Being Places

two weeks in California

(I wore my CALILOVE shirt the whole time)

first week - family memorial for my mother-in-law in Sacramento

we had a great room with a view of the Sacramento River one way

and a great view of the sunset from our balcony the other

all the fruit trees were in bloom and the fields were that vibrant spring green color

after the memorial we went over to Marin County to my sister and brother in laws

for a couple days

we rented kayaks and let their parent's ashes go in Tomales Bay

I saw this wild iris - the day we left

my truly favorite flower from my days of living in northern California

a little cool for us Floridians

so when the family obligations were over

we headed south

I love California and could not come all the way out to the west coast

without a little exploring

it was the perfect time of year to see the desert in bloom

so we headed our little rental car to Death Valley

this is west of Los Banos off I-5 - our first stop

after the traffic of the bay area

when did California get so crowed??

I liked our license plate

we are in our 60 Years,

then M for Michel

W for Willi and 154 is our address!

first night got us to Red Rock State Park

a few hours shy of DV

that is our tent with the green fly

it was an amazing campground to be right up against the cliffs like that

we also had the only shade of 40 sites by tying our tarp onto the Joshua Trees

it wasn't too warm but the sun was very intense in the middle of the day without shade

that night salmon on the grill

(so happy to be on the west coast - fresh wild salmon in a small grocery store in Mojave!)

view of the sunset from the tent

I do so love camping out!!

camping out in Florida is not the same as camping out in the west....

next morning

we had a great time

exploring the desert

the rocks were giant

it was a great place to play

and we were so lucky

we saw many wildflowers

many different kinds

these are just a few of my favorites

they were everywhere

even in places that seemed impossible

after 2 nights in Red Rock

we headed out to DV

the hills on the way

were as the cliche says - carpeted in flowers

it was an amazing and beautiful sight

that night we had reserved a tent at Panamint Springs Resort
(sight unseen)

at the west entrance to Death Valley

the view of surrounding mountains

was pretty spectacular to a girl who hadn't seen mountains in a while

we really lucked out - the tent we had reserved

was the only one with some shade

the campground was mostly gravel and rock

and hot and dusty when we arrived in the heat of the day

this is an aerial of Panamint Springs when no one is there

picture it filled - wall to wall

with rv's and not just rv's - all of them pulling 4 wheelers

and they ride all over the desert in packs......
vroom vroom

not an oasis by a long shot

but inside the tent

was quite comfortable

our own little oasis

more salmon - coho this time

and the sun does always finally go down

we had forgotten how many stars you can see when it is dark.....really dark

next day - Death Valley National Park

it looks just like this postcard too

you drive up over the Panamint mountains and down into death valley

until you are

the views were striking

you can tell it is my first time

all that rock and lack of trees actually started getting creepy after hours of it

this is for my brother - the golf pro - ha ha

the thermometer on the car read 99 degrees

we just drove straight through

we didn't stop at the Golden Canyon

we did not stop at the lowest point in the United States sign
we did not stop at all

it was just too hot out and the sun deadly

hey, they should call this place Death Valley

we did not stop until we got to Shoshone

a town at the south end of the park

where we found a true oasis in the desert

with date palms

green grass

and trees!! I was really missing trees

oh and WATER

the water in the pool was a natural 90 degrees

perfect!

as was the way the mountains lit up in the sunset

after 2 restful nights we left Shoshone in the rear view mirror
a green speck in a sea of rock

and drove 80 miles

to Las Vegas

that's right - Las Vegas

quite the contrast from camping in the desert - right?

to a room at the MGM Grand towers.....

($100. bucks a night - no kidding - Vegas is cheap)

I had a plan for that night -

my dad and mom loved to gamble and they loved Vegas

so I went to the ATM machine

(did you know they give you hundred dollar bills??)

and took out 2 one hundred dollar bills

gave one to Willi and one was mine

we would gamble in my parent's memory
they would have loved it

I had it in my head I wanted to gamble at the Bellagio

but first I wanted to stop at the Aria Hotel and to to the French bakery I read about in the guide book

the lobby at the Aria

was filled with thousands of origami cranes - magical

we had to walk through the whole casino to get to the bakery

and it was so worth it

on the way out I saw a slot machine that I liked when I went with my dad

to the casino he went to in Florida and pointed it out to Willi

I had the Bellagio in my brain as our gambling destination though so we walked there

the lobby there was also amazing

a glass exhibit by Chihuly the famous glass artist from Tacoma
we walked into the casino
anddddddd it just didn't feel right - I don't know
so we decided to go back to the Aria and look for the machine I liked

adios Bellagio

back to the Aria

where I found the machine I had liked
I waited to play it and from the moment I put my $100. in
I never went below that after the first pull

I just kept winning on that machine
not big wins but consistent
when I got to $200. I said rather loudly to William
that I had doubled my money and I could now pay my bills
I wish I had a photo of the look on the woman's face who was watching