It’s safe to say that we are having a pretty hard time adjusting to desert living. Sean and I have both grown up in places with so many things to do (besides Fort Irwin, and I am grateful to have never been there). So moving here has kind of put a quick halt to our travel bug. When we arrived in the middle of August, it was scorching hot. I was nauseated all of the time, so going out in the sun’s heat was not appealing to us at all. Now that the weather has cooled down to temperatures we’re fond of, we decided to take a weekend and explore what this area has to offer.
We made a few mistakes along the way. Well, one in particular, and that was staying in an Airbnb 45 minutes away from our house. Sure, it cut some of our drive times in half, but it wasn’t worth it. The host of the Airbnb was a kind, old man, but the house was not what we were expecting. I won’t go into too much detail, but an Airbnb in this area is not going to happen in our future anytime soon.
Anyways ~ we spent most of the time outside of the house so it wasn’t too bad. On our first day, we went to see what Slot Canyon was all about. It’s about 1-1.5 miles long, and it’s actually pretty cool. When we got there, we saw that there was a no trespassing sign, but everything online said that it wasn’t private property and that people still went. So imagine my pregnant butt climbing a fence (no, it was not that hard, and yes my husband helped me). The trail veers to the left even though there is a trailhead off to the right. I don’t know where it would take you if you go off to the right, but it’s probably to the back end of the canyon. It was fun watching the dogs climb through the canyon. Sean was highly impressed with Oki’s parkour skills as he jumped from wall to wall. Okami did her job in pulling me up the big steps. Maybe if you’re lucky, Sean will find time to piece together our drone video.
Next, we ventured off to White Sands. It makes me laugh because Sean pretty much drives to White Sands every day for work, but never has actually seen the park. It was about an hour away from Slot Canyon. At the entrance, there’s a gift shop and a small informational area teaching you about White Sands. You can purchase a round sled for $20, and return it for $5. If you have a sled, just bring it. Their sleds don’t work well in the sand.
To get to the hills, you have to drive. The entrance fee is $10 per person, but it’s free if you’re active duty military (heyyy!) The area was surprisingly large. There are places for you to set up camp, start BBQs, an amphitheater, and of course, the sledding hills. The dogs were ecstatic when they got into the sand. I’ve never seen them so happy. Like I said, the sled didn’t work very well even after being waxed. The hills were pretty short. If you wanted a steep hill, it was the hill leading into the parking lot – not fun. But it was a great place to get some good photos of the dogs, and I’m sure we’ll be back again with the family to take more pictures once our baby boy arrives.
Overall, the day was pretty fun-filled with short adventures. Nothing like what the PNW has to offer, or in our recent case, South Korea or Germany. I guess we’re just going to have to learn to love it for the next few years, or spend the money going to places a little more… interesting.