And finally.....

The last couple of days after Quiltique have been a blur of shopping, sunbathing and swimming.

We were pleased to tick off some things on our list at the Galleria at Sunset just around the corner.

And we were very pleased when this arrived from Moab via Salt Lake City. The kettle we left behind!

We almost always had the pool to ourselves.

And the temperature soared to 100 degrees.

We did venture on to the Strip and we ate far too much at the Paris Buffet. (Dreadful photo).

Need one of these at home.

The Strip was as usual crazy busy.

So we didn't stay long.

.... Just crossing the road took half an hour.

Waiting for the Fountains of Bellagio.

They never disappoint. Celine and 'My Heart Will Go On'.

we also tried Applebee's ....

.... twice.

So thank you for following us on our great adventures. Thanks to all the friendly Americans we have met in all 11 states and four time zones..... Thanks to everyone who commented and to Linda in New Zealand who has chatted to us all the way round!

Special thanks to everyone at Quiltique and of course to our fabulous retreat buddies at MSQC. If you are ever in the UK don't forget to look us up.

We drove 2860 miles which cost us $330 in gas. 11 cents or 8p a mile. In a jeep!

xxx

 

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Quiltique

Up early and there still isn't a cloud in the sky.

If you've never been to Death Valley, put it on your list....

But we are heading out of California, back to Nevada.

For a day spent here.... Quiltique in Henderson.

Making this Granny Squared quilt under the expert guidance of Anita.

Everyone is soon sewing happily.

The classroom is light and cool

And the quilters are, as always, very friendly and helpful. Sandy shared her ruler with us!

And this is what was achieved....

.... despite breaks for country fried chicken and apple pie....

And looooong breaks spent photographing everything in the shop. Quiltique always has lots of inspirational projects. This booth is dedicated to Camille Roskelley, a local quilter.

Her patterns are lovely.

The bag is on the 'to do' list.

Lovely fabric.

Wonky log cabin.

And a cat made with the 'evil tool'.

Lovely hearts...

.... piled up like muffins

Unusual quilts.

Camille's spools...

And mini spools...

Bought the pattern for this one...

A cheerful kite pillow.

A red, white and blue area, might try the cushion.

More Americana...

And an idea for using all of that plastic tablecloth fabric....

More chevrons, they have followed us in almost every shop.

And Camille's latest line, 'miss kate'.

Jolly log cabin.

Sadly it is soon time to say goodbye to our class mates after 8 hours which whizzed by.

Our first visit to Target.

And Neil we found a couple more!!!

The rest of the evening was spent desperately trying to reduce the weight of our luggage so that we can go shopping in Vegas tomorrow!

 

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A day spent below sea level...

 

In Death Valley you have to get up early....

So we were in the breakfast buffet by 7.30

And out at Badwater not long after that.

It's called Badwater because the water in the small pond there is too salty to drink.

Even at this hour it is over 100 degrees.

The salt flats are very impressive and dangerous. No one goes even a few feet without water. We are advised to drink a gallon of water a day.

Even though it is called Death Valley there is plenty of life here.

Next stop is the Devils Golf Course.

A field of crystallised salts in the middle of the valley floor.

A highlight of the park is this 9 mile drive through canyons where the rocks resemble an artists palette.

The rocks have been stained by minerals.

It's a very silent and eerie place.

Back down to the valley floor.

It's getting hotter and there are fewer people about....

........ we peek into Golden Canyon, but its past 10am now so no hiking allowed.

Just past the visitors centre are the remains of the Harmony Borax Works. Borax was successfully mined here in the 1880s and removed from the valley by the famous 20 mule teams.

We are the only ones there.

Hannibal seems a long way away.

So we scoot back here....

..... to enjoy this lovely spring fed pool for a couple of hours.

There are many places in the Valley to see sunset, but this one takes some beating.

Zabriskie Point.

It is composed of sediments from the Furnace Creek Lake which dried up five million years ago—long before Death Valley came into existence.

Quite breathtaking.

 

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