Alabama Hills to Death Valley

 A dried up lake bed in the middle of nowhere on our way to Death Valley - I couldn't resist a bit of graffiti.
 Man check the size of these freakin birds - I think they are crows but I sure wasn't getting any closer to find out!
 Sea level - and normally we would be paddling right about - not a drop of water to be seen anywhere though - apart from my water bottle.
 This one is for the boys reminiscing about all the RV parks that we stayed at with very little facilities. Don't think any were as sparse as this one!

Alabama Hills

 This is the scene of many cowboy movies. We were talking to a guy at breakfast who had hiked to the top of Mt Whitney they day before - 14000 feet! - and he mentioned the glorious rock formations only 5miles away.
  We were hugely impressed spent quite a bit of time walking round exploring.
 Just loved this rock and it's strategically placed bush.
We were waiting for the cowboys or the indians to appear from behind a rock somewhere here, but it never happened.
 

Way behind.

Is what I am in posting pics and words about what we are up to. Currently we are in Palm Springs having just had the most glorious Mexican food ever. We are enjoying the gorgeous weather and even I was comfortable tonight out in just my t-shirt sleeves without the sweatshirt.

Tomorrow we head back to Kathryn's place to pack up the humungous mess we left in her spare bedroom and get the truck prepped for shipping back home. Definitely looking forward to getting home and seeing everyone and getting lots of cuddles!

OK, gonna try and catch up on the last 5 days worth of pics and text now.

Mammoth to Lone Pine

 We took a wrong turn when we got to Mammoth and ended up driving to the top of the hill - a whole 8750 feet. We found the most gorgeous little fishing lake up there - Lake Mary. Very peaceful and very cold, with lots of snow still hanging round in the shaded area under the trees.
 We had to laugh at this sign, especially as after we stopped at the restroom we found that they were closed for the season due to the lack of use with all the snow and cold temperatures.
 Breathing and operating is hard at this altitude so we figured we would make a run for it and get a bit closer to Death Valley through some more breathtaking scenery.
 We arrived in Lone Pine on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada ranges just as dusk was setting in. We were way more interested in relaxing with a drink or two than taking pics. This pic was taken in the morning just before we set off.

Lake Tahoe and Plans

 Leaving you with a pic of Mt Tallac the highest point round here of around 9500feet. The snow has all melted now and although the temps never got over 6degrees today we are hopeful of getting out tomorrow and heading south. We had thought of going to Mammoth but with that being at 8000 feet we are not sure. Andy is not finding the altitude very comfortable. We will see how he copes as we drive through tomorrow. Otherwise we will head straight for Death Valley which is 120 feet below sea level. From one extreme to the other! And the temperatures will be right up there too, back to shorts and singlets instead of jeans and sweatshirts.

Nick asked a question tonight just before we got cut off about what Kathryn and I were doing while the exhaust was being changed over. We were sitting down with our feet on the old air filter bits. Yep, he had to change that over too and put on the K&N stuff! I don't know - boy stuff - all I know is it is going to take a lot of handbag shopping to catch up!

Taylors Creek

 We were going to head out for a drive round the lake but needed chains to do that so flagged that one. Took a walk instead and happened across Taylors Creek where the Kokanee salmon come to spawn in the fall. Couldn't believe we lucked on that one. If you click and enlarge the pic you will see all the red flashes in the water which is the salmon.
 Me checking out the view and flashing my handbag again - apparently it features in every pic I am in!
 Andy watching the salmon just sitting in the river.
 My attempts as a wildlife photographer.

Tahoe Snow

 Yep, I admit it, I am a snow newbie so you will see lots of geeky pics now. Like what it looks like from the inside of the car when you first turn on the wipers so you can see where you are going.
 Everything changed with a dusting of snow and it all became so much prettier.
 
 This is what happens when you are driving and the snow starts to melt and you put the brakes on. Fortunately it was only my side that got this lot!

Snow Day in Tahoe

 A wander down to the lake to check out all this beauty.
 I couldn't resist making and throwing a snowball at Andy - such very light and powdery snow which very quickly turned to slush!
 Views to the left and right of where we were standing.
 

Snow Day

 And this is the site that greeted me this morning when I opened the curtains - woohoo I was sooo excited and we have about 100 pics on our camera to prove that one. Truck pics for the boys too, because we won't get to see that again living in Auckland!
 
 
 

And onto Tahoe

 Woohoo, it's Chips! And they really do ride side by side. Ok, showing my age, but couldn't resist this pic.
 A super duper camoflagued cell phone tower. This one is a bit obvious, but in the heavily wooded areas you can't even see them.
 One of the really super cute motel/lodges that we passed on the way and I we couldn't believe the huge chunk of granite behind it - so very similar in size and grandeur to El Capitan in Yosemite.
 And we arrive at our room in South Lake Tahoe. What a gorgeous place! Full of pine/fir trees and log cabin type accommodation. We are at 6200 feet so dealing with altitude is something new too. Apparently we aren't supposed to have any alcohol if altitude sickness comes into play. We will do our best to avoid that!

SF to Sacramento

 Old Town Petaluma where we stopped off for breakfast at 11am.
 Heading towards Napa we passed this pumpkin patch. We would have stopped but figured we needed to have children to really take advantage of what was being offered.
 A quick stop at the Kirkland Winery while we looked for some lunch, none on offer so a liquid one it was!
 Can you believe this is 10miles out of Sacramento - the capital of California and there is farmland within 10miles of downtown. I couldn't quite understand that one hence the pics.

SF from the North Shore

 Man, what a bridge!
 My darling checking out the views.
 This is the Bay Bridge that we headed into town on and downtown San Francisco.
 The tunnel that did all the damage to my hearing. Andy chopped down through the gears and floored it through here - man the noise of those V8s has nothing to what we heard through here. Almost expected to see the highway patrol on our tail!