The 4Xploring™ Mojave Meandering Adventure  is a 5 day, Monday through Friday adventure.  We will meet in (TBD) on Sunday, March 19th at 5:00 PM for a driver’s meeting, where we will introduce everyone, get acquainted and do tech inspections. Join our host and resident Trail Boss Bob Levenhagen on a 5 night and 5 day guided Overland Adventure thru the best the Mojave Desert has to offer. Our guide is also your personal camp chef and will be cooking cowboy delights for you while you are in primitive camp settings – just like the days of old wagon trains, we circle the jeeps around the campfire while camp cookie prepares gourmet meals for you. The terrain we will cross is a combination of gravel road, two track, washes and rocks – 35″ tire should be considered the minimum.

On this trip, we will encounter two distinct desert ecosystems – the Mojave and the Colorado. On the first leg of the trip, they to come together in our back road tour of Joshua Tree National Park.  A what tree? Surrounded by twisted, spiky trees straight out of a Dr. Seuss book, you might begin to question the Trail Boss, have no fear all is well. In wonder, the adventurist pulls over to see what the prickly oddity is, the naturalists reaches for their botanical guide and the offroader goes “yikes” when poked by the dagger-like spines. In the park a fascinating variety of plants and animals make their homes in a landscape sculpted by strong winds and occasional rain torrents. Dark night skies, a rich cultural history and surreal geologic features add to the wonder of this vast wilderness. What exactly is a Joshua Tree? Known as the park namesake, the Joshua Tree – Yucca Brevifolia, is a member of the agave family. It is mostly confined to the open grasslands of the Mojave Desert they can be found at elevations between 1,300′ and 5,900′.

Next up, we cross the iconic Mojave Road, a roughly 150 mile route that traverses the desert between the Colorado and Mojave rivers. J.F. Rusling describes his 1866 trip, “the country, as a a whole, seemed a vast volcanic desert – of mountains, canyons and mesas – and what it was ever made for, except to excite wonder and astonishment, is a mystery to the traveler…” The Mojave Road was a main wagon trail for only a short time, two decades after the Civil War.  Once the railroads came, the rails made for an easier and safer way to cross the the bitter-dry desert.  While it was used, the Mojave Road was a route plagued by hostile Indians, a lack of water, long stretches of sand and rough hill climbs.  For caravans of travelers and a handful of soldiers, it was a proving grounds that brought out the best and the worst of them.

NOTE: This trip requires extra fuel capacity on board your vehicle,  10 GALLONS MINIMUM at the minimum.