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Published: October 9th 2006
Road Trip Through California, Arizona, Utah & Nevada (17th August - 10th September, 2006)
Vancouver to San Francisco (Hostel International San Francisco Downtown) - California
There was certainly some very strange looking low lying cloud as we flew down to San Francisco. The cloud appeared to be hugging the coastline. Spent the day exploring the city. Caught a cable car up a very steep street and we all hung on as the guy at the back tightened the brakes. The road levelled out briefly about 3 or 4 times before continuing up steeply. It reminded me of the movies where there is a car chase and the cars become airborne when they speed off the landing and then go down the hill. Walked down the crookedest street (Lombard Street) in the world before reaching Fisherman's Wharf. Bubbergump Shrimp Company apparently existed before the movie Forrest Gump was produced. We discovered the Boudin Bakery which serves chouders and chilli con carnes in sour dough baskets. It was a very long walk to the Golden Gate Bridge from Fisherman's Wharf - completely underestimated by all of us! Walked across the bridge with great views of San Francisco Bay and the city just
before the fog came down completely.
San Francisco to Big Sur (Ventana Campsite) - California
In the US there really isn't such a thing as a 'small car.' Every time we asked the car hire company for a small car we ended up with nothing smaller than what you would class as a family car in Australia. We set off in our huge Pontiac down the Californian coastline to Big Sur. We discovered that it was the long weekend and there were no campsites left in Big Sur. The Ranger recommended we hike to Ventana Campsite (2.5hours walk) where there was only one other group camping. It even had a shower (a freezing swimming hole!). In the middle of the night we had a visitor. I felt something pushing against me through the tent and then the rustle of a bag. I promptly woke up Bern & Elizabeth in such a state telling them to get a torch. They thought I was having nightmares and didn't appreciate the urgency. Outside the door was a ringtail (a bit bigger than a possum) and it was determined to get in to our food bag. In the morning we discovered that one
Hollywood Sign, LA
View from Beachwood Streetof our bagels had a bite missing!
Big Sur to Los Angeles (Malibu RV & Camping Park x 2 nights) - California
Continued our drive down the coast admiring some of the mansions surrounded by palms and big security systems! Still being the long weekend we were very lucky to get a campsite at Malibu, overlooking the beach!
After a drive down Sunset Boulevard we headed to Griffiths Park in search of the Hollywood Sign. Given that each letter is 50 ft high it shouldn't have been that difficult to find! Walking up the hill around Griffiths Park we must have had a sign on our foreheads saying 'we are looking for the hollywood sign.' The next thing we know an LA councillor is introducing himself and apologizing for the sign being covered in smog today. As the smog cleared we got a glimpse of the sign on the way down. After checking out all the stars on Hollywood Boulevard we headed to Santa Monica for a swim at Muscle Beach.
Los Angeles to Anaheim (Camperland - Harbour Boulevard x 4 nights) - California
We had a fantastic day at Universal Studios seeing all the shows and enjoying
Toon Town
Bern in Toon Town, Disneyland. all the rides. It certainly gave me a better appreciation of why movies take so long to make and are so expensive. That evening we drove to Anaheim and spent the next 3 days being 'big kids' at Disneyland and California Adventureland. Toon town was very cute with some of the disney characters walking around their houses here. Bern and Elizabeth insisted that we would be going on every ride and we did. Even the ones where it would have looked better if we had kids with us and the ones that scared our pants off!
Anaheim to San Diego & Tijuana (KOA - North 2nd Street x 3 nights) - California
Elizabeth had a very bad tooth ache for past few days (not from eating too many lollies at Disneyland) and had to have a root canal at a dentist in Anaheim. Although there would have been more space in the tent Bern and I did wait the few hours for Elizabeth to be finished at the dentist before continuing along the Californian coastline to San Diego! The tent we had was technically only a 2 man tent. With a little bit of strategic planning the 3 of
us fitted. The Kampgrounds of America (KOA) campground was fantastic. We made good use of their pool and had a wine or 2 in the spa.
A very fun day at Seaworld. Shamu (the killer whale) was impressive as was the seal shows.
We caught a trolley (tram) to the US border and walked across to Tijuana in Mexico. It was really quite dirty and as soon as we crossed the border we were hasseled by dodgey taxi drivers wanting to drive us the 1km in to town. After a big mexican lunch including margaritas and cocktails we waited over a hour in the heat to get back across the border. Over lunch a man who we thought worked at the restaurant proceeded to pour Tequila down Bern and Elizabeth's throats while blowing a whistle without any warning. Of course he then asked for some money!
San Diego to Joshua Tree National Park (Hidden Valley Campsite) - California
Leaving San Diego we drove through Palm Springs. Although full of palm trees it was a very dry and desolate place. We continued on to the Joshua Tree National Park spotting a road runner on the way but no coyote. And
I thought road runners were just in the cartoons! Spectcular national park full of joshua trees and loads of cacti. Also spotted some jack rabbits, cotton tails and kangaroo rats.
Joshua Tree NP to Grand Canyon (Mather Campsite) - Arizona
Route 66 (the 1st road built in 1926 linking the east to the west from Chicago to Santa Monica) took us some of the way to the Grand Canyon through the desert. Got our first glimpse of the canyon over a picnic dinner as the sun was setting at Mather point.
Overnight Hike in to Grand Canyon (Bright Angel Campsite) - Arizona
The evening before we had missed getting to the Backcountry Visitors Centre before it closed to get our permit to hike in to the canyon. The Ranger who issued our permit the following morning strongly advised against hiking between 10am-4pm because of the heat. It was expected to be 108 degrees farenheit (42 degrees celsius) in the canyon today. Over 250 people are rescued from the canyon each year. We spent the morning exploring the rim of the canyon and admiring the spectacular views. We left at 3pm and it took us 4 hours to reach
the botton via the South Kaibab Trail. Although we were going down the whole time it was still very hot and I didn't feel too well by the time we got to the bottom. I think I really needed a drink of something other than water but unfortunately we didn't have anything. I felt a lot better the next morning but had to keep drinking a lot.
Grand Canyon to Navajo Indian Reservation (Monument Valley - Mitten View Campsite) - Arizona
We walked out via the Bright Angel Trail at 6am which took us close to 7 hours with lots of breaks. Saw our 2nd baby snake on the trail under a rock. The first was a black and white striped snake near our campsite. A walker behind us said she had seen a rattlesnake on the trail. The Ranger did warn us among other things to always watch where we placed our hands because of rattlesnakes, scorpians and tarantulas! It truly was the wild, wild west.
Drove along the east rim of the Grand Canyon as we left the park and entered the Navajo Indian Reservation. We had quite a lot of difficulty finding our campsite in the
dark.
Navajo Indian Reservation to Canyonlands (Horsethief Campground) - Utah
Spent the morning driving around Monument Valley where there were lots of big rock formations. Spotted a couple of Indian sweat houses. We were sweating enough in the heat!
Crossed in to the state of Utah. In the distance we could see lightening bolts and twisters! We later met an American woman who got caught in a twister only the day before and her Honda that she was driving was moved slightly across the road and she got quite a fright.
Just out of Moab we spotted some Wild Turkeys crossing the road and then a coyote. But no road runner! Arriving in Canyonlands just as the sun was setting was beautiful. Another sensational campsite.
Canyonlands to Bryce Canyon National Park (North Campground) - Utah
Spent the day exploring the Northern section of Canyonlands NP which is called Island in the Sky. At the Gand View Point Overlook a Ranger gave a 20 minute talk on Geology and taught us the geology dance which Bern and Elizabeth will be more than happy to show you all some time!
We had lunch in the Dead Horse State Park where
Buffalo
Near Zion National Park. there are great views of the Green and Colorado Rivers.
Bryce Canyon NP to Zion National Park (South Campground) - Utah
It was another hot day exploring Bryce Canyon before we headed to Zion. The most interesting part of the canyon was an amphitheatre full of stone statues that looked a bit like a crowd of people. The indians believed that they were once people that had been turned in to stone by a wolf.
The drive down in to Zion Canyon was spectacular. A shuttle bus took us from the campsite to the end of the canyon where it narrows along the river. We saw a baby deer with its mum on the way back, the smallest we've seen. It was tiny.
A Ranger in Zion gave an evening talk on night predators. There was a lot of talk about tarantulas and Mountain Lions!
Zion NP to Las Vegas (Circus Circus Hotel) - Nevada
From Zion we drove through the Sierra Nevada Desert, stopping at Hoover Dam before reaching Las Vegas. Hoover Dam is one of the greatest modern engineering projects. When the Colorado River was blocked during the dam construction, two huge lakes were formed, Lake
The Lights of Vegas
Circus Circus Hotel & Casino Meade and Lake Mohave.
It was almost unbearably hot in Vegas. Thankfully we had an air conditioned room and the hotel had a pool. Our hotel room was cheaper than our campsite at Malibu! We made the most of the cheap buffets and discounted shows in Vegas. But may have felt slightly unwell after 2 buffets in 2 days. We saw the American Superstars who did take offs of famous American singers including Michael Jackson and Elvis. Wedding chapels everywhere along the strip and we saw plenty of wedding parties. Most of the casinos have their own chapel.
Las Vegas to Death Valley National Park (Furnace Creek Campground) - California
After finishing doing the rounds of the casinos along The Strip (and enjoying every bit of the air conditioning) we saw a brilliant magic and comedy show by Mac King. He was brilliant. When I say 'doing the rounds' I mean walking through the casinos, having a look at any free shows they run and moving on to the next one. And there really are a lot of lights in Vegas. It was good to see Vegas but one night there was certainly enough for me.
Driving towards Death
Death Valley
45 degrees during the day and over 30 degrees overnight! Valley that evening there was a lightening storm and it continued throughout the night. When we reached Furnace Creek we understood the significance of its name immediately. There wasn't any cold water. It didn't matter how long you ran the tap for, it still came out hot. Throughout the night the temperature wouldn't have dropped below 30 degrees celsius. When it rained and we had to get up and put the fly on the tent we only left it on for 5 minutes and then took it off again! I didn't get much sleep. I spent most of the night watching the lightening and worrying about being struck or sucked up by a twister. We couldn't even peg the tent down because the ground was rock hard.
Death Valley to Yosemite NP(Tuolumne Meadows Campground x 2 nights & Crane Flat x 2 nights)- California
It wasn't until today that we learned that we had been sleeping at 30 metres below sea level. We then drove to the lowest and hottest place in the Western Hemisphere called Badwater which was 86 metres below sea level. It was 46 degrees celsius as we drove around Death Valley. Most of the sightseeing
Marmot
Gaynor Lakes in Yosemite National Park. just had to be done from inside the car.
Thankfully when we reached Yosemite we started off in the meadows which was at over 2500 metres. Stunning views as we came in to the north end of the park. Apparently our campsite used to have 3 or 4 bears hanging around and looking for food but recently many have been killed or badly injured in road accidents. We did get a fright when we walked to the toilet in the dark thinking a bear had just crossed our path only it was a deer.
We kind of forgot about adjusting to the altitude changes. I really felt as if I was struggling on a couple of walks we did that were by no means strenuous and then realised that we were close to 3000 metres. At Gaynor Lakes we spotted what we thought was our first beaver. In fact we saw 3 but later learned that they were marmots. It was still another exciting wildlife moment!
It was warmer in Yosemite Valley but nothing comparable to Death Valley! I thought it was just as beautiful in the Valley as in the meadows but there was certainly a lot more people
Half Dome
Yosemite National Park in the valley. A Ranger who worked for Yosemite Search and Rescue gave a talk one evening which was really interesting and well worth going to.
Yosemite NP to San Francisco (Hostel International San Francisco Downtown) - California
Back in San Fran there was a bit of birthday shopping going on and then we headed to Fisherman's Wharf where our night Alcatraz tour left from. Thick fog came in and by the time we left, Alcatraz was bearly visible. The walking tour of the island and the prison cells was great and made even more eerie by the presence of the fog, wind and darkness. We were told lots of stories about the prisoners and their escapes and the prisoners who were unaccounted for. It was then left to us to decide whether the prisoners would have made it across San Francisco Bay after their escape.
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