Birthday Road Trip: Desert Adventures, Off-Roading, and Training for the Rebelle Rally
For my daughter’s birthday this year, we packed up the Jeep and hit the road for a desert adventure neither of us will ever forget — and honestly, it ended up being the perfect training trip for Team Celebration #111 as we gear up for the 2025 Rebelle Rally!
First stop: Randsburg, CA — the coolest little living ghost town. Old-timey buildings, vintage vibes everywhere, and a killer way to kick off the trip. After exploring the town, we bounced over rough trails to the otherworldly Trona Pinnacles, where giant spires rise up from the desert floor like something out of a sci-fi movie. Golden hour out there? Absolutely unreal.
We made our way to Panamint Springs Resort, the perfect place to rest up before heading deeper into Death Valley. Along the way, we had our first magical wildlife encounter: a herd of wild burros just casually chilling near the road. Definitely one of those “pull over and just soak it in” moments.
The next day was packed: off-roading through Wildrose Canyon to check out the incredible Charcoal Kilns. Those massive stone structures in the middle of nowhere feel like they’re from another world. We even spotted a Collared Lizard racing across the rocks — nature just kept surprising us around every corner.
We couldn’t resist a detour to Rhyolite Ghost Town and the nearby Open Air Museum — think giant ghost sculptures and wild desert art installations. Super spooky, super cool.
Next up: the Hole in the Wall Jeep Trail — a gnarly off-road route through narrow canyon walls. So much fun and a great test of our driving and navigation skills. Then we dropped into Badwater Basin, standing at the lowest point in North America, surrounded by endless white salt flats under a deep blue sky. Just wow.
Driving through Artist Palette, Emigrant Canyon, Mud Canyon — every road was a masterpiece. The colors, the textures, the crazy rock formations. The weather was perfect the entire trip — sunny, breezy, not too hot. Honestly, we couldn’t have asked for better.
Of course, we had to cool off with a swim at Furnace Creek Ranch Resort — their spring-fed pool is heaven after a dusty day. And dinner at the Last Kind Words Saloon? So good. Exactly the kind of rustic, relaxed vibe you want after a day of adventure.
On the way out of Death Valley, we swung by Beatty, NV (where a cute little kit fox tried to sneak up on us) and then rolled through Goldfield, NV, checking out all the weird, wonderful roadside sights. Our final big off-roading stop was the International Car Forest of the Last Church — basically an art installation made of half-buried, graffiti-covered cars in the middle of nowhere. Absolutely epic.
Oh, and along the way? Tons of quail scurrying across the trails. It felt like everywhere we turned, some little creature was reminding us we weren’t alone out there.
This trip was everything: bonding time, birthday celebration, and hardcore rally training all rolled into one. Can’t wait to see how all those miles (and smiles) pay off this October at the Rebelle Rally!