Lovely Places!

We love to take day trips in the area to see the beautiful things God has given us to enjoy. In October we took two such trips so I'd like to share with you some things you might not have had the opportunity to see.

This is the Devil's Post Pile near Mammoth Lakes,CA Tall columns of basalt that have from three to seven sides. Eventually they collapse due to water freezing in the cracks and fall into the debris pile at the bottom. Very impressive!

A pine tree that is half dead on one side and green and thriving on the other. There didn't appear to be a fire that caused it. But it made for an interesting picture.

Beautiful red leaves snuggled against a tiny waterfall that disappeared under the rock next to it. It gurgled happily away down the mountain.

Ancient Bristlecone Pine tree in the Bristlecone Pine Forest near Mt. Whitney, CA Some of these trees were old when they built the pyramids in Egypt! And they are still living and growing in their twisted shapes, formed by the cold wind that whips them all winter long.

Mt. Whitney, the tallest mountain in the continental USA. Took a dozen pictures because the weather was perfect and it was so beautiful!

The Old Mission at La Purisima. Love these California Missions! Have visited nearly all of them and hope to do a Shutterfly book - or several! Love the history, love the settings, love the old buildings that have been cared for and in some cases restored after earthquakes.

Third hole on La Purisima golf course where we love to play. The shadows are long because the sun has barely come up. We stand on the first tee and wait for it to get light enough to see where our balls go when we hit. That's one reason I don't play golf every day with my golfaholic husband. I really don't like to stand and wait for the frost to melt or the sun to come up and he loves being first off and having no one in front of him.

Just a few of our adventures to share with you. We're now preparing for a drive across the country to visit a daughter in Charleston, South Carolina and one in Lafayette, Louisiana. We love road trips - listening to a good book on CD and drive! We get to see so much more of our beautiful country when we do instead of flying over the top of it. Thank heaven for good house sitters, a comfortable dependable car and the beauty and wonder of America!