Day 1-5 – From Canada to Mexico

Day 1

After a goodbye breakfast with Andrew’s Dad, we set off from Vancouver to the US border. After an hour or so queueing on the border we were on the I5 freeway heading due south. The drive took us through Washington and Oregon where we stayed the night at a rest area near Eugene.

Day 2

Last night we learned an important scientific lesson. Sleeping in a van all night will produce condensation on windows if they are not cracked open slightly. We set off driving the 11 remaining hours (including stops and San Francisco traffic) to Andrew’s friend Darien’s in Redwood City. We spent the evening eating delicious pizza and catching up.

Day 3

Enjoying the chance to shower, we set off from San Francisco in the late morning, heading once again to the I5 (sorry Amelia, it’s not a particularly scenic route). We drive until 9:30pm, sleeping at a rest area 1.5 hours from Joshua Tree National Park – our goal for tomorrow.

Day 4

After a minor incident where we accidentally punctured our 20l water container, spilling it all over the floor of the van, in the middle of the Mohave desert, we acquired a new one and made it to the National Park. It just so happened to be National Parks Day so we got free entry! We found ourselves a camp spot at Jumbo Rocks campground and headed out to admire the Joshua trees. It felt good to be hiking after so long sat in the car. After a couple of hours out on the trails, we had dinner and then listened to a Ranger talk in which he talked about the effects of global warming on the park which was really interesting. Finally, we had a campfire and roasted corn that we had bought from a roadside fruit stand in California (we also had garlic ice cream at the fruit stand which was rather bizarre).

Some wildlife highlights of the day included three deserts rabbits, a coyote and several little chipmunks.

Day 5

After a hike to Skull Rock and others through the Cactus Garden and Cottonwood Springs we set off to the Mexican border, aiming to reach the border at Nogales tonight in order to cross through to Mexico first thing in the morning.

Extra notes

Up until now we haven’t talked about our issue with the car. When in Vancouver, we had the oil changed and the mechanic told us of some issues requiring $1500 of work. The main thing is that coolant leaks quite quickly. We have found that we have to top up the radiator and back up reservoir with about 10l every day or two. So far the engine temperature has never given warning but we’re monitoring it regularly.

We go through a lot of water from cooking to drinking to keeping the car happy. In order to fill up our 20l container we have devised a system over the past few days. Using a hose and a Walmart water fountain, Viki sits at one end of the hose directing the water into the container while Andrew aims the water fountain stream into the other end. Timing this, this takes 13 minutes.

It’s been really, really hot. We checked the phone today and it was 105F.