All I’m really going to share in this post with regards to the day is the fact that driving through any portion of the ‘big bowl’ of the greater Los Angeles area pretty much sucks. We left Anza Borrego, taking Montezuma Valley Road. This is a twisty road that climbs something like 4 thousand feet in about ten miles. It was fine taking Dory up it, but I wouldn’t want to take her down. From there, we took San Filipe Road to Highway 79. All of this was beautiful and sign warnings forbidding large trucks and RVs were unnecessary for small trailers. It was perfectly fine.
Once we got to Temecula, everything changed. From there, all the way through the valley, out 210 to 5, and out the Grapevine, it was yucky and trafficky. In fact, it was grueling enough that I would seriously consider bypassing the valley altogether and trying to do the back way, over the Tehachapi Pass and down 395 next time. That would be a hell of a lot of additional miles, but it might be worth it. At the very least, my future self will hopefully remember that it’s better to take 210 across the top of the valley and over to Indio via highway 10 than the “short route” on 215. Ugh. No likey.
I pushed farther than I’d planned, just to get out of L.A. The day was lost in terms of travel happiness, but I knew we’d earn a good next day and happy end to vacation. I will say that the Buena Vista Aquatic Recreation Area campground is a solid place to overnight. We were able to get a spot by the water on arrival at around 5. No hookups available, but we didn’t need em. Someone needs to fill me in on what happens at this place when it’s packed. It is clearly set up to accommodate a lot of parked cars, so there must be fairs or events that happen there. I’d say the only downsides are the subtle smell of the reservoir, which I imagine is worse in the summer, and the audible bang bangs coming from the nearby shooting range. But hey, it is a little haven off I5 near Bakersfield. For us, it fits the bill for traveling days and it’s the second time we’ve been super thankful for it after a long day of traffic driving.
Total miles from Anza Borrego: 259.0, 17.9 mpg, 5 hours 51 min. Site 61, no hookups, by the water. Ok bathrooms with weird sinks. LTE service for both.
