California Part 2

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Back from Tucson, we were home for 30 minutes repacking stuff before heading back out in the car up Highway 1 for Northern California. We stopped at Mavericks where they have a famous surf competition every winter but the waves were small until we got up further north to Point Arena. We watched some surfers up there, saw the historic lighthouse, ate still more clam chowder and tasted lots of wine from Mendocino.

When we got back from Northern California, it was time for the road trip to really begin. In keeping with our good luck, that was the day it started raining - all day bucketing. We stopped to see the elephant seals in Año Nuevo; they were huge giant seals just begin the breeding season. We got completely soaked, but the rangers took pity on us since we were from Australia and we got to warm up by a heater while looking at sea otter pelts. In Monterey we escaped the rain by visiting the famous aquarium there before heading for the night to stay in Santa Maria.

The next day was a long drive through the country roads of Eastern California. Lots of mountains and canyons and one close call with lack of petrol. In the afternoon we made it to Death Valley National Park with just enough time for a quick jaunt in the dunes, a taste of the salt flats and some beautiful photos of a stunning sunset. We still had another two hours before we hit Vegas!

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Photos

Burger Barn
We rode into this town on fumes!