California: 1 camper, 2 people, 10 days and 1600 miles.

First let me take a moment to introduce you to our new friend, Daytripper.

Daytripper meet the internet, internet this is Daytripper our newest (and most fun friend). While the decision to hire a camper was a bit of a last minute one we cannot imagine our journey without her.

It truly was love at first sight......sigh.

After stopping for our inaugural In-N-Out Burger we headed to Las Vegas  through the Mojave Desert with soaring temperatures.

116 feels like an oven!

Jumping for joy to be on our trip!

Baker California is H-O-T but on the upside we got to see the world's tallest thermometer.

Las Vegas strip from the Palms Hotel.

Brittney, me, Ryan and Seth. Thanks for having us Brittney and Seth!

Red Rock Canyon is just a hop, skip and a jump from Las Vegas so we decided to check it out.

We were excited to be there!

Beautiful.

Daytripper enjoyed the view also.

More beautiful.

After leaving Red Rock Canyon we had a long drive up to Yosemite National Park. We drove from arid hot desert through apline mountain terrain, back into desert and then onto Pine forests.  

Along the drive, the Sierra Nevadas. 

A well deserved lunch in Bishop a cute town in the middle of nowhere.

Daytripper checking out the view again.

Just before we arrived in Yosemite we stumbled across the delightful town of Lee Vining. Complete with a bookshop, general store, diner, gas station oh and a BEAUTIFUL view. What more could you ask for?

Lee Vining is situated on the edge of Mono Lake which is the sister lake to Salt Lake. We arrived just in time to scurry down to the lake's edge and watch the sun sneak behind the mountain range.

Mono Lake is twice as salty as the ocean. The picture above shows mineral deposits left behind as water levels have dropped in the last 60 years. To read more about Mono Lake and the movement to protect the lake click here.

Good night Mono Lake.

We may have lived in a camper but oral hygiene was always a priority!

The next morning we woke up early and headed into Yosemite. We were up with the sun and ready to go!

We almost missed the 116 degrees we experienced two days earlier as the temperature hovered on freezing.

Breakfast with a view!