Death Valley to San Francisco

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Death Valley to San Francisco - 28th to 30th October

With our final farewells to Nicole and Las Vegas and armed with our third and final hire car we set off towards Death Valley. We arrived shortly after nightfall and instead of driving around looking for camping we decided we would bunk it in the car in a hotel car park that we´d found (always popular for us!) An unsettled night sleep in the car was had but its only advantage was that we were able to get to Badwater, the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere (282ft. below sea level) for the recommended sunrise. The sun came up over the hills changing the colours of the landscape every second. The area was pretty deserted except for a couple of photographers so it was great to think we were the lowest people in the Western Hemisphere where I promptly performed a handstand to replicate the one I did when I was last in Death Valley 16 years ago.

Next we stopped at Devils Golf Course, where salt could be seen crystalising through cracks in the desert floor. We then drove through the rest of Death Valley with its diverse landscape even passing through sand dunes, it wasn´t long until the temperatures began to rise and there were loads of warning signs about overheating, so we were glad we weren’t visiting in the intense heat of summer.

Our drive to San Francisco took us through Yosemite National Park, along the Tioga Pass. It was a beautiful drive and we were lucky to be on it as it is usually shut until mid April. We drove past giant California Redwoods and also spotted a kit fox playing in the long grass with a rainbow in the sky above it. We passed up high into the Sierra Nevada’s and once again we saw snow and frozen lakes. It was amazing to see the contrast between Death Valley and Yosemite National Park being only 4 hours drive apart.

Eventually we arrived at 10.30pm, checked into a motel and went straight to sleep.

Friday 30th October

Ready to see what San Fran had to offer we set off on foot to Fisherman’s Wharf, the Wharf was busy with tourists and street performers, with the quayside full of interesting shops and restaurants. We went straight to Pier 33 to board the ferry to the Island of Alcatraz. It was a nice ride over and gave us good views of San Fran. When we arrived we skipped the introduction and got a telling off from a man for walking up the hill without listening to him first, but he was giving mindless advice! The audio tour of Alcatraz was great, especially as there were real life interviews with ex prisoners and guards. It was quite eerie being in the cells especially the isolation rooms which would have been pitch black. We saw the exercise yard, officer’s quarters and escape route used by 3 inmates who were never found. We too managed to escape and once back on the mainland we went to Chinatown for lunch. Although the hills of San Fran made for a little difficult walking it did allow us to see a lot more of the buildings set upon the hillside and both Doddy and I thought it was a very attractive city with a good vibe. We walked back through Fisherman´s Wharf to the motel and picked up the car, then drove to Golden Gate Bridge. The bride was massive and is constantly being painted to maintain its red colour. We parked the car and walked half way over to admire the San Fran skyline and waterfront. We took the scenic route out of San Francisco taking us onto Route 1, the coastal highway that would provide us with breathtaking views and sunsets on our way to LA.

Once the sun had set we stopped off at an English pub, although not a very English one inside and got some info on campsites, all very good until we realized the first one didn´t take tents and the second one was going to be $65. Instead we carried on driving to the sleepy town of Santa Cruz where we enjoyed a pizza and had little joy with finding a campsite for less than $65, so yep it was another night in the car just north of Santa Cruz.

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Comments

[wendy Graham]

Hello
It looks like you are having an amazing time. Dan keeps asking us to show him were you are on his Globe ( which is quite small.) so we think we will have to buy a map of the world and start putting pins on it to show him were you are. You will also be pleased to know that Dan has sung ( to the whole class) the shark song... which apparently they all loved. Any way all is well here Christmas fast approaching ... work is going well will be taking my first salary end of December which is much needed! Dan and Tom both got a light sabar for being good ( well Tom for being Potty trained) Any way they are now obsessed with Star Wars. I had to go to work early the other day at 5.45am and left Chris still in bed.... with Tom who was wide awake wearing a knights hat and light sabar saying " I am your farther Luke!" Chris just moaned " its not morning yet Tom" Any way its great to follow your adventure. Take care and have fun! Wendy Chris Dan and Tom xx

[mandy]

i love san fran!
great pics guys, went to san fran as my little sis lives in los angeles.xxxxxxxxxxxxxx