Because desert nothingness can also be beautiful in Joshua Tree National Park
In appearance, the Mojave Desert is little different from other large arid areas. With extreme temperatures ranging from -18° below zero in winter to more than 54° in the height of summer , the American desert provides a unique experience. Snow and rain are not uncommon in fall and winter. Wind is also a factor that is not lacking in Mojave. The famously hot Santa Ana winds blow several times a year in the city of Los Angeles, where they often leave a trail of fallen trees and cause power problems (making traffic in the city of Carmageddon even worse).
In the Mojave desert on the way to Las Vegas
Neither the lack of water nor the extreme temperatures have prevented man from settling in these territories, circumventing the limits of nature. The largest city in the middle of this desert esplanade is Las Vegas , with two million inhabitants. Brandon Flowers , the singer of The Killers, calls the city of casinos: " the jewel of the mojave desert ". Among the dunes is a place dominated by the game and that, although he worries about the lack of water, the truth is that he does not skimp on luxury bathtubs with views of The Strip.
The tourist masses usually hide inside the spectacular casinos, but the truth is that the Mojave desert offers unique activities. Just 30 minutes from downtown Vegas we find Red Rock Canyon National Area , a park that is part of the desert, but with reddish tones that seem to be taken from Mars itself . Red Rock Canyon offers unique views and landscapes that can be easily explored on foot . Singers and producers move around these places looking for unique settings for her projects, as is the case of Britney Spears in her video Work Bitch. The singer has a residence contract in Las Vegas.
Landscapes of Red Rock Canyon
In California, one of the most popular places for tourists is the famous Valle de la Muerte (Death Valley). Gone are the brave who came to these lands in search of gold and who endured high temperatures. The visit to Death Valley is fast. It is traveled by car (make sure you have a full tank and several bottles of water) and the walks, in the middle of summer, are reduced to taking the typical photo on the road and quickly getting back in the vehicle. The heat is scorching and, after a few seconds outside the comfort of the air conditioning, the feet begin to burn . Temperatures in the months of July and August usually exceed 50° and, on occasion, has reached the record of 58 ° . An extreme temperature that is not well received by the body.
Another obligatory stop is the Joshua Tree National Park , named after the peculiar "Josué" trees. Nothing like a weekend getaway to get lost in the middle of nowhere. If you rent a house in this part of the desert, you will be able to observe the infinite universe at night while listening to wolves howling.
Sunset in Joshua Tree National Park
The great desert hides inside dozens of secrets , most of them related to the United States military service . Mojave concentrates several military and air base training sites, where dozens of experiments take place throughout the year. But on its roads too we find ghost towns like Calico, in California or Oatman in Arizona . Places that were once inhabited by thousands of people who lived from mining or who simply exploited the gold that could be found on these lands, now abandoned.
Mojave has also been a benchmark for disaster movies, with disasters reaching the titanic Hoover Dam . The reason? The two huge fault lines that run through California: Saint Andrew and Garlock , which are also part of the desert's distinctive mountainous landscape. And yes, the Hoover Dam, the one in which more than a hundred workers died during its construction, is open to visitors, with a tour that reviews its construction during the Great Depression. Finally, if action is your thing, you have the option of renting some quads and exploring the desert dunes with a good dose of adrenaline.
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The titanic Hoover Dam