Amboy Crater, Roy’s Café, Barstow (CA)

We left White Tank Campground (Joshua Tree National Park) at 12:30 pm on April 24 and drove east through Twentynine Palms, then north to Amboy Road. It was over 100°F, but the Roadtrek’s A/C kept the three of us cool during the miles of desolate desert.

Amboy Road. Photo by Virginia.

Margaret had learned of our next stop, the entrance of which is off of the National Trails Highway (Route 66), Amboy Crater National Natural Landmark, from the eBook, California Boondocking: The Desert and Eastern Sierra—A Frugal Shunpiker’s Guide by Marianne Edwards. Even though it was on BLM land and available for boondocking, it was just way too hot to stay there. So our visit was short. The pristine asphalt road looked recently re-covered, and I felt like my flip-flops were going to melt and stick to it when I got out (but they didn't). We walked up to the covered overlook to take advantage of the lovely 360° view of the crater and surrounding area.

Amboy Crater National Natural Landmark sign. Photo by Virginia.

On the way to the crater. Photo by Virginia.

 A panoramic view of Amboy Crater. Video by Virginia.
[If you have trouble viewing this embedded movie, 

you may view it directly here: https://youtu.be/4pRVs63i7-k]

We backtracked east to visit the town of Amboy, specifically Roy’s Café ("an icon that has appeared in many movies"), which was built in 1938 and served as a gas and service station for the postwar travelers along the main east-west highway of Route 66. In the 1940s, it was expanded to include small cabins for overnight travelers. We hadn’t realized it no longer had a working kitchen, but the ambiance definitely had that blast from the past feel. We got a couple of snacks, a couple of souvenirs, and took some photos. My daughter is in college in Virginia, and I enjoy sending her postcards from places I visit. I was able to walk right across the street to the small post office to mail her the card I got for her at Roy’s. I expect she’ll be receiving a lot of them while I’m on this adventure!

 Roy's Café sign and unused cabins. Photo by Virginia.

 Roy's Café on Route 66. Photo by Virginia.

 Amboy Post Office. Photo by Virginia.

We left Amboy with the intention of staying overnight in Barstow, CA. I found a restaurant that allowed overnight parking using the FreeCampsites.net site, while Margaret found it on the OvernightRVParking app on her iPhone. The Idle Spurs Steakhouse & Lounge has a very large, flat, well-lit, and graveled area adjacent to their restaurant. Margaret was able to find a shady spot (yay!), and we ended up being the only RVers there that night. I haven’t been inside a steak and seafood restaurant for about twenty years, and Margaret probably for that long as well, but we managed to find an appetizer and two sides to eat. The staff was friendly, our food was delicious, and the restaurant was comfortably and interestingly rustic.

Inside The Idle Spurs Steakhouse & Lounge. Photo by Virginia.

 Beer battered onion rings, steak fries, and roasted vegetables. Photo by Virginia.

The next morning it was time to continue on our BIG adventure….

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Starting Our West Coast States Adventure (CA)

After months of planning and preparing, we began our adventure on the afternoon of Sunday, April 21—Easter! We had shopped at several of our favorite grocery stores prior to this day; and on our way out of San Diego, we stopped to fill up on gas and propane and washed the Roadtrek.

We traveled through “our” lovely Anza-Borrego Desert State Park before heading north and skirting the west shore of the Salton Sea. We arrived at our overnight destination of Chiriaco Summit Dry Camp at 6:00 p.m. It was quite windy and in the mid-70s, so nighttime temperatures were very comfortable. Margaret and I heated up delicious leftovers of Sesame Tofu Drops and her “famous” Herbed Lentils & Rice Casserole for dinner and watched the first episode of Bosch, Season 5.

Chiriaco Summit Dry Camp Area. Photo by Virginia.

 

The next morning we shifted our stuff to “driving mode” in the Roadtrek and drove the few hundred yards over to the General Patton Memorial Museum. We spent a couple of hours looking at all the exhibits and watching a documentary in this fascinating museum.

Entrance to General Patton Memorial Museum. Photo by Margaret.

 

Camp Young Interpretive Sign. Photo by Virginia.

 

After leaving the museum, we headed west on I-10 for just a few miles and exited at Cottonwood Springs 

off-ramp before entering Joshua Tree National Park. I had never been there, but Margaret had been there sometime in the 1980s for a three-day backpacking trip. We made a stop at the Cottonwood Springs Visitor Center where Margaret used her Senior Interagency Pass for free entrance. We cruised through over twenty miles of the park before arriving at White Tank Campground, where Margaret’s pass got us a 50% camping discount.

Joshua Tree National Park Sign. Photo by Virginia.

Our campsite at White Tank Campground. Photo by Margaret.

 

The campsites are interspersed between the most amazing (and huge) outcroppings of granite boulders. We were able to find an available campsite, and with her pass were able to get two nights for the price of one. While getting things ready to camp, there were several light rain showers and rainbows. What a welcome! It was quite breezy and in the low 70s—the kind of weather to be thankful for. The sites are small—mostly tent campers seemed to occupy them—but the Roadtrek and a few other small RVs fit, as well. There were visitors from all over, based on license plates and a multitude of foreign languages I heard being spoken. This park, which is so surreally beautiful, is quite the draw.

On our second day at White Tank Campground, I took the short walk (about a half mile) to Arch Rock and enjoyed the beautiful weather, rock outcroppings, and desert flora. Margaret took Peaches for walks around the campground. (Dogs are not allowed on the trails.) Margaret and I had delicious Tofurky sandwiches for dinner and watched two more episodes of Bosch. We very much enjoyed our stay at White Tank and plan to visit there again in the future.

Find the Rainbow! Photo by Virginia.

 On our drive out of Joshua Tree National Park, we spied this beautiful Joshua tree specimen:

Perfect Joshua Tree. Photo by Virginia.

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Taking to the Roads Less Traveled

Last summer my sister, Margaret, and I came to a decision that will change the course of our lives. Neither of us has traveled as much as we would have liked, and neither of us is getting any younger. These two facts, along with financial considerations, were the impetus to our considering a part-time life as RV nomads.

By last summer, she and I had already been familiarizing ourselves with the nomad lifestyle by watching lots of YouTube videos. The more we discussed it, the more we thought we should try this lifestyle. Margaret already has an RV—a Roadtrek camper van—so, no need to shop for a rig. She and I put our thinking hats on and she came up with the perfect name for our adventure, the Over the Hill Sisters!

In the meantime, we've been slowly preparing for our initiation to living on the road part-time—a several-month trip up eastern California, Oregon, and Washington and returning to San Diego via the coastal route. As of today, it looks like we'll probably be leaving next weekend. (Ooh, how exciting!)

My daughter is at college in Virginia, and I lost my precious Corgi last year. I've already downsized and simplified my life about as much as is possible. If not now, when? I think the most worrisome aspect of part-time traveling and RV life are our physical limitations, and for me, my paltry finances. At this stage of my life, it's go with my sister, period. I can't be of much help to her financially, but I plan to make up for it in other ways: cleaning, cooking, other chores, and if she requires it, driving. Oh, and with the super-tight quarters, being pleasant will sure help, too. (Her Roadtrek is only 20 feet long bumper-to-bumper, and in addition to the two of us, Margaret recently adopted a tiny dog!)

So, for any of you reading this, I invite you to read more about us and follow our adventures on our blog, Over the Hill Sisters. I've been doing things my own way as valeehill for well over a decade. It may take the two of us a while to get posting-as-a-duo down pat, so please bear with us. I look forward to meeting nice folks on the road and online.

Until our adventure begins...

Virginia 
aka valeehill 
and now one-half 
of the Over the Hill Sisters