Desert Town and Desert is not great attraction for a majority of us. In fact, they attract few living beings with some exceptions of course, that include:
- Camels
- Lizards
- Snakes
- Scorpions
- Gazelles
- Mules
- Echidnas
- Oryx
As of greeneries, you know that hardly any plant survives in the desert.
Still, desert safaris and desert tours are being organized throughout the year. Desert tours do not last more than a day as staying overnight at desert camps is not everyone’s forte. Nevertheless, there are desert tours that last 3 days. Bravery, endurance, and some specific purpose are the basic criteria for such lengthy staying in deserts.
In this blog post, I will introduce to you some of the world’s best desert town that are worth visiting. I think nature lovers would love to visit a desert just to experience the extreme climate, see the vast expanse of wilderness, and encounter some of the rare wildlife of deserts. In the midst of such unfriendly conditions, it would be a refreshing change to stumble onto an oasis.
The Desert Town Kingman, Arizona
Looking at the road and the horizon beyond, it sure looks like a desert town in Arizona, the U.S. As the Americans say, it is ‘desert’ written all over it.
Located 137 km from Las Vegas, Nevada, you could say it is a friendly Mojave desert town as its climate falls under the ‘cold semi-arid’ category. In addition, its elevation at about 3300 feet also contributes to the friendly desert climate. During summer, the maximum temperature you can experience is around 45 deg C. Winter brings a mild ‘dust of snow’ that melts away by noon.
Even a passerby to this town would peep in the historic Route 66 association. If time permits, travelers to Las Vegas by road would pay a visit to ‘Mohave Museum of History and Arts’ and the ‘locomotive park’ to appreciate the old warhorse steam powered locos, the true ancestors of present electric or diesel powered locomotives.
Of late, a few wineries have come up in Kingman, the small desert town in the U.S. I wonder who visits them apart from the staff.
The Desert Town Borrego Springs, California
Now, you can call Borrego Springs, San Diego County, California as a perfect example of a desert town as it is situated in the middle of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. By the middle of a Desert park, I mean literally surround by a desert on all sides.
That also means the desert wildlife such as rattlesnakes, kit foxes, and golden eagles are frequently spotted as if they are part of the community.
If you ever visit this region in California, try to go to Font’s Point, a desert viewpoint that opens a large vista of desert-land of California. Another interesting thing to do in this Californian desert town is to visit the Galleta Meadows, a sculptor’s estate really.
You can view the awesome metal sculptures of elephants and weirdly shaped two-headed animals. There are over 100 such incredible sculptures.
The Desert Town Antelope Valley, California
Imagine a desert town in the vicinity of Los Angeles, the tinsel world’s headquarters. Yes, the Antelope Valley is a part of the Los Angeles County in California and it is located at the west end of the Mojave Desert, between the Tehachapi and the San Gabriel Mountains.
Oh yes, that Cactus plant in the image above says you are inside a desert.
Antelope Valley is a typical desert town in the U.S. with a small population, an isolated gas station, a motel abutting the highway and a near-deserted diner. Nevertheless, these are the charms of a small desert town and it is a kind of beauty that a small segment of people likes. I am one among that small segment.
Surprisingly, this small desert town in California state gets busy after March and stays like that till April mid. It is the season of the blooming of Poppy Reserve.
Look at the video below.
That’s why a desert town can be attractive at least for a small period if not throughout the year.
The Desert Town Grand Junction, Colorado
Desert town did not mean they necessarily be located inside a desert. They are called desert town because they border a desert or situated on the fringes of it. Mostly, they are highway towns that you pass-by in California, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, and Mexico states.
This ranchers’ settlement Grand Junction is literally at the confluence of the Colorado River and Grand Mesa, the world’s largest flat-top mountain that looks dry during summer whereas during the winter it is transformed into a ski resort.
Travelers stop to have a look at the imposing Colorado National Monument which is actually filled with bald mountains that created deep canyons.
As per the video clip, the Grand Junction is much more than a desert town in the U.S.; it promises to be an ideal picnic destination in the Colorado wilderness.
The Desert Town Terlingua, Texas
We have seen the desert landscape of Texas in movies. Though Texas does not comprise of large tracts of desert areas, there is that Chihuahuan Desert along the Rio Grande that is full of bare deserts, and the Chisos Mountains.
This desert town in Texas was a bustling mining town once but now it looks desert(ed). If you are brave to the sun, there are several hiking trails in Terlingua such as Santa Elena Canyon trail.
