We went to Death Valley National Park!!! If you follow us on the Insta or the Facebook, then you already know, but those that don’t, I’ve been wanting to tell you for AGES and now I can!!

Definitely check out the preview video on the YouTube. It has some extra content that we couldn’t find a home for in the longer videos. Also, why YES, that IS snow that you’re seeing in the video. It. Was. Bananas.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be releasing videos and blogs for all the things we saw and did over our stint in the National Park. This week, we just wanted to give you a little teaser of what’s to come.

Our Itinerary (in brief):

Monday Night – Fly to Las Vegas and SLEEP!

Tuesday – Pick up RV from Road Bear RV (can’t say enough good things about them!), pack it full of groceries, head to Death Valley National Park.

Wednesday – Sightseeing! Visit Badwater, Devil’s Golf Course, Artist’s Palette, and attempt to see Natural Bridge.

Thursday – More sightseeing! Harmony Borax Works, Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes, Stovepipe Wells Village, Ubehebe Crater (experience snow in the lowest, hottest, and driest spot in North America).

Friday – Get in a hike since it was the first day without biting wind and rain at Golden Canyon, take in Zabriskie Point, exit the park and head to the Las Vegas KOA.

Saturday – Drop off the RV and head back towards the Las Vegas strip. Eat at Sake Rok (AMAZING) and go see the Blue Man Group (DOOOO IIIIITTTT).

Sunday – Fly back to Portland.

The Weather:

Even though we weren’t in Death Valley National Park for a long period of time, we managed to embrace almost all of the types of weather that go with it EXCEPT for the most popular “HOT” kind. It rained, it was extremely windy a couple of the days, it snowed, and there was a day of passing clouds and sunshine. Truthfully, we were hoping for warmer weather, but sometimes you just have to deal with it.

Our RV:

Like I mentioned above, we rented an RV from Road Bear and it was a fantastic experience! They picked us up from our hotel, gave us a full walkthrough of the vehicle, and a helpful book with lots of tips and tricks. We added on the “convenience kits” and it basically had everything we needed to survive (linens, dishes, utensils, etc.). We needed to provide our own hand soap, but that was about it! I think the only thing I would do differently would be to order our groceries ahead of time and then pick them up on our way out of town—but that’s a me thing, not an RV thing.

Our Food:

The biggest conundrum of traveling and camping has to be the food situation. In the RV we had a microwave, a two burner stove, and a decent-sized fridge. I did the meal planning and grocery list making ahead of time, but knowing how much we’re going to eat and having enough diversity without having to throw out too much food is a struggle.

We ended up with the following:

Breakfasts – Ben had oatmeal each day and I pillaged between oatmeal and other leftovers

Lunches – Turkey Sandwiches, Leftover Jambalaya, BLT wraps

Dinners – Jambalaya and Spinach Salad, Verde Pork Burritos with Chips and Salsa, Spinach Salad

Now that you’ve been briefed, I can’t wait to sure more details with you all in the coming weeks. Buckle up, it’s going to be a fun ride!