Advertisement
Published: December 15th 2011
Ok so I am in Brixton, London and have decided to continue with the blogs. Having just read my last entry I am up to 'the adventure outdoor stuff' (from California) I was fortunate enough to experience, ok, here goes.... So an American and Australian bloke and an English girl took a ride across the 'Golden Gate bridge' heading for the 'Redwood forest' which I believe was featured in the recent movie 'Planet of the Apes'. The guy from America was driving around his home country and invited myself and the English girl to join him. It became apparent whilst we were heading there that this was a highlight he had been looking forward to which made it all the more exciting for me. On arriving within the vicinity of the forest it was obvious what a popular tourist destination it is. Cars lined the side of the narrow road for at least a kilometre on both sides where they could squeeze in. Prior to me paying for entrance into the park my American friend shouted to me that he had it covered. He had purchased a pass which allowed him access to a number of National Parks 
Tram
Street in SF with famous method of transportation used there.across the US - bonus!! So petrol money was the least myself and the English girl could offer him.
I am not going to rave on about 'The Redwood' you can look it up, but they are supposedly the tallest tree in the world and only frequent this part of the world (I think). We spent about 2-3 hours walking through the forest along the excellent pathways provided akin to those found amongst the 'The Karri' forest in the Southern part of Western Australia. After walking and exploring we went into the gift shop. I ordered a cup of coffee (why? I do not know, one of the few gripes I have about the US in hindsight is that coffee how we like it in Australia ie 'milky' is not the norm there, they prefer black-water-coffee - Yuck!!) Anyway I remembered a custom I had on occasions divulged in when younger on school trips, that is purchasing souvenir spoons for my Nan, Nanna Gray (Bless her - my mum told me earlier tonight on skype she looks really old now with a hint of sadness in her voice which anyway...) so I bought Nan a The Beatles
Display in the Haight-Ashbury region, they have not forgotten!! spoon.
Once we had purchased our gifts we drove to get something to eat, settling on Mexican, good and affordable. Then our American friend wanted to check out a camping shop and the English girl wanted a camera. Eventually everyone got what they wanted and back to the hostel we went, across the Golden Gate which was now bathed by the partial setting sun as it descended towards the ocean. The American dude was staying at another hostel that night (I think) before continuing his adventure so we bid him farewell and thanked him for the sharing the experience with us. I am not sure of the timeframe between this and my visit to ' Yosemite National Park', and the Giant Sequoias trees maybe a day or two but I did leave for Yosemite on a Saturday morning and returned Sunday night. I was fortunate in that I acquired a relatively cheap fee for the Yos experience. All up I think it cost me US$250 which included transport on the mini bus (4 hrs each way from San Fran), national park entry and a nights accommodation in a hotel near Muir Forrest
Fallen tree (Redwood), not tall anymore, but long? Yes YNP with breakfast included and the expertise of a guide with narration about various happenings in the state of California over the years (include stories of cattle rustling from which cowboy legends spawned) and information about the various fauna and flora we encountered.
The Saturday morning was an early start. I was picked up at 7.30am and was one of about 10 or so people who were taking the last trip of the year offered by this tourist company (before the onset of deep winter). Our first stop only hours away was to purchase alcohol or whatever so wished for the evening as the prices we were informed were expensive in the hotel and YNP. Cool!! I got a 6 pack (as you do for Saturday night fever). Next we stopped for lunch (paid for as part of our package) at a diner then continued on heading south-west from SF into hilly terrain (The Sierra Nevada). I was quite impressed by the scenery as it unfolded (though I did sleep abit on the bus as pointed out by an Elderly Australia Gentleman on holidays with his wife - he was actually impressed with my ability to nod-off, givin the formula one driving adopted by our tour guide and the state of the roads in rural California).
Once we entered the sequoia NP we spent roughly 3 hours walking amongst these unbelievable prehistoric trees, the largest tree in the world. The Groves of Sequoia only frequent this part of the world (now I've seen the tallest trees and the largest trees.....gonna add that to the resume) Back into the bus we went for the drive into YNP. Again I showed great skill in being able to fall asleep whilst Evil Kenevl did his thing (later at the hotel the aussie guy expressed his earlier anxieties stating he thought we were going to career off the road or have an accident such was the exhibition displayed-I guess he did the worrying for me also as I remember waking up every-so-often to see him bolt upright in his chair eyes towards the front of the bus, if something was gonna happen, he was gonna see it coming)!! We headed on towards YNP which is a mecca for rock/mountain climbers from all crevices and cliffs of the world. We pulled up in the bus at a Gift shop
Stupid pose. Bear it please!! great viewing point overlooking Yosemite Valley and almost eye level with some of the most spectacular natural scenery I have ever seen. Granite domes such as Él Capitan' and 'Half dome in the distant demanded your attention and the 'Sierra Nevada' filled the landscape like it belonged on another planet!!!
After this awe inspiring experience and with the sun starting to settle into the mountains we headed into the valley towards our hotel (Yay a night in a room by myself in a big bed with dare I say, TV). After keys were issued and instructions giving regarding breakfast in the hotel the next morning our tour guide left us to our own devices. After a nice shower and a bit of nude walking in my room I headed for the bar/restaurant, had a couple, spoke to some Americans on holiday, joined 2 elderly aussie couples for a drink (who were also on the tour) before heading to my room to make my first phone call to Australia. It was midday in Australia on Sunday and I think the Rugby league and union had just finished with Australia featuring in both games. It was good to speak to Mum and Adam and my niece Lateisha also got on the phone. I quickly filled them in on my holiday to date and dozed off for a good sleep, not before watching a talented guitarist/vocalist on TV (if only I had seen his name on the screen).
Next day, more awesome sights, history told and 4 hours to do whatever we pleased before the bus left for SF. I headed toward the Yosemite upper falls, a lengthy hike in anyone's book, the question was could I get up the top and back down again in 4 hours?? I must have dead - set passed just about everyone who had left that morning before me on the way up, though for a while there I thought I must have taken a wrong turn, I couldn't see anyone on the trail and did not see or hear a waterfall. Finally I heard something like rushing water then it came into view. Magnificent but the summit of which was still a long way from me and to make matters worse I neglected (rather forgot) to bring along water. I scrambled up that mountain as fast as I DSC00206
Driving back to SF was able and finally as I neared the upper 1/3 I ran into a few people at varying stages coming down. The sun really was beating down that day and after 2 hours 45 minutes of walking I had to abort probably with (according to one guy) 25 minutes left. I was fairly shattered and stuffed so I began the descent and my joggers did not pass the test coming down, with frequent slips and slides I had to take it easy. It was amusing on the descent seeing all the people hiking up the mountain looking more fatigued then I could imagine asking me how long to go (even funnier when I realised as I neared the bottom they had ages to go).
The drive back down the Sierra Nevada to SF I managed to stay awake for. The state of the roads, the offensive driving employed by our tour guide and him telling us the bus might shit itself and we may have to get picked up by another kept me enthralled…partly. I think I left SF about 2 days later after the trip spending that time walking round Haight-Ashbury district and SF in general. DSC00207
Driving into the Sierra Nevada Enjoy the photos. My next blog entry will be about my time spent in Houston, Texas, ‘Live Music Capital of the World’. Love to all. Bye for now. Grant
Advertisement
Tot: 0.171s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 6; qc: 44; dbt: 0.0739s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.4mb
