Blogs from United States, North America - page 8

Sorry for the lack of updates. We didn't have internet access whilst we were in Yosemite and have only just acquired it now we have arrived in Las Vegas. We left San Francisco on Monday and on our way out of the city, we drove down the famous winding Lombard street that has been in various films etc. Our hotel was located just outside of the Yosemite national park entrance and had a great view of the Merced river that flows through the park. The park covers over 3000 square km with numerous peaks and valleys providing spectacular views. We went rafting down the river and were able to enjoy the views whilst drifting on the water. The flow was generally slow moving, although it did get a little more lively at some points which was ... read more

After a great ride through more Amish lush green farming country, here we are in Gettysburg. Not what I expected, thought it was a tribute to the rock band "Rush". First impressions: historic, pretty, spotlessly clean, pleasantly surprised that it wasn't commercialized, still very authentic. The small town remains a living part of history with a population of 7,000. We had a real history lesson today on what makes the town famous, namely the three bloodiest days of the Civil War battle and Abraham Lincoln's resulting Gettysburg Address. In 3 days, there were 51,000 casualties in a 4 square mile area (see photos). We actually visited the much appreciated air conditioned museum which is situated on the battlefield itself. It is incredibly laid out and very well presented. The tour starts with a powerful video, narrated ... read more

June 13 My travels began yesterday with a rather uneventful flight down to Seattle and my typical bad night's sleep in a decent hotel the night before a flight. I did, however, meet a man on the plane. A teacher/administrator who did three years in Emmonak! We swapped "living in the bush" stories much of the flight. Of course, we discovered all over again that Alaska is really just one big village. Today was all nerves and fidgets as I got into the Prius I was smooth talked into upgrading to. The flight to San Francisco was great - packed plane - but a good flight. I couldn't believe how far it is out to the rental car lot! And the mass amount of humanity sitting and standing and waiting in the lines! It only took ... read more

Yosemite to San Francisco. Time to head West to the coast at San Francisco. First though, a little more exploration of this stunning National Forest as the drive to the coast should only take us 4 hours we had a little time to spare first. After checking out of the hotel we drove back towards Yosemite village and found ourselves stopping several times on the way, as the views were breathtaking. We were glad we had retained our entrance ticket to the park as we had to show it at several checkpoints and two cars in front had lost theirs so had to pay again. At our first stopping point we were going just across the road to see a waterfall, leaving the car with the roof open (and bags and a case on the back ... read more