We left Orange County around 11AM enroute to Mojave National Preserve. We decided to take the 15 North route since we planned to work our way down the park and exit southbound. We made sure to fill up on gas at the Shell station right before we turned on to Cima Road. This is the last gas station on the northern part of Mojave as there are no gas stations inside the park.
Our first stop was the White Cross World War I Memorial site. There are two campsites at this site, we made a mental note that this would be a great place to stop in the future since this is so close to the 15N.
World War I Memorial Site
One of the main reasons we purchased our camper van was to take it on a week-long road trip on my last week of maternity leave and L’s first week of paternity leave. It’s been too long since we’ve properly traveled and we could not wait to get out and show baby S our passion for travel and camping. Since baby S is still very young, we decided to stay close to minimize long drives. The plan is to drive during his naps and hike when he is awake. This worked out really well and below is our week-long road trip itinerary of the Southern California deserts. 
Hike Now, Work Later 