Category Archives: Road Trips

A collection of road trip endeavours and adventures.

San Diego Adventures – A 600 Mile Road Trip

March 29, 2014 Red Hunt 2 Comments

If you’re a fan of road trips, this little US journey has a bit of everything.

On paper, or on Google Maps, it comes in at around 530 miles long, but we all know that when you include visits to National Parks and scenic coastal highways there is a tendency to take a few extra side trips! I always allow for at minimum 10% extra on my road trips, and often exceed that.

San Diego Roadtrip time, hanging out in the desert in SoCal

In reality, I travelled more than 600 miles on this road trip, which started and ended in San Diego. If you’re thinking of going to Southern California, and San Diego, take a look at these highlights and consider doing some exploring outside the city.

Day 1 – San Diego

If you ask me, the first day of a road trip is the best day to cover the most ground. But, the exception is when you’re flying into a new city to start your road trip, as I was on this adventure. How come? Well, you need to stock up on supplies, enjoy a good meal and take some time to enjoy your new surroundings!

Day one on this journey included grabbing snacks and food from the grocery store, picking up the rental car and enjoying a greasy dinner from California’s favourite burger joint – In N Out burger. (Ok, so some road trip meals are about sampling the local fast food, instead of eating well!)

Cool Desert Scenery in Southern California

Day 2 – The Desert Bekons

An early sunrise start to get on the road! First major stop? The colourful Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.

One thing I’ve learned to appreciate from many road trips is that National Parks get all the glory, but State Parks often have the best surprises. After a couple of hours of highway driving, the desert journey began and I had to stop to enjoy some of the local flora. There are some funky, cool looking plants in this part of the Colorado desert!

The first roadside surprise of this trip occurred on the way into the village of Borrego Springs. It’s a located in a very scenic flat desert landscape, with mountains in the background (prone to flash floods though!)

Driving towards town, these curious rusted animals popped up in the middle of the desert. First there were a few Mammoths, then some horses…weird, fun – photo stop!

Moving on from Borrego Springs, the desert landscapes were dramatic, with big mountains complementing deep canyons and dry washes.

Turning north, a final stop in Palm Desert to top up on gas had Joshua Tree National Park as the next destination.

Arriving just after sunset, the park quickly became eveloped in a blanket of darkness. This area of California is a dream for astronomers and night sky watchers. With very little development around, the park is isolated from light pollution. Just a couple of hours after sunset, the sky was twinkling with starts and air planes.

Night photography in Joshua Tree National Park — Playing around with some night photography in Joshua Tree National Park

Instead of seeking a campsite, I pulled over and spent a couple of hours trying my skills at photographing the night sky. I had never tried photographing star trails or the night sky with my current camera, so it was a fun experiment, which garnered mixed results. I learned that my current DSLR is much more sensitive than my older DSLR, I played with taking long exposure images as well as high ISO images – up to 6400ISO! A bit noisy, but I had to see just how good/bad images looked at that ISO.

With tiredness setting in, it was then off to have some dinner and find a camp site at Jumbo Rocks camp ground.

Day 3 – Exploring Joshua Tree National Park

What a night! Forgetting how cold it can get in the desert at night, it was a bit of a chilly sleep, compounded by insane winds that howled all night long. Thankfully getting up early at sunrise was always the plan and catching a few golden hour photos of Joshua Trees and desert scenery was a worthy reward.

Where to go and what to do? So many trails to choose from in this big park! I decided there were three must-do experiences on my hiking and adventure list for the day.

First stop was hiking around Hidden Valley. It was early in the morning and except for a solo rock climber, I had the trail and area all to myself. Well, there were a few ground squirrels running around too!

Hidden Valley Trail scenery in Joshua Tree National Park

Second hiking stop of the day? Checking out Barker Dam. Supposedly an area that attracts wildlife and migrant birds attracted to the water reservoir. They weren’t hanging around in abundance when I made it to the dam, but there were enough birds around and greenery on the ground to know that this was a unique place in this part of the Mojave desert.

The final park attraction of the day was Keys View. At 5185 feet / 1581 meters, this lookout was pretty cool, mostly for the fact that it overlooks the infamous San Andreas Fault. It was pretty cool looking across the desert valley to mountains on the otehr side of the fault. Every year the lookout and those mountains on the other side are pushed further apart, by more than an inch a year.

The San Andreas Fault – everything on the other side will slip into the Ocean one day. Maybe.

With the main attractions done, it was time to enjoy the rest of the park at leisure. Originally the plan was to spend another night in the park, at Cottonwood Spring, but it was closed due to flooding so plans changed, something you have to be prepared for on any road trip.

A detour to the Oasis of Mara brought me to the north edge of the park and from there it was a late-afternoon drive across the desert – headed west towards the coast.

Next stop? Carlsbad.

Day 4 – Carlsbad and Coastline

Being a beer geek, the night in Carlsbad was spent sampling some decent local craft beers from breweries like Stone, Alesmith and Lost Abbey. There is such an abundance of great beer in SoCal that I would call it the second most attractive beer destination in the US, just behind the Portland, Oregon area.

Headed south, this was a leisurely day for just seeing what the road had to offer. Del Mar was the first surprise, with it’s plethora of shops and perfect seaside location next to Torrey Pines State Reserve. After a bit of a walk around, the journey south continued all the way to Point Loma in San Diego, where I was staying for the next few days.

Ocean Beach sunset in San Diego, California

After seeing how beautiful the Torrey Pines area was on the drive down, I knew I’d be spending the entire next day hiking and enjoying the coast. Once settled into my hostel, it was time to head to Ocean Beach, or OB, to catch the sunset, then grab some grub at Pizza Port, which happens to be a great beer joint.

Day 5 – Pine Trees and Sea Lions

On a sunny San Diego day in January, the temperatures were set to reach 20C, so it was off to Torrey Pines for some hiking. What a great place! The Torrey Pine Tree is actually an endangered species that is found only in this reserve and on some nearby islands. They provided some great contrast to the dry desert ground, especially with the crashing waves of the Pacific in the distance.

Looking to the Pacific Ocean from Torrey Pines State Reserve

Wanting to get to the beach at Torrey Pines, I took a hike down to the shore and returned via the Beach route circuit. Winding through some hilly, shrub lands, scattered with the occasional pine tree, it was a popular hike that seemed mostly frequented by locals out for a jog or bit of exercise. Despite numerous rattlesnake sign warnings…no wildlife was spotted.

At the beach, it’s a big staircase down to the welcoming ocean waters. I headed south towards a spot called flat rock. Most people who head to the beach stop at the seaside cliffs beside flat rock, but if you do a bit of climbing and venture around the wall, a entire beach can be all yours! I spent an hour on this other side, enjoying my own personal beach. I also had to show that I was Canadian by getting wet in the water.

Nobody was swimming in the Pacific Ocean at Torrey Pines, but a few people were getting their feet wet. To me, the water wasn’t that cold, so I waded in almost waist deep to get some photos and walk along the shoreline.

After the beach journey and hiking back uphill to the road, the next stop of the day was La Jolla Cove.

If you haven’t heard of La Jolla Cove, it is the best spot to go and watch sea lions on the beach. There are probably somewhere around 100 of them here, mostly lounging around on the beach. Some are perched precariously on rocks and others are zipping around quickly in the water. They’re a bit stinky, but they’re super fun to watch.

The biggest highlight here was watching one odd baby sea lion. It’s mother was slightly lighter skinned than the rest of the sea lions. She was kind of a lighter gray colour instead of dark gray / black like most other sea lions. But the baby, it was nearly pure white in colour! Very odd, at first you’d almost think it was an albino, except it did have some bits of colour on it’s fur.

After the day of adventure along the coast of SoCal, it was back to San Diego to enjoy a few more great beers. I first headed over to Coronado, for a nice sunset view of the San Diego skyline and a bit of BBQ at Lil’ Piggy’s Bar-B-Q.

The Coronado - San Diego Ferry — Catching the Ferry to San Diego from Coronado

Then the night destination was Toronado pub. It was a bit out of the way, not downtown or along the oceanfront, but well worth the journey by taxi. Quite possibly the best lineup of beer I found anywhere in San Diego, both in bottles and on tap.

Day 6 – San Diego Zoo

Not much road trip driving today, but plenty of walking! Would the world-famous San Diego Zoo live up to it’s hype? Indeed it did.

While I skipped over many animals like elephants and giraffes, which I’ve seen in the wild in Africa, I was impressed with the spaciousness of the enclosures for the animals and getting to see some cool animals I’ve never had the pleasure of encountering in the wild (yet), such as spectacled bears and panda bears and a bunch of odd creatures I can’t remember the names of, ha!

Animal at San Diego Zoo — One of the cool, funny-looking animals at San Diego Zoo

Even though I got there early, at opening time, and had planned to possibly see more of the city, I ended up staying for a full day, the Zoo is that big and that much fun.

After the Zoo day it was time for me to leave San Diego. I covered a lot of ground in 6 days and had planned to see even more. A novice road tripper may find this trip a bit too much to do in 6 days, so give yourself an extra day in the desert.

San Diego Road Trip Recap:

Distance on paper: 530 miles

Actual distance: 610+ miles

Start/End Points: San Diego Airport

Main cities: San Diego, Carlsbad, La Jolla, Escondido, Palm Desert

Main attractions: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Joshua Tree National Park, Torrey Pines State Reserve, La Jolla Cove, Ocean Beach, Coronado, San Diego Zoo

Road Trips

Why Canadian Road Trips are Different

August 24, 2013 Red Hunt 6 Comments

How far do you have to drive for a trip to be considered an official ‘road trip’?

Do you need to stop overnight somewhere? Or can a drive to a nearby town for some wine or cheese be considered a road trip?

I think any time you get into a car and take off on the road without a solid plan, just an idea of something you want to see / somewhere you want to go, it can be called a road trip. But there is something compelling about the long-distance Canadian road trip that separates it from your average experience.

Canadian road trip — The long, lonely road – classic Canadian roadtrip scenery

I’ve done numerous day trip road trips to the US or Quebec to pick up some beer. They may have only taken me 6-12 hours total, but I still consider them to be roadtrips. Right now I’m working on a weekend camping trip and deciding if I should drive a mere 4 hours north or 11 hours (each way). Either is fine by me.

It brings up the question though – how far are you willing to go? When was the last time you drove on a full tank of gas and had to fill up not once, but twice in a day? Driving 10-15 hours a day isn’t a big deal for me and many other Canadians, but to others it seems insane.

Road trip ferry ride — A real road trip in Canada often requires a car ferry ride, like this one to PEI

My longest weekend road trip was from Toronto to New York City to catch a baseball game. I was only actually in the city for 4 hours, the rest was spent driving and camping.

My longest 3-4 day day ‘long’ weekend roadtrip, thanks to summer holidays, is a toss up between driving to the Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick or to Wakami Lake in northern Ontario, each taking more than 12 hours to drive to. Then of course there was my 4,000 mile 10-day US roadtrip. It was kind of like being in Canada, except there seemed to be cities and towns every 30 minutes, instead of long, wide-open roads. Oklahoma, Kansas and other central states in the US came much closer to the Canadian experience I’m used to, but still felt different. Their expansive land was mostly farms and agriculture, instead of forests and lakes. The influence of people was around, even if you didn’t see them.

It’s just a different mindset and experience here in Canada, compared to Europe or even the US. Most of it has to do with infrastructure I think. You can take high speed trains or super-cheap low cost flights between countries in Europe, where fuel costs and rental prices are high. So, why would you drive? Plus, everything is packed together, you’ll more often than not just be driving from town to town in traffic, instead of enjoying what we like to call the ‘wide open road’. There isn’t a need to take a road trip, it’s almost a forgotten travel experience in some countries.

Arctic Watershed Sign — A uniquely Canadian road trip sign

In the US, roadtrips are common but the US has denser population centres and plenty of cheaper flying options throughout most of the country, creating more options and less of a need to drive long distances. In Canada though, the roadtrip is more of a necessity. It often costs more to fly across our own country than it does to fly to South America or Europe. Our trains are great, but considered overpriced by almost anyone who visits. Would you pay $1,000 for a one-way economy train ride across your country? Sure, it takes more than 3 days but that doesn’t include meals or a bed! For those extras you have to pay $2,500.

We simply have so much land, so spaced out, that cheaper transportation options often don’t exist. A gruelling bus ride is possible across the country, but only has so many stops, there is no freedom to get out and explore where and when you can. If you want to explore Canada properly, you need to hit the road on your own.

Road trip wildlife — Checking out the wildlife on a Canadian road trip

I’ve enjoyed road trips in many countries and am happy to say Sweden, Korea and New Zealand had some nice escapes, where you could drive out into the wilderness and have an almost Canadian experience, but it still usually seemed like the next city or town was right around the corner. The road trips were all great fun, but still somewhat “short” compared to what I was used to here at home.

Here, I know many people who think sitting in a car for 10 hours isn’t considered a waste of time, it is considered part of the adventure and part of the fun in Canada. Sure, you may spend 24 hours driving a car for a weekend road trip, but that’s just the way it is. On a real Canadian road trip you either take a break at some quirky roadside attraction, or just drive until you need fuel. It seems that from my travels the only people who really understand the Canadian road trip are Australians. Perhaps that should be my next road trip destination?

I guess the journey is often just as big an adventure as the final destination here in Canada.

Road Trips

Scenic Caves and Suspension Bridges

March 17, 2013 Red Hunt 6 Comments

Lover's Rest — The View from Lover’s Rest at Scenic Caves Nature Adventures

When it comes to road trips, I’m generally a fan of the bigger the better. But, sometimes a simple daytrip road trip is all you have time for.

A couple of hours north of Toronto is a place called Scenic Caves, located on Blue Mountain. The caves are found along the highest part of the Niagara Escarpment in Ontario and on a clear day from here you can see the bright blue waters of Georgian Bay, it’s a pretty sweet location! I’ve known about the Scenic Caves for many years but never visited until last summer.

The big draw here is, obviously, the caves. But they also have treetop trekking on suspended platforms and ziplines which are quite fun, plus you can walk across the longest foot suspension bridge in Ontario. (If you’re like me, then half the fun of suspension bridges is jumping around and trying to make them swing and sway!)

It was a fun day hanging out and exploring the caves that are still an important heritage site for the Huron and Petun peoples who once lived here.

With caves like Fat Man’s Misery and Ice Cave some places are naturally cold, while others are a tight squeeze to get through! (Although you can go around if you’re claustrophobic). Add in some interestingly shaped rock formations like Indian Chief and Ekarenniondi, some cool lookouts like Lover’s Rest, and you start to get an understanding that the area is more than just a series of rocky outcrops and caves. You can ‘see’ the history here when you stare out at the Indian Council Chamber, where Petun chiefs would meet in privacy. Signs and story boards along the nature trail help bring things to life, creating a nice mix of nature and culture.

Scenic Caves Nature Adventures — Going down towards Fern Cave

Rare ferns, including the Maidenhair Fern grow here as well. The only drawback is it can get pretty crowded around the tight spaces in the caves during summer, but it’s a fun day trip in Ontario and if you start early enough in the day, you can drive down to Wasaga Beach for lunch or a swim.

The 126m Suspension Bridge – Longest in Ontario

Road Trips

Anza Borrego – A Day in the Colorado Desert

April 14, 2012 Red Hunt 9 Comments

When most people say they’re flying to California they tend to be excited about spending time in big cities like Los Angeles or San Francisco.

For me, the first thing I did when I arrived in San Diego was head for the Colorado Desert. The desert is actually in Mexico and California – south of the Mojave Desert and considered part of the Sonora Desert.

Colorado Desert - Creosote Bush and Canyon — Colorado Desert - A Creosote Bush and Canyon View in Anza Borrego Desert State Park

Geography lesson aside, the Colorado Desert is a low-lying desert. It’s dry and shrubby. Not many big cacti in this part of the desert. There is plenty to see though!

Barrel cactus - Colorado Desert — A Barrel Cactus in the Colorado Desert, California

Most of my time in the Colorado Desert was spent in Anza Borrego Desert State Park. As California’s largest state park, there was a lot to explore. The wildflowers weren’t out yet, as I arrived in late winter, but I still found the odd looking plants quite interesting.

Anza Borrego Desert State Park - Wildflowers — The only Wildflowers I could find in Anza Borrego Desert State Park

As I continued east from San Diego, through the park I eventually came in sight of Borrego Springs. Nestled amongst the mountains Borrego Springs proclaims itself as California’s Secret Desert.

If you judge it by the odd desert sculptures that greet you as you approach the village, then you don’t doubt you’ve entered some sort of strange desert oasis.

A Woolly Mammoth Sculpture near Borrego Springs in the Colorado Desert

As alluring as those rusty sculptures and looming mountains were, I resisted spending much time in Borrego Springs, as I found the desert itself interesting enough. Wide washes that had been previously flooded were countered by deep canyons and the rocky cliffs would be spattered with pockets of colour, creating a nice visual as I passed through the State Park.

A Cactus in the Colorado Desert — A Spider-like Cactus in the Colorado Desert, California

If you like wide-open spaces and big skies this is a perfect place for camping only a few hours from San Diego. But, if you’re like me, you may want to drive a little further northeast to the edge of the Colorado Desert and into the Mojave Desert to check out Joshua Tree National Park.

Road Trips

Your GPS is Ruining your Road Trip

April 2, 2012 Red Hunt 3 Comments

Raise your hand if you’re reliant on your vehicle’s GPS.

My GPS - A Road Atlas — My GPS - The National Geographic Road Atlas - Adventure Edition

Shame on you.

I hate to say I know people who drive the same route to work every day but always program their GPS to guide them there. Drivers have lost their sense of adventure and built-in navigation abilities. Is your GPS really ruining you? I doubt it, but it is likely doing a good job at sucking the sense of adventure out of you.

I’ve seen way too many people panic when their GPS does something they don’t expect, it’s like we’ve stopped being able to think for ourselves. Who can enjoy a drive where every minute and second is ticked away by a GPS? If you miss a turn, what is the worst thing that can happen? Your GPS won’t explode and the road won’t turn into a car-eating lava monster.

It seems there is a GPS in almost every car now. I remember the first time I saw one, someone told me they had it only in case they got lost somewhere. Great! It was a back-up to their own driving skills. I don’t know when it changed…not long ago, but it seems that the GPS has taken centre stage as drivers get lazier and lazier. I don’t have a car GPS, nor have I ever paid for one in a rental car. I don’t plan to either.

The GPS-less Road Trip

I encourage everyone to turn off their GPS and try to remember how much fun driving can be. My GPS is a National Parks book from National Geographic, an Ontario Road Map and an odometer. Yep – old school. Sure, if you have a high profile meeting on a business trip I get the need for being on time and using a GPS. There is a time and place for every bit of technology – I just think the GPS is ruining road trips.

Why no GPS?

For car rentals, it’s a waste of money. You can pay for dinner with how much they charge you for daily GPS use. Plus – secret tip – if you rent from a big chain like National or Hertz, the GPS will likely be installed in the car anyway, meaning it is often available to use for free.

Road to Nowhere — Random Road in New Zealand. No GPS Required - Just head for the Mountains

How do I know that? Well, I’ll admit that I have tried the GPS that was included in some of my rental cars – but I’ve never paid for it.

Second, for any vehicle, I prefer to listen to the sounds of the road, chat with other passengers or listen to some music while on a road trip, not the beeps and voice of a GPS.

But, what if I get lost?

I do get lost. You will probably get lost without a GPS too. But, so what? That is part of the fun of road trips and part of what makes looking at a map exciting. Unlike a simple GPS, you can look at a map and see that in 20 miles or 30 kilometres, the road you’re on will intersect another road. You can see the ‘big picture’ of your road trip and change plans on the fly. So you don’t have to know exactly where you are at that moment, you just need to know where you want go next.

Saskatoon Map — So Many Choices...Every Road leads to Adventure

The worst thing you can do on a road trip is treat it like a race to the office to beat rush hour traffic, or a panicked drive to get to your gym class on time. Allow yourself some freedom. If you need to schedule things out, then schedule a few hours for doing nothing – because something always comes up.

Now, I am not saying to lose total control and end up in a ditch on a rural road somewhere. Just have a map in your car in case you do get lost, or use your car GPS or smart phone GPS if you have an emergency.

How will I know where I am going?

Well, remember that anywhere there are roads the sun will rise in the east and set in the west. If you know you need to head south, then it should be easy to figure out what general direction you need to drive. Highways and freeways are usually labelled north, south, east and west too, convenient huh?

Pick a National Park — Four Great National Parks - Pick a Road and Start Driving...

Plus, how does your GPS know where you’re going? Remember that your GPS can get lost too. What if it loses connection with a satellite? What if the map routes on your electronic device are out of date? If you’re going anywhere remote at all, have a backup plan that isn’t electronic – people have died because they blindly followed wrong directions given to them by their GPS!

Just try it on your next road trip. Put the digital tracking toys away and let your eyes, and a real paper map, guide you. Make a game of it even, take bets on how many times you’ll get lost or miss a turn. You may just be pleasantly surprised with what you discover when you’re lost and aren’t being controlled by a machine.

Red Hunt Travel

Category Archives: Road Trips

San Diego Adventures – A 600 Mile Road Trip

Day 1 – San Diego

Day 2 – The Desert Bekons

Day 3 – Exploring Joshua Tree National Park

Day 4 – Carlsbad and Coastline

Day 5 – Pine Trees and Sea Lions

Day 6 – San Diego Zoo

San Diego Road Trip Recap:

Why Canadian Road Trips are Different

Scenic Caves and Suspension Bridges

Anza Borrego – A Day in the Colorado Desert

Your GPS is Ruining your Road Trip

travel writer. wildlife photographer. beer geek.