Lucy's First ROAD TRIP!

so as i mentioned before, we took lucy on her first road trip to celebrate addie's birthday with a trip down into the eastern sierra. from our town to lone pine it is usually about a five hour trip. well it took us closer to eight this time :) if you've got time to spare, it is not so bad traveling with a two month old!

luce was very good on the road. she is much more comfortable in her carseat now that we took the infant insert out and she tends to fall asleep while the car is moving.

but...after she wakes up, there is only one thing she wants....the booby. and there is a very limited window of time to give it to her before the real screaming begins, which sends us into a little panic because it doesn't happen very often so we take it seriously.

i learned to enjoy taking time out on the side of the road for nursing. you get a whole new perspective; you stop in unexpected places and sit on stumps and bond with your baby and breathe fresh mountain air.

we stopped in the cute little town of markleeville for lunch.

lucy's first classic summit photo at monitor pass. we stop at the top every time and just enjoy the smell of sagebrush and that view of enchanted valleys. i always imagine riding horseback through these mountains in the olden days.

down into the east side. summer thunderclouds and lightning started up as we got further south. we stopped near manzanar for me to nurse lucy and a nice warm rain started to fall. there was a rainbow in the eastern sky and weird light all around. it was pretty gorgeous.

darin's self portrait: (he took most of these photos on the blog this time)

family portrait

we didn't arrive to our campground until it was almost dark. addie and art weren't there yet and we were supposed to meet them an hour earlier. we worried that maybe they'd seen the threat of rain and left. we don't have cell phones and so we count on good old fashioned planning ahead for trips and meet ups. it was strange not knowing where they were but we went ahead and set up camp.

an hour later they came driving up! addie and art made a nice late dinner of fresh tomato sauce and pasta with garlic bread and pumpkin ale. the stars were crazy and we were almost the only people there.

baby by lantern light...

darin worked on his favorite project: time lapses of the stars. 

and a long exposure group shot round the campfire!

the tiniest camper was so cute and jolly in her jammies.

she is a total morning person. here she is chillin with a beer in a camping chair ;)

addie is the BEST at making up silly rhymes and songs. she does this for her cats all the time, and soon enough she'll have a new little friend to sing for. lucy was lulled right to sleep.

we headed into town for coffee. we love lone pine. it is the gateway to mount whitney and the alabama hills. it is so old fashioned and has an old west vibe, and many hollywood westerns were filmed around here. and for such a teeny tiny little town, it has everything you need.

including the best coffee shop with delicious espresso; we go there every time.

and this funky little place for breakfast.

 after a nice leisurely greasy breakfast we headed out into the alabama hills, a sprawling lunar landscape of huge crazy rock formations at the base of the sierra nevadas, like some alien welcoming committee for the big mountain peaks. there are little dirt roads criss crossing through the hills which are BLM land open to the public for camping and adventure. this is where many of the hollywood movies were filmed over the years.

you might remember them from this trip. (little did i know as i romped these rocks back then i was just barely pregnant!)

i dressed lucy for her desert rambles in a vintage white cotton pinafore with wraparound ribbon ties, a gift from my friend becky. the little seersucker bloomers were thrifted. she stayed fresh and cool all day the old-fashioned way. (not really. she sweats a lot just like her mama)

you can climb, scramble, hike, hop and leap all through these rocks.

you can even nurse your baby in a tiny patch of shade with an albino lizard.

you can drive your car over rutted roads and you can get out and walk for miles and see the remnants of secret campsites, caves, dry creekbeds and desert mysteries.

and always, in the distance, that crazy jagged range and mount whitney's ghostly peak.

there is a gas station we like to go to just south of town that has a farm next door. there are roosters poking about the parking lot, curious chickens and sighing horses in the shade. we paid the animals a visit and took a break under the cottonwoods for a little desert oasis.

this mama goat seemed to know i was a mama too. she wanted lots of pets and scratches and even put her big old pregnant belly right up against the fence for some rubbing. she was so sweet.

my happy girl!

we caravanned up 395 to mono lake on our way home. 

it is an ancient inland sea of crazy briny waters and jagged towers of tufa. 

(i posted about it before on our trip last summer)

art made funny faces for lucy, her favorite pasttime.

my own little tufa.

i was sad the minute they drove away. they headed home to nevada city by way of reno and we headed back through the mountains to placerville. we always have such a blast together and this year's trip went way too fast. we had a long drive ahead of us, around 8 pm lucy decided she did wanted some nonstop nursing and we stayed in the parking lot of the topaz casino for a good hour. made it home by 11 pm. she was a sport about her late night roaming, and darin was a sport about driving the whole time so i could comfort her in the backseat if she woke up. it was kind of dreamy coming down the mountain in the dark with scorpius leading the way in the western sky, leaning against the window and my right hand gently patting my baby's tummy while she slept, my husband strong and sure at the wheel, quiet bits of conversation and emmylou playing on the stereo.

i love family road trips. can't wait for the next one. thank you addie for having a birthday and making these memories with us!