If you have some time for a road trip to less visited areas, pick some of the following destinations! California and Arizona are beautiful places for longer road trips.
Before heading off to Highway 1, visit some of San Francisco´s districts like The Mission, Haight-Ashbury and queer paradise The Castro. Then stock up on groceries in foodie heaven at Rainbow Groceries. This food cooperative is worker owned and has the most beautiful products -with ethics to be proud off.
Next, cross your fingers and hope you´ll get a fog-free sunset view at the Golden Gate Bridge!
From the famous bridge it´s a short drive to hippie boat village Sausalito. Have a walk over the piers and check out the incredible floating houses.
From the Bay Area it´s a stunning drive down South along the coast. We preferred the drive over city visits and went all the way until the Mexican border. Check the road situation during storms though. Many roads where closed during our trip so we had to pick some alternative routes.
From the Mexican border we went inland and found a true creative oasis in the middle of the desert. Salvation Mountain and Slab City are the kinds of fata morgana you´ll see in movies. Small detail though: this place actually exists and will definitely exceed most people’s wildest expectations. Salvation Mountain is a construction made of hay, clay and thousands of gallons of paint. Leonard Knight hoped many people would see his life project, to help them to show more love and compassion to their fellow human.
Driving a little further brings you to Slab City, `the last free place of America´, where artists, war veterans and freaks of all kinds created a world of their own. Hundreds of campervans and other self-built structures from collected desert waste are spread out over a huge plot of squatted land. Anarchy and desert art: Slab City is a playground for everyone with an open attitude. Inhabitants say: who was not crazy upon arrival, will be after one summer in the burning heat. It´s probably one of the best places in the world to spend an afternoon and reconsider what `normal ´actually means.
If time is on your side, visit Arizona too. It´s a diverse ride through wide landscapes and weird little cities, before arriving in the red colored mountains of Sedona.
Stop for a well-deserved break in Tucson. This city has some relaxing and creative little hangouts. Plus, like most of the National and State Parks, also the ones around Tucson are worth a hike – if it´s the right season. Hiking in the middle of summer is only for the brave… for us it was a beautiful walk while being surrounded by millions of cacti.
After Tucson, we drove the last piece to Sedona. Sedona has been a sacred spot for Native Indians since forever and we have to say it has been a magical visit for us too. It´s wonderful to hike up the mountains and enjoy the stunning views on the colored landscape. It has been a moment to look back on the diversity of our adventures and to just be thankful.
About: we are Mark and Marrit, mostly based in Berlin but often on the road. Mark is a passionate analogue photographer from North Italy, while Marrit from The Netherlands loves to write about what inspires us on the way. We´re often on the road in our cute orange van called Yak – named after the strong buffalo that lives in the Himalayas – that helps us to broaden our horizon time and time again. Since a year or so, our 1 year old daughter Raja travels with us.
Our goal is to develop ourselves and to figure out how to live according to our hearts truth. We are outside as much as possible, while exploring new places and learning from different people and cultures. We are excited about eco-friendly projects and creative lifestyles. They remind us to the fact that you can live according to your own rules and in harmony with your surroundings. Remembering this helps us in our search to the next place on the countryside to call our home. Every now and then we will share parts of our journey with Meet You At The Bridge.
