We spent our first week on the road exploring a couple of places in California. Living out of a car tent was a huge adjustment for both of us and adjusting to the new pace of life took some time. We became very focused on the necessities of life; where to sleep, what to eat and making sure we had enough water with us. We learned that flexibility and time management would be our greatest skills moving forward. Life on the road doesn’t always go to plan and finding campsites before dark became our priority. We were lucky our first week went smoothly with only one unexpected hurdle popping up. We planned to spend our first two nights in San Luis Obispo, but upon our arrival we learned all of our predetermined camp areas were closed due to weather. We spent our first night on the road in a hotel which disheartened both of us. After our night in the hotel we were determined to start camping so we started exploring the areas listed below. After California we plan to head to Arizona and start exploring a new state!

Alabama Hills

This Bureau of Land Management (BLM) area is beyond beautiful. It sits at the foot of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and looks up at Mount Whitney. It was a very popular spot but we had no issue finding dispersed camping sites off the main road. Although it was beautiful it was so cold, with tempatures dropping into the low 20s at night and constant 20mph winds. We definitely put our new heater to the test of this first night!

Death Valley National Park

This amazing National Park had exactly what we were looking for, warmer weather. We spent three days here exploring the unique landscape of the southern part of the park. We walked out onto the Badwater Salt Flats, which was so cool because it sits at 282 feet below sea level! We did the scenic drive through artists palette canyon which shows blue, green, purple, red and pink colors throughout the canyon sides. After the drive we hiked through Golden Canyon which looked like a scene you’d only see in a movie. For camping, we found dispersed backcountry camp sites near Ibex sand dunes, Saratoga Springs and on the side of a hill overlooking the valley and salt flats. The weather was beautiful with temperatures in the low 70s during the day and u high 40s at night. We even got a chance to use our Geyser portable shower which was very needed after a day of hiking.

Anza-Borrego Desert State Pak

This is the largest state park in California and is a mix of desert and mountain terrain. We stayed for two nights and explored the northern part of the park since the weather was similar to Death Valley. We camped in Dispersed camping site surrounded by Ocotillo Cacti and desert terrain. We hiked The Slot, which is a super narrow canyon that loops around to a ridge overlooking the surrounding valley. We wanted to stay a couple more nights but supplies we’re running low and the wind was starting to pick up, so we headed to Encinitas for a night to restock and rest.