Next, we decided to go Death Valley National Park. We drove through the Mojave Desert to get there. There were 2 points of interest we wanted to see in the Mojave Desert: Mojave Road Mailbox and Mojave Desert Lava Tube.
It was raining as we started driving up to the Mojave Desert. We passed through historical Route 66 and visited a couple of Guardian Lions on the side of the road.
We went through some cool fog/cloud formations going past the mountains. Once we got to the Mojave Desert, the weather started clearing up. The Mojave Road Mailbox is on Mojave Road or formally known as Old Government Road which stretches across the entire Mojave Desert from East to West. This road is an off road 4×4 road so we suggest having high clearance and 4 wheel drive. We drove on half of that road to get to the Mojave Road Mailbox.
When we got to the mailbox, there were so many cool stickers and memorabilia that previous visitors to the site had left behind. There was an actual box with a spiral notebook that acted as a visitors log. So of course we had to sign it too. They even left some objects in the box that would be useful for future visitors like an ace bandage, bandaids, juice pack, bracelets, etc. There was also an area behind the mailbox that was dedicated to all things frogs.
While we were at the mailbox when the sky turned from sunny to foggy. We had to drive through a thick layer of fog to get to the Mojave Desert Lava Tube. By the time we go to the lava tube, it was already dark and the fog was still covering everything in sight. We decided to enter the lava tube anyway, as we were already there and didn’t want to stay overnight. We were planning to stay closer to Death Valley NP that night.
We climbed a metal ladder that lowered us into the lava tube. One side didn’t go very deep probably about 20 feet in. The other side went about 150 feet in. It was like going into an underground cave with some high and low ceilings that you have to crouch under to get past. There were a couple of smaller holes in the ceiling that lead to the top but we had no way of climbing out of those so we made our way back to the entrance and tried to take some photos to show you guys our experience.
After leaving the lava tube, we drove out of the Mojave Desert to the town of Baker. We made a stop at the World’s Tallest Thermometer and Alien Fresh Jerky. Enoch had been to Alien Fresh Jerky about 10 years ago when they used to be a tiny store. He was shocked at their complete makeover. See for yourself:
The next post will be all about our days in Death Valley NP. A lot happened there so you don’t want to miss it. Stay tuned!
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