California Bound!

The girls left a few days ago to head to Amsterdam with their dad, and Jon and I had originally planned on staying home and just enjoying some time together without the obligations of the girls, but very last minute we decided to go to Yosemite and Sequoia!  We left this morning, and began the 12 hour drive in glorious cloudy rainy weather....perfect for driving!!!

We listened to conference as we traveled, and just relished being in one another's company.  Sometimes being with someone for extended periods of time can grate on your nerves, but not Jon.  Spending time with him is like coming home.

I was excited to see the salt flats and see if they were flooded.  I've never seen them that way, but it was raining when we passed them and you couldn't even tell they were there!  Someday I will catch them flooded on a clear day.

As the drive progressed, we headed into sunnier spots where the skies were so blue and the clouds so beautiful.

There are no pictures of it, but we saw tons of dust devils out in the prairies.  It was wonderful to listen to the words of our prophet and apostles while we barreled down the road together.

Because it's so early in the season, and we had to pass through the Sierras, we had checked to see if we could get through the fastest way, and knew it was still closed for snow.  So we headed to the next fastest route, only to get to the turn off for the pass and find that it was still snowed over, too!  We had to back track 90 minutes to go a different route, and prayed it was open so we wouldn't have to go all the way up to Tahoe.  We were able to go a route faster than going up to Tahoe, and it was actually really cool to drive through some of the high Sierras.  The snow was 15 feet deep on either side of the road in places and it was pretty wild.

This set us back considerably in our drive time, and by the time we got to California we were winding down these canyon roads in the pitch black.  It was kind of exhilarating and intimate to feel like we were alone in the world, speeding along.

We had to stop and put gas in the car in the dark from a gas tank in the trunk, and that was pretty creepy.  Out there with my phone flashlight so Jon could see, and there's no one on the roads, and no lights.  We eventually made it to our hotel, and were exhausted!