Top reader photos: Drive through Death Valley

Jacqui Barrineau

USA TODAY

A photographer spots a coyote in Death Valley on California Highway 190. "I saw him walking down the highway ... stopped, opened the door, took photos while he walked towards me," J. Todd Dussault says.

Thursday's Take 5 has a twist: Your Take's top picks are a special collection of photos from contributor J. Todd Dussault of Kitchener, Ontario.

In November 2013, Dussault was traveling on California Highway 190 from Las Vegas to San Francisco via Death Valley and Yosemite National Park, when he snapped the Valley's breathtaking landscapes with his Canon EOS Rebel T1i.

The main road transecting Death Valley National Park from east to west is California Highway 190.

"I find any pictures I take are luck of the draw," Dussault says. "I'm no professional but have been lucky to take some great shots along the way."

Lucky indeed. Dussault was driving when he spotted a coyote walking along the highway.

A coyote in Death Valley on California Highway 190.

Dussault explains how he got the shots of the animal: "(I) stopped, opened the door, took photos while he walked towards me."

"I saw him walking down the highway ... stopped, opened the door, took photos while he walked towards me," J. Todd Dussault says.

Also along the highway was an ancient truck that was abandoned long ago.

A abandoned truck sits among rocks along California Highway 190 in Death Valley.

As Dussault continued on his way to San Francisco, he took more photos of the valley's lonely highway, quiet scenes documenting a long drive's moments when it's just driver and highway — and in this case, camera.

Mountains frame a stretch of California Highway 190.

If you have photos that you would like to see featured in our daily Take 5, submit them at yourtake.usatoday.com, where you can also see more fabulous photos from folks just like you. Signing up is easy: Just use your Facebook or Google+ account.

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