easily accessible and we enjoyed looking at the ancient drawings up close.

Then we got to the open area on the other side of the mountain and wondered if we would ever get to the name sake of this area.  Just when we were thinking the trail could not be any longer...we were there...and what a sight!  It looked like someone had taken buck shot to the wall of rock in front of us!  There were holes everywhere from top to bottom...the children were eager to climb the wall like a rock climbing wall, but then someone realized they could make echoes in the valley!  They did this for some time before continuing on our way.

We weaved our way through the trail and it was much cooler in the "holes" so we slowed our pace and enjoyed the area.  Then we realized that actually would need to climb the wall to get back to our van.  I was starting to wonder if we should go back the way we came.  The children had no fear...they pressed on and we "old folks" followed.  At one point we had to climb rings to go higher.  This led to another set of rings and then a steep set up steps formed from the rocks.  Even our Little Miss came out of the backpack (mainly because the gap between the rocks was too narrow for her to stay in) and was a trooper climbing up the trail.

It was actually quite fun...my only concern was that if we got hurt there was no one there to help us.  But we made it out and lived to tell about it.  Thankfully we did not meet up with any sidewinders or rattlers along the way...ignorance is bliss as we did not even think about this danger while we were there.  Most likely it was too hot for them to come out of the shade as it was the hottest part of the day.  Which we should also be thankful that I remembered to have sunscreen on everyone before we set out.

Once again exhausted, we climbed into the van and made our way to our hotel for the evening.  Now I have never needed the fanciest hotel to stay...we almost never stay in one place for more than one night when we are traveling.  However, I have learned over the years that some brands are better than others and when possible we try to stay away from them.  So as we got closer to the end of the day and I found out we were staying at one of these lesser hotels, I was not happy about it.  Everyone was tired and I had hoped to have a good place to sleep as we would sleeping in to recharge for our last long day on our journey.

I was quite surprised to find the hotel was very nice...even homey in its decorations and little touches.  The towels were folded into cute little elephants and there was a frilly cloth shower curtain.  The beds were comfortable and the pillows were fluffy!  The next morning we entered the breakfast room to find a full breakfast.  We found out the owners of the hotel actually run the hotel themselves living in one of the side rooms off the main office.  It was almost like staying at a bed and breakfast.  Even the locals came by to chat with the hostess who offered to fix them breakfast!

The hostess fell in love with our dimple-faced 6-year old because he made a bee-line to the jar of Nutella he saw on the breakfast counter.  He was determined to have this in some way for breakfast even though he did not want a waffle or toast.  We finally settled him at the table with a banana to dip in his Nutella.  Zaira fell in love with their dog who stayed behind the office desk.  He was a sweet lab mix that loved being pet.  I thought we were going to need to pull them away from each other.  The hostess sent us on our way with cookies and a smile.  I normally do not mention places by name but it was such a great stay that I thought someone else might benefit from the Rodeway Inn in Barstow.  I know if we are ever in need of a hotel in the area, we will be staying there again.

We left there and went toward the main visitor center for the Mojave.  We stopped to find out if there was a junior ranger program.  We found an interesting memorial on the way dedicated to firefighters.  Across the street there was a locomotive and a tank on display.  When we did make it to the center, it was in a large building but only a small areas was set up for Mojave information.  The woman was happy to share information.  She told us about many other areas of the Mojave Preserve we could have visited.  I guess we will just need to make another trip to the desert as it is only three hours from us.