Matt and Mel

So here is our final installment, back in California. With only 3 days and about 1000 miles to cover we had to put our foot down and race to Death Valley. We drove for several hours through utterly empty desert. We were planning to stop in Death Valley Junction (the only town for several hundred miles) to get some food etc. before heading into the national park but when we got there all we found was a handful of abandoned houses and a boarded up shop. Bizarrely there was also an opera house! This ghost town in the desert was very creepy, so we changed our plans and ploughed on, reaching Death Valley National Park in the later afternoon. Death Valley is one of the hottest/driest places on earth and the lowest point in the USA ... read more

Hello Readers, So this entry follows our journey through the Rocky Mountains starting at Yellowstone and ending at Boulder. We actually weaved in and out of the Rockies so some of the places mentioned are not strictly part of the mountain range, for example Salt Lake City. We arrived at Yellowstone after a mammoth drive, only to be assaulted by a barrage of neon signs, t-shirt shops and over-weight RV-ers, to top it off the campground we were aiming for was full so we had to spend the night outside the national park. The next morning we cautiously entered the park and thankfully left the tackiness and overcrowding at the gates. Once inside the park we spent the next 3 days in awe. The scenery was beautiful; we saw some incredible coloured springs (Grand Prismic Spring ... read more

So! Here is our first entry. Let’s just say the arrival into San Francisco was a little rocky. We were tired and flight-smelly, wandering the North Beach area with our rucksacks when we finally walked past a little door saying Europa Hotel sandwiched between several adult shops and topless bars… Upon entering the building the caretaker cheerfully told us that until recently the hotel had been a pension for old men (several of whom where still in residence there). Well, after a good sleep and in the sunny light of the San Francisco morning it didn’t seem too dodgy and we set off for what would be 5 days of non-stop up hill walking along the never-ending streets of San Fran! First stop Mama’s. We read about this breakfast place in the guidebook and it was ... read more