About 3 or more hours after school let out, we left IAH airport on a 3-hour flight to John Wayne airport in California. Our uncle picked us up, and we spent the night at his house. the next day, they [our uncle’s part of the family] let us borrow one of their cars. We used it to drive to the lowest point in the U.S, DEATH VALLEY! We saw the most amazing stars, sights, and had great experiences-in Dante’s view, Mesquite sand dunes, Golden Canyon, and Ubehebe crater. Lastly, we went to Zabriskie point and Badwater Basin. All fit into 3 days. Believe it or not, some of the Star Wars was actually filmed in Golden Canyon. After getting stamps and souvenirs from the visitor center, we drove a 2-3 drive to Joshua tree National park. The next day, we just caught sunrise at Keys view. then, we went on the Hidden valley trail-taking many detours, “climbing for animal dens.” We also went to Barker dam, Skull rock, and caught the glowing golden teddy bear cacti at sunset. We stopped by the visitor center, and drove through rain and fog to San Diego.
Dante’s view was extraordinary- a great place to see the sunset and stars. Mesquite sand dunes was an amazing place to see animal tracks, because they “dug” into the sand dunes clearly. The Golden Canyon was fun to climb on-thanks to steady, sedimentary rocks. Ubehebe crater was so deep, it hit ground water, and had colorful rocks to collect, too. Zabriskie point was a double-header, because you could see a fantastic sunrise AND see and go down to Golden Canyon. In Badwater Basin, we actually waded into the lake- the lowest point of Death Valley (also almost directly beneath Dantes point) is really beneath sea level, but the lake itself is only about 4 inches deep!
Sunrise at Keys view makes a fantastic sight-if you capture the actual Joshua tree in it; I even saw a mouse when I visited! My brothers and I had a LOT of fun climbing the detours at Hidden valley trail, as well as the rocks at Skull rock. If you look from a certain distance, the many spikes on the teddy bear cacti look like they’re gold, also glowing- at SUNSET.
After arriving, we went to watch The Grinch, live, on CHRISTMAS EVE. Then, on Christmas, we got amazing gifts. A video game (Nintendo) each from Santa, and an ornament each from grandma and grandpa. We got hot cocoa, and later then some ice-cream. On the next day, we took a walk through Balboa park, and went to In and Out burger. The next day, we drove off to my uncles[plus some additional cherries and strawberries from my grand mother]. We spent 1 and 1/2 days there (one and a half), during which my dad and brothers got matching chucker Astro baseball caps. I got a book with projects for sewing, a sewing set, and a sewing machine. When we flew back to Houston, my uncle, aunt, cousin, and baby cousin came with us. They stayed with my other grandparents. That was the end of the vacation, but some days left in winter break!
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