Finding myself in the Desert

 For mid-winter break I took myself to the desert. I wanted to see the stars, hike, and relax. 

2/14

Flight out of SEA got delayed so the plans to take myself out for a drink on Valentines day were slashed. Got to my airbnb, ordered door dash and crashed. Woke up Sunday morning, back to airport and off to rental car location.

2/15

Drove to Amboy Crater in The Mojave Desert. The Desert itself is beautiful and striking and completely worth the drive.  The crater itself was a great hike, certainly do-able for most people (not mobility aid accessible- the trails are sand). Steep at the crater, because it's a crater but at just over 3 miles total, it was a great break to move my legs after so much driving. 

After the crater I continued my drive down to 29 Palms which I would call home for the next 2 nights. Picked up some new car snacks, breakfast and lunch for the next 2 days before getting to my airbnb.  Great private location on 2.5 acres in the desert. I strongly recommend this one if you, or you + 1 want to get away for a few days in the desert. It has a hot tub, rain shower and extremely comfy cozy bed. 

Diner night 1 I ended up at mas o menos a cocktail lounge in Joshua tree. On Sundays they have a food truck- much ado in the back serving incredible tacos - I got the Pollo con Mole and LOVED it, even if it was a little spicy for my Minnesotan tongue. 

2/16

My Joshua tree day was also Presidents' day which mean A LOT of other people were at the main parts of the park. I tried and failed to go on the hikes in that part of the park. BUT I did enjoy the Black Canyon side, nearly entirely on my own which was great.  Hiking in sand is not for the faint of heart, but sand hike in a wind advisory isn't something I'll recommend at all. My legs feel like Jello and I have sand everywhere. It also rained this afternoon, so not exactly the day I planned for, but I tried to make the most of it. 

I did some self care and took myself out for a very good yet homey dinner at Grnd Sqrl in Twentynine Palms. Monday is apparently open mic night, which I throughly enjoyed with my dinner. 

Unfortunately I was not able to use the hot tub today due to the storms and the roof sounds like it's going to blow off my roof, making it a bit hard to sleep, but over all it was a good trip, even if not everything I hoped for. 

2/17

The last morning in Joshua tree I did use the hot tub which was delightful. Unfortunately, the shower pressure did not improve, and I had to rinse my hair in the sink, which is not ideal, especially given that it was not a cheap place to stay, but live and learn.

I left relatively early in the morning a.k.a. before 10 AM and started the long drive up to death Valley with a detour to a date farm Hidden in the middle of an old gypsum mine. I got myself a delicious milkshake, which on its own was completely worth the detour and was able to get out and stretch my legs for a little bit.

Death Valley is gorgeous and I would completely go back in the future. The wind was pretty nuts, but the weather was great. The sun was out and I have no complaints about the experience. Unfortunately, before I could do the hike that I was hoping to do, I started to get a really bad migraine probably as a result from the elevation changes happening so quickly 3000 feet to -300 feet back to 3000 feet impact most people but when you live with migraines Even the most minimal changes can have an impact. So I turned in early at my hotel back on the Nevada side of the border because sometimes my health needs to be the priority even when I'd rather be doing something fun.  Please note the photo of me in a white tee is me with a full on migraine. Don't judge people by what you see on social media- most of us are only sharing a highlight reel with the world. 

2/18

I did decide that my short day in Death Valley was not enough and headed back in for part 2 before continuing down to Las Vegas for the last 2 nights of my trip. I'm so glad I did. I was able to enjoy Artist's Drive and Palette as well as a hike in Golden Canyon. Both of which brought me so much joy and filled my spoon jar. I will be back though, I understand why Death Valley is my bestie's favorite NP. 

Vegas. Not my favorite place, actually maybe one of my least favorite places, at least "The Strip" is. I don't gamble and the smell of cigarette smoke gives me headaches, so a lot of what people consider fun here is totally lost on me.  I came here a few years ago, when I was still married for a girls trip as bestie was living her at the time. We did a lot of the touristy things, which I'm thankful for because now I don't have to do them on my own. 

I am happily surprised by my hotel The Ahern as it's not in the greatest location (near the strat) but has no resort fees, free parking, free breakfast and is NON SMOKING, so I can actually breathe which is huge.  Also while my view is sadly of the highway, my window is HOT PINK so that makes everything look a little better. 

I'm also just a hop skip or jump away from my dinner reservation for night 1 and with the free in and out parking, I can go exploring to my hearts content when I feel like dealing with traffic. 

Dinner night one was at the highly regarded Main St Provisions - their chef Ellie Parker just won Hell's Kitchen and has been nominated for a Jame's Beard Award. She was in the kitchen tonight, pink hair a-glow. The meal did not disappoint. I had budgeted $100 for my meal, drink and tip and thanks to the restaurant comping my dessert (to celebrate my divorce) I stayed in target.   My cocktail of choice for the evening was the FIG-uratively speaking a wonderful tequila based cocktail with bright fruit notes from the fig and lemon and sweetness from the honey, really nicely balanced.  For my meal I had the Duck with a side of yams, because come on they're yams.  I devoured the Duck, it was perfectly cooked for my liking, and crispy with 2 sauces (technically one is a gelee) because you can have 2 and be okay and this dish proves it. The yams were good but I do wish there was more glaze, however they paired perfectly with the 2 sauces from the duck and that helped.  

For dessert I am grateful the table next to me ordered all of them so I could see what I would like and I went with the s'mores brownie.  Seriously enough for 4 people I definitely took most to go, but such a treat. I would highly recommend Main St. Provisions if your in Las Vegas. I think most things are worth leaving the strip for, but this one really really is. 

2/19

Today is Vegas day, I had originally planned on a hike in the Red Rocks, but snow. So no! Instead I woke up enjoyed free breakfast at my hotel- a really light and tasty sourdough waffle and wandered into the arts district for a probably overpriced latte at Makers and finders to enjoy as a power walked through the arts district enjoying the plethora of murals to take in.  One in particular stood out- given the current state of our country I think it speaks for itself. 

As the cloud cover started to move in I made my way back to my hotel JUST before the rain drops started to fall. Honestly a good afternoon nap is needed today as I have to leave to return my rental car sometime around 2am which I can't say I'm looking forward to. 

Snacked on left overs from yesterday's dinner for lunch today while watching the women's free skate. 

Dinner tonight was at Echo and Rig, it wasn't my original plan, but I wanted some place focused on steak. Because honestly I haven't had a really good steak since I left my ex husband.  He promised he'd make me one when we sold the house- but like so many of his promises that was BS, so tonight I celebrate myself again and have a really good steak. But this restaurant really celebrated me. From a free app (Which had i known I would have ordered less food for myself) to a glass of bubbly and 3 amazing scopes of fruit sorbet to end my meal I felt really special tonight. My waiter earned his tip and here is my top recommendation of the night The Sweet Fire Cauliflower was lit and my Honey Blossom Cocktail was sweet and salty a nice slight veer from a margarita. Also the peach sorbet was by far the best of the 3.  The steak was good, as were the 2 sides I ordered, Carrots and gnocchi; but those were the stand out stars of the night.  

 

I set a target budget for this trip of $1500, and did exceed that. Though to be fair to myself when I started planning this trip I did think I'd be sharing some costs or not having to pay for a hotel a few nights. Since that didn't pan out, I increased my budget to $1750- which I did stay under.

Here is where the money went: 

Flight- Free- It was a travel voucher

Accommodations: 900 - Wish I had done this differently - specifically in Joshua Tree

Rental Car: $260

Souvenirs - $6.50  - 2 Stickers 

Gas/Parking/Ubers - $170

Food - $362 ($200 of which came from my dinners in Vegas-zero regrets on those) 

If I were to do it all again here is what I would change

1. One night in Joshua tree would have been plenty, didn't need a fancy Airbnb would have been totally fine in a hotel in town. This would have saved over $300

2. Give myself another full day in Death valley. At a cost of about $120 

3. Bring a cooler bag so I can keep food with me and save on lunches - Would have saved $20-40 

4. Gotten a cheaper place to stay my first night in Vegas instead of being a cheap cab fare from the airport. Would have net saved $50

What I would not change- 

1. Dinner and Drinks at Mas O Menos - great gem of the desert

2. Taking extra time in Death Valley - Just wish I'd had even more

3. Getting car snacks at Grocery Outlet- seriously major savings

4. Dinner at Main St. Provisions 

5. Hiking Amboy Crater- really good stretch my legs hike mid long drive

6. My 2nd hotel in Vegas. It was really convenient for what I wanted and I love non- smoking and free parking aspects. 

Over all I think I could have done this trip without "giving up" anything that really mattered for about $300 less than I did, which would have put me right back under 1500 goal. But every trip I plan makes me better at planning the next one.