Day 17 - Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down That Wall!

Thousand Oaks, California to Death Valley National Park, California

Today did not go according to schedule at all. The plan was to just drive straight to Death Valley (with maybe a quick stop at a science museum along the way). Keep reading to see what happened. The above pic was taken at Father Crowley Point in Death Valley.

Ronald Reagan Presidential Library

This was not a planned stop, but it was only about a mile off our route, so we stopped. Long story short, for about $5 more than admission, we purchased a membership. So we might stop at a couple other presidential libraries. Unfortunately, we already missed two we could have gone to. 

Isaiah practicing his oratory skills!

Hannah out for a ride with "The Gipper".

A piece of the Berlin wall. Since Isaiah learned about this in school this year, it was especially cool for him!

Air Force One... They also had a Marine One. You get to tour it, but can't take pics inside.

F-117 Nighthawk. You can check out the other pics in my Reagan Presidential Library album. I highly recommend a visit here if you are in Southern California. It's only an hour or so north of L.A. This was one of those unplanned stops that will be one of the best of the trip!

California Traveling

Interesting McDonald's we saw...

So glad we only had to get gas 1 time in California! 

There are aqua ducts all over in this part of California. I have other random California pictures in my California - Random album.

Death Valley National Park

So far, Death Valley is so much prettier than I expected. We are looking forward to exploring some more in the morning. On a side note, it was 100 degress when we pulled into the hotel for the night and we are currently at 190 feet BELOW sea level! At 10,000 feet above sea level, the chip bags looked like they were about to pop because they were so full of air. Here, they are almost completely deflated. It's crazy! To see more Death Valley pictures, check out my Death Valley album (which I will add more to tomorrow).

So far, we have driven 4800 miles on this trip. We have also visited 8 National Parks, 2 additional National Sites, 1 Presidential library, and been to 12 states.