California!

Wow, California is beautiful!  We are only on our second day here and have seen so much.  Death Valley was awesome with beautiful cactus blooming like this.....

The drive to Artist's Palate was breathtaking......

We stopped at Furnace Creek for a picnic lunch and had this visitor.....

I thought at first it was a dog...but...it was a coyote.  He stared longingly at my sandwich but I wouldn't share...so he moved on

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Cameron and Isaac both bought these retro aviator sunglasses for the trip, every time I look at them I crack up, they remind me of Crockett and Tubbs from "Miami Vice".

We left Death Vally kind of late in the day and made this crazy drive to Lone Pine, in the dark, on this twisty deserted road up a mountain pass with switchbacks...and no cell service.  I was sure we would plunge off a cliff, never to be seen again...which caused the men in my life to roll their eyes and call me a drama queen.  It was dark when we got to our hotel so in the morning when we stepped out of our room this was our view....Mt. Whitney.....gorgeous

This morning we drove around Lone Pine then made our way southwest and saw some amazing scenery on the way.

I snapped this picture below of the boys after I was told "Mom, we are not posing for any pictures...and don't even think of getting us to sit on one of those rocks together"...ah teenagers.  

Scott is being his regular patient self driving up and down twisty, mountain roads while the teenage sons in the back tell him to take the turns faster...and I tell him to slow down so we don't all plunge off the mountain, it's a wonder he doesn't leave us all on the roadside.