Actually we have arrived in Bishop, California after driving all day through Death Valley but more about that later.
You can't read about about our brush with 'Death' Valley before hearing all the details of how we got here.
The last entry was from Lake Havasu with Spring Breakers gone amok! (So glad my daughters are all grown up!!)

Back to the story.... Lake Havasu and the nearby canyon wilderness area would be a wonderful place to spend some time. I would love to tackle the canyon golf course.... I could always blame my bad game on the beautiful scenery!
We headed to California after a wonderful breakfast with a friend we met in South Africa and his delightful wife Barb.... look forward to you visiting us in Canada soon!
Taking the I 62 through Earp we found ourselves in Palm Springs at the end of the day. Now, surrounded by hills and dotted with many golf courses Palm Springs seemed like a pretty nice place to spend some time. We spent three nights there just enjoying the area and even spending a day checking out real estate. The prices here are higher than the Phoenix area but still affordable. Found a house in Desert Hot Springs for $229,000 on the golf course, including the golf membership.... 3 bedroom and a den. No, we didn't buy it, but it was appealing. Who knows where we will be in 10 years??
From Palm Springs we headed back to Los Angeles to attend our friend YinYin's wedding. She stayed with us in Canada as an exchange student 18 years ago. Now this crazy young girl has become a stunningly beautiful bride. But more than that she is an accomplished woman who has chosen a man who is more than her husband.... he is her partner and her friend. We were so happy to be a part of their wedding. It was also so wonderful to see her mother, her brothers and their families. They are from Malaysia and we haven't seen them for some time. YinYin and Phillip
were married under blue skies on a hill overlooking Redondo Bay..... few settings could be more perfect. ( We wish you all the best and send you our love...once again)
On Saturday morning we began our trip home to Canada. Heading east then north through the Mohave National Preserve. It was good to get out of the big city and mosey on down the back country desert roads.
Spent the night in Baker (which I wouldn't recommend to anyone) then headed north early this morning to tackle Death Valley.
Hundreds of pictures later.... and a few liters of water.... we are here in Bishop for the night. We loved the colours in Death Valley. The light plays on these colourful mountains highlighting their beauty as you travel through the day. We took most of the side roads as we ooohhed and awhhhed our way along highway I 78 ( loved the "Artist's Pallet"). It was amazing to see sand dunes with glaciers in the background. Thinking of all those westerns I saw as a kid.... just how did people survive in these conditions? The only water we saw was saline which makes you think how frustrated those early pioneers were hungry and thirsty looking up at the snow covered peaks far out of reach. Thank heavens we have cars and coolers!!
For those of you who love to drive the twisty roads take you from almost 5000 ft to well below sea level and back again. In fact the Badwater area of Death Valley is the lowest point in north America.
So, tomorrow we head off on Hwy 395 towards Yosemite National Park. I heard Mammoth Ski Hill had 25 feet of snow last week so our winter tires may yet come in handy.
I know where my toque and gloves are... here we go.... back to the cold.