Hesperia Road Trip, California to Sonora

Hesperia in San Bernardino County is in the High Portion of the Mojave Desert, so-called for its unique and moderate weather patterns. We catch a ride from the airport at the south of the town, pick up our motorhome rental and head for our camping spot for the night. We find it a pleasant place with small-town friendly people. Then we tuck in for the night, for tomorrow our 680 mile / 1,100 kilometre Hesperia road trip to Sonora to the southeast begins.

Hesperia Road Trip to Sonora

First Two Stages: Hesperia to Bakersfield

We decide to tackle the Hesperia road trip journey in four easy sections, passing through great desert scenery after leaving Hesperia. After all, that’s the point of a motorhome journey: Stopping where you want to with your accommodation already paid. Our first overnight is in the Tehachapi Mountains in Kern County an easy three hours away, taking it slowly. We just love it for the wide open spaces, great drives over soaring mountains, and the warm welcome at the camping ground.

Our motorhome rental journey continues onward to Bakersfield, which is literally ‘around the corner’ by Mojave Desert standards. This is the county seat and a hub for agriculture and oil. It is also a major historic centre with the first pioneer log cabins appearing in the 1860’s. So it is a major cultural hub with historic restaurants including Woolgrowers, Noriega’s, Pyrenees, Benji’s, and Narducci’s in Basque.

Taking Time Out to Listen to the Bakersfield Sound

We reschedule immediately we discover we are in the heartland of the Bakersfield Sound, a subset of country music that dominated the industry for over a decade. Then we take in foot-tapping music in numerous restaurants, diners, and pubs. We seem a long way from Hesperia as we revel in the moment.

And that’s the point of this way of travelling. Listening to great sounds like The Beatles ‘Act Naturally’ and the Rolling Stones ‘Far Away Eyes’ while chilling out over American Basque cuisine. That’s plain, meaty oxtail cooking, or intensive seafood cuisine that thrills the taste buds.

We Could Have Travelled on to Oakdale and Sonora

We could have travelled on to Oakdale and Sonora but we chose to spend the rest of our time in Bakersfield instead. Because we were so hooked on the place and the culture, and we found a great caravan park to pitch the side tent. After we ran out of time we returned to Hesperia to catch our flight home. We resolved to make a habit of hiring a RV or motorhome rental; a most pleasant way of exploring America’s open spaces as those pioneering folk did, on a whim.