So it turns out that Angel’s Camp to Las Vegas (especially at the end of winter, when lots of the passes are closed) is a long old road…around ten or eleven hours to be precise! Our road trip to Las Vegas took us round the top of Yosemite via Lake Topaz, Mono Lake, past Mammoth Mountain and through Death Valley.  Rather than recount every twist and turn, I’ll let the photos speak for themselves.  

Our day started with this incredible view of Lake Topazand plenty of snowcapped peaks.
As we descended we were met with a picture-perfect panorama of Mono Lake…followed by a closer look at its salt-encrusted shores.And as we hit Death Valley the landscape continued to change…from cactus-filled scrub land,

to sand dunes…to amazing rock formations,
that just seemed to change endlessly turn after turn.I particularly loved the contrasting colours of the rock (very snappable!)
And we hit the edge of Las Vegas towards sunset, with the early evening light lending another dimension to the landscape.While the scenery was mind-blowing the drive, even with my best 90s playlist, was a bit much for one day.  I find I often struggle with the balance of trying to use the precious travelling time I have wisely, packing lots in, and making sure I don’t fill an itinerary so full that there’s no time to deviate or stop and smell the roses – does anyone else find this? In particular, I wish that we’d had a bit more time in Death Valley to explore the Badwater salt flats, the Mesquite Flat sand dunes, Titus Canyon and the Joshua Trees…another to add to the list of places to return to then.