Category Overlanding

Castle Dome Mine Road

Avion C11 truck camper navigating a rocky dirt Castle Dome Mine Road in Kofa Wilderness Refuge.

Kofa Wilderness Refuge is a special destination to us. It's the first place we ever boondocked and we fell in love with the remote and dramatic rock formations. That said, as much as we have explored the area, we stuck to relatively major roads in the past. Yes, all of Kofa's roads are dirt, and, yes, they can have some mean washboard or washouts. But the main arteries in the park that connect to the highway are recognizable on maps, wide enough for two vehicles to easily pass, and easily distinguished from the rest of the landscape. But when we turn down Castle Dome Mine Road, we don't encounter another soul. And we're grateful for that because this trail gets incredibly narrow and rough with tight turns and high brush. But when we reach a clear vista point, that view is all ours.

Read MoreCastle Dome Mine Road

Dust Storms

Boardwalk winding next to a sand dune.

We aren't too alarmed when we hear about the wind advisory in Death Valley. After our December experiences with tornados in Kentucky and Kansas, we don't think much of winds in sunny California. Even so, we don't have to be in Tornado Alley for winds to whip up quite a storm. Rather than dropping tree limbs and flipping trailers, this wind kicks up a dust storm so great as to block out the surrounding mountain range and, later on, the sun. We wander Death Valley through a muted haze. Even in that midday twilight, we wear sunglasses and masks to protect our eyes and airways from the grit and dust kicked up by the wind.

Read MoreDust Storms