road trip!

We went on a road trip this past week.  Our destination was an engineering conference in Huntington Beach, CA.   My husband is a geotechnical engineer and  a few months back, he wrote a paper on a certain type of field test for determining soil properties.  This paper, which was accepted at the conference got us thinking about a short vacation. While my husband spent time at the conference, the kids and I would go on adventures!

Here are a few pictures from our trip down south.....

We headed on the road in the wee hours of the morning.  The early morning evokes that simplicity and innocence I remember feeling as a kid going on trips.  It may be the cool air or the early morning light but it brings back good memories for me.  I love starting road trips in the early morning.  We brought a few books on CD to keep us entertained.  I could hear Solomon and Amelia giggling in the back seat at funny moments in the book.  We took some mystery books with us too.  We brainstormed about who could have been the suspect in the story.

Yes, I think I would like to live on this farm, right below the towering wall of rock!

Mono Lake where we stopped at our favorite book store. 

One of our favorite things to do while on road trips is looking at landforms.  There are lots of volcanoes on the way as well as lava flows.

I wouldn't mind living here either! : )

Pinyon pines near Topaz Lake.

We saw these free ranging sheep on the road.  We turned around and took the dirt road right next to them.  There were so many sheep, right on the side of the highway.  Then we saw the big white guard dog!

He seemed really friendly, just curious.  As we drove back to the highway, I could hear bells and the sheep all started running away.

Joshua tree.

 

After 11 (yes 11) hours of driving, we made it to the hotel.  Happy children!

Comments

[leaningapplemama]

hi kyndale!! sounds like you had a great trip and got to some really great sights!! what beautiful landscapes so so very different from where we live across the coast:) i love the picture of that dog with the sheep...he looks so sweet and innocent all big fuzzy:) welcome home!! xo, pennie

[minnesota:madre]

Oh how I love a road trip. How'd the presentation go? Did you have good adventures?

[Kelly]

it all looks so pretty!!

[Heather]

Oh my, that is a long trip. I lived in HB for two years, and it is such a pretty place. Your trip looks like it was full of beauty, and that one farm house is just amazing. Hope you had a great trip

[Annie]

Kyndale that looks like an amazing trip! I miss the wide open spaces of the west. We are so closed in here on the east coast with all the giant trees. They are pretty, but don't give me that feeling of grander that the mountains and valleys do. Thanks for sharing those awesome pics. I love the farms, sheep, and smiling faces.

[lexie]

Wow! what a beautiful landscape. Its amazing to see things growing in the desert, and those amazing cliffs just sitting there, we only really have cliffs by the sea here, just amazing! And lovely to see happy kids after 11 hours in the car, what resourceful children(and parents i suspect).Hope you all had a lovely holiday x

[6512 and growing]

How fun! I love that last picture of your children.

[5orangepotatoes]

Wow, can't imagine living under that mountain of rock! I don't know if I could do it, would freak me out a little bit.

11 hours is a tough one....especially with 3 in the back seat.

Thanks for sharing the pics from the road. I love seeing such different landscapes to what I'm used to.

lisa

[farmama]

What beautiful photos from your journey Kyndale! I love the farm photos....and the sheep! You're children are totally glowing in that last photo. They're so beautiful!
Hope you all are well and enjoying being home.
Lots of love,
sara

[renee @ FIMBY]

11 hours - way to go parents, way to go kids. That's how long it takes us to reach my parents and we do that trip once a year. Beautiful scenery you saw.

[earthycrunchy]

It's so fun to see how the landscape changes as we drove down south. It really is amazing to me! I really loved seeing the sheep too. Even though we felt like we had to keep moving (or else we'd never get there!) I had to turn around and see the sheep! love, Kyndale

[earthycrunchy]

Jonathan had a really good time, his presentation went well and he met a lot of people. There were people from all over the world there!

[earthycrunchy]

It's so pretty, especially out where there's no houses!

[earthycrunchy]

Huntington Beach is so beautiful. I just love the salt air. I lived in Irvine from 79-86. So, being there was really fun. I used to go to Huntington with my friends at night and have bon fires. What memories!

[earthycrunchy]

I love the wide open too! It makes me feel happy to see it. My kids were SO happy to get to the hotel!