Last Updated: June 18, 2026
Death Valley was a great opportunity to get out of the Central Valley California winter storms and enjoy some warmer weather and sunshine.
Death Valley National Park: Badwater Basin, Sand Dunes & Nevada Desert Wonders
Road Trip
California Central Valley Wine Country: Amador, Lodi & the Road Between
Last Updated: June 18, 2026
California’s Central Valley stretches roughly 450 miles from Bakersfield in the south to Redding in the north, flanked by the Coast Ranges to the west and the Sierra Nevada to the east. It’s one of the most agriculturally productive regions in the world, producing more than half of the United States’ fruits, vegetables, and nuts. It’s also home to two of California’s most underrated wine destinations — Amador County and Lodi — where old-vine Zinfandels grow in volcanic soil that wine drinkers in Napa have never even heard of. We spent several weeks here by RV, working our way between river marinas, lakeside resorts, foothill wineries, and an orange grove in Bakersfield. Because of ongoing winter storms we skipped the northern end of the valley, but what we found in the middle and south was more than enough.
Yosemite National Park in Winter: Snow, Ice & Waterfalls
Last Updated: June 18, 2026
Yosemite National Park is breathtaking in any season, but winter transforms it into something almost otherworldly. We visited in February, coming north from Sequoia and Kings Canyon, and encountered back-to-back winter storms that closed most of the park roads. We were fortunate to get one hour of blue skies during our entire stay — but that hour was spectacular. El Capitan gleaming in the sun, Bridalveil Falls thundering over ice-crusted rocks, and the Yosemite Valley floor blanketed in fresh snow. If you ever get the chance to see Yosemite in winter, take it.
Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks in Winter
Last Updated: June 18, 2026
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks were a few hours’ drive from Paso Robles, California. We knew there would be limited access to both parks because it was February, but a few days of brilliant blue skies following a major winter storm gave us exactly what we were hoping for — snow-draped giant sequoias, frost-encrusted trees, and a winter solitude that summer visitors never see. The General Sherman Tree, the largest living tree on earth by volume, was magnificent even from a distance. This is Sequoia and Kings Canyon in winter: raw, cold, and extraordinary.
Jacumba Hot Springs, California
Last Updated: June 6, 2026
From Palm Springs, California we headed south to Jacumba Hot Springs, a small desert community perched at nearly 3,000 feet along the US-Mexico border in San Diego County. The landscape is unlike anything else in Southern California — massive eroded granite boulders scattered across the mountains, wide open desert sky, and a haunting quiet that comes from a place the rest of the world seems to have left behind.
Palm Springs, CA & Lake Havasu, AZ
Last Updated: June 6, 2026
From Las Vegas, Nevada we made our way south and west to Palm Springs, California, stopping along the way at Lake Havasu City, Arizona. The drive through the Mojave Desert is one of our favorites — wide open skies, vast desert vistas, and the feeling that the American Southwest always has something remarkable around the next bend.
