This is the end! Here is our last article in the United States! By the time you read this, we have crossed over to the other side, to Mexico. However, before we got there, we spent a few last memorable days in the United States, full of off-road adventures and beautiful discoveries. Tthe United States are full of surprises to the very end!
Monday, January 2nd, 2023
We drove 2 hours East from Los Angeles to find the nature, the calm and the cold. And this morning, we have a mission. We want to make the picture, the one we want to make since a few months already. For that, we make a slight detour. There, on the Route 66, we find it. The sign on the ground! Yes, we have our photo, JP on Road 66 !
Tuesday, January 3rd
Today we are going to discover our last US National Park, in the South of California: Joshua Tree National Park. This park is home to an emblematic tree of the region, the Joshua tree. We are quite surprised by its appearance. We expected a kind of cactus not very high, we realize that it's a big tree.
After a quick stop to the San Andreas fault viewpoint, which looks in fact like a simple valley, we go for one of the park's 4x4 trail, Berdoo Canyon Road. It's been a long time since our last trail!
The first kilometers are very easy. We drive in soft sand. Then we enter the canyon and the track becomes rocky. Fortunately, it's no trouble for JP at all. There is no need to say, he is in its element on the trail 😎
After about fifteen kilometers in preserved landscapes, we leave the park's boundaries. The track continues in improvised shooting ranges. We have never seen such a garbage dump since we are in the US. The area is littered with thousands of cartridges, trash, debris, old furniture, tires and objects that have been used as targets. What a sad sight! It's an image of the US that we don't like at all! Locals are "practicing" on the side of the road. They have firearms on their belts and in their hands and they shoot at improvised targets.
Wednesday, January 4th
Before leaving the park, we discover the southern part of Joshua Tree National Park. Here, Joshua Trees are rare. On the other hand, some places of the desert are filled with Chollas cactus. It's very nice! We eat along a trail. The weather has been really nice these past few days. Now it's finally nice to cook and eat outside!
After a studious afternoon in Starbucks, we find a very nice place to spend the night. It's a free camping. There are hot showers! It's $1 for 6 minutes! Perfect. We insert some change, water spouts out, heats quickly. Quickly, quickly, 6 minutes, it goes fast! But after 3 minutes, the water turns off! No! 🤪 Fortunately we had some change! We remain on the spot to sleep. This evening, we realize Rémi's dream: a raclette! It's dark, it's cool and we cook potatoes and melt cheese in the pan. For a raclette in the US while camping, it's pretty good!
Thursday, January 5th
This morning we discover Sandstone Canyon, a well-known trail in the area. It goes up a river bed for 10 kilometers before reaching the canyon. It's long, especially on corrugated iron! Finally, we enter the canyon! It's the first canyon where JP is allowed to come with us! The trail is easy. Nothing exceptional, but a nice ride.
To reach the Mexican border, we pass by the mountains. The weather is getting bad. The rain starts to fall, the wind to blow. It's getting colder and colder. We hope that on the other side of the border, the weather will be better! We are a little sad to leave the United States, where we lived incredible moments and discovered magnificent landscapes. But it's time to open a new chapter of our trip. And Mexico is certainly full of surprises!
4 commentaires
Coucou – Mamie 10h.32
C’est un plaisir de voir ces champs de cactus car en fait c’est joli et spectaculaire par leur taille et l’arbre de Josué est magnifique.
Un petit mot sur JP…. c’est un drole de phénomène il passe partout sans encombre. Vous avez intéret à le bichonner.
Bienvenue au Mexique. Il me tarde de profiter de vos photos.
Bisous.
Ho pas de photo de la Faille de San Andréa, tellement célèbre…
Et je râle en voyant LA photo de JP sur la Route 66. C’est celle que je voulais faire avec moi…. 🙁
Magnifiques ces derniers paysages des USA.
Une petite larme, adieu l’Amérique du Nord, bonjour l’Amérique Centrale !
JP et vous super équipe !!! Je suis aussi triste de quitter les États-Unis, quelles belles photos, quelles belles histoires vous avez partagées avec nous.😍 Maintenant lMexico lindo y querido vous t’attend😊😊😊
JP est toujours au top 😀 Pour ça qu’on l’a choisi 😉 Queremos Mexico ya !! Il fait enfin chaud et beau, le rêve !! Bisous à tous les deux !