This time of year, even in the southwest, our major challenge is nighttime cold and early sunset. The short days mean that we need to plan carefully to get our driving done by 5 p.m., and at night the temperature in the desert plummets abruptly and requires us to use the furnace.

Still, I like to boondock in the desert when we get the chance, and today is one of those chances. To be ready, we need all the systems topped off. Out in some of the lonelier spots in the desert, even in some camping areas, you can’t count on any support or services.

So today we filled the fresh water tank and dumped the holding tanks before leaving the campground, our usual procedure. We always travel with full fresh water because — even if we are planning to go to a place with hookups — plans change. This policy has saved our day many times. Then we stopped off for a big grocery shopping expedition near Santa Clarita, and filled both propane tanks. At California prices, 14.5 gallons of propane (we were nearly empty) cost $54.50, the biggest single propane bill we’ve ever had.

Living in the Airstream certainly makes us well aware of what we consume on a daily basis. We took on 30 gallons of fresh water, 14.5 gallons of propane, 20 gallons of gasoline, and nine bags of groceries. We also dropped off one grocery bag of trash, about 20 gallons of gray water (four “Hollywood” showers and some dishes), and about 5 gallons of black water. I’d topped off all the tire pressures in Riverside a week ago, so we didn’t require any compressed air, and our batteries were already full courtesy of the sun.

The goal for tonight was simply to end up somewhere between Ventura and Las Vegas for a night, but what I really wanted was a quiet spot in the desert where we could see the stars. We skirted the north side of the Los Angeles metroplex from Santa Paula to Santa Clarita, then to Victorville and northeast on I-15. This avoided the worse of traffic, but still we found ourselves in a minor traffic jam near Santa Clarita.

Normally I don’t drive in the HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle) lane because we generally try to avoid places where HOV lanes are necessary. Also, in California all towing vehicles are limited to 55 MPH, which is a speed no self-respecting California will drive in a car if they don’t have to. So driving in the HOV lane with a trailer is a quick way to make enemies on the road.

But this time I made an exception because the HOV lane was the only one moving and legally we qualify with three people in the vehicle. While breezing down the road I reflected that we drive an SUV, and with the trailer we are an SUV-RV combination, and now we were an HOV-SUV-RV. But only for a few minutes.

[Edit: Don’t do this.   Apparently towing in the left lane is illegal in California, which I discovered only later from a blog reader’s comment.]

Next morning at Stoddard Valley OHV Area

Along I-15 south of Barstow is the Stoddard Valley Off-Highway-Vehicle (OHV) Area, and after dark it seemed an ideal spot to stop for the night. Two exits lead to large dirt parking lots and a maze of roads through desert sage and cactus. We’re parked in one of the dirt lots, which I think makes us into an OHV too.

There are absolutely no services here, no lights, no rangers, nothing. Just a quiet spot within view of I-15 but far enough back that we can’t hear the highway inside the trailer. According to the web site campers can stay up to 14 days. There’s nobody here other than us tonight, probably because it is Monday and the temperature dropped into the 40s after sunset. That’s fine with us. It should be a pleasant night here, in our OHV-SUV-RV.