DISNEYLAND – THE ORIGINAL

We’re posting in flashback from England again. This is our last post about the USA. Our last day was spent at Disneyland and what a fantastic way to end the trip this was.

Disneyland was the brainchild of Walt Disney, wanting to create a place where children and adults could have fun together. The other reason for its existence is the fact that the general public wanted to meet Mickey and Minnie and all the other wonderful cartoon characters. After a lot of hard work by many people, the most by Walt himself, and for the cost of $17 million the park opened on July 18, 1954. Although, the first day was an absolute disaster, dubbed Black Friday forever. LA was going through a heat wave and the recently laid tarmac melted as people were walking on it. The plumber couldn’t complete the water fountain installation meaning there was no water for people to drink. Counterfeit tickets were created meaning 30,000 instead of 15,000 guests turned up and the catering was insufficient. To top off all that there was a gas leak causing the shutting of half the park. All in all a disaster but in the days to follow all was sorted and it has been a success story ever since.

It really is a place to have fun with children, even big ones like us. We thoroughly enjoyed a day and night of wonder looking around and riding as much as possible. It is always packed with people so a lot of time is spent in queues but you get there in the end. Half the fun we had in the day was watching little children light up in wonder as a favourite character would pass, especially during the daily parade, at this time of year Christmas themed. We loved Mickey’s Toon Town and Fantasyland, getting lost in these make believe worlds.

We went home to rug up for the evening and to eat dinner and then headed back in for the night. The lights were just gorgeous creating the magical atmosphere that Disney is famous for. We were treated to a spectacular show called Fantastica which is the dream world of Mickey Mouse projected onto a misty water screen and includes appearances of lots of wonderful characters. Between shows we fitted in a our last few rides and in our opinion the best rides in the park. The New Orleans style haunted house was just the right amount of spooky and we loved the Indiana Jones Adventure ride, although our absolutely favourite was the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. The fireworks were just spectacular and a very fitting end to our time in the USA. We all decided that as much as we had really enjoyed our Disney adventure we would not plan a holiday around it, it was just good to do as a part of our LA adventure. Universal Studios we felt was a much better adventure along the theme park line with much better rides for us adults, a win to Florida.

Well, this was the last night for our USA adventures as we settled down to a lovely hotel stay, free from our Wyndham rewards, and woke to do our final pack. We had talked our way into a late check out at 2pm so perfect for our then trouble free trip to the airport to drop off the car. Alamo is a rental car company I would recommend to anyone, they have been a trouble free experience and have gone out of their way to make it so. We have completed 13,100 miles of travels through this amazing country of natural wonders, big cities and very interesting people. Time to return to Blighty to see our family before returning to Australia so do stay tuned for more fun to end our world adventure, or part of it at least.

We had a trouble free flight and were met by Graham right on time, helped by following our flights progress on the good old iPad. It is a bright but cold sunny day and we enjoy the last minute views from flight over England of the green fields and hedges. Back on the ground we spend our time catching up on what has been happening over the last 3 months and reliving some of our adventures. The Bells welcomes back with the Christmas lights shining and fire glowing bright, just gorgeous. It is so good to be back.

Photos can be found on our Facebook page in the album DISNEYLAND.

HOLLYWOOD, LOS ANGELES AND BEVERLY HILLS

We’re now back in England getting ready to spend another wonderful Christmas with family. This post is about the rest of our time in Los Angeles, Hollywood and Beverly Hills up until our last day in the USA at Disneyland.

So, what else did we get up to? Next stop was Hollywood where we spent most of an afternoon at the Hollywood Museum that is housed in the Max Factor Building. Yes, you are right, this is the building purchased by Max Factor in 1928 and eventually opened as the place of business and creation by the man himself in 1935. Hollywood’s ‘make up king’ was considered the father of modern “make-up”. Born in Poland, Max Factor became the beautician/make-up artist to Russia’s Czar Nicholas II and his family. After immigrating with his family to the United States in 1908, he fulfilled the American Dream. Through his innovative ideas, and hard work, Factor built a cosmetic empire. From Hollywood royalty to housewives of America, Max Factor’s stylistic genius changed our vision of beauty. He created silver screen gods and goddesses as well as a new look for the everyday woman. I cannot imagine that there would be any woman who has not had a Max Factor item in their make up bag at some point. This is the place where it all began.

Max was a pioneer that recognized that the make up and skin tones must match the hair colour, something especially important once the camera is rolling. He was the person who made Marilyn Monroe blonde and Lucille Ball a red head and proceeded to create the makeup to suit. He is also the creator of lipstick. Where would we be without this amazing man? The most bizarre thing to see is his beauty calibrator. Max invented this scary-looking machine to aid in the perfect application of makeup. The contraption helped identify the areas of a person’s face that needed to be enhanced or disguised. The beauty micrometer became a huge hit in the movie industry. It actually looks more like a sophisticated object of torture and apparently ended up being used in horror movies. Not his greatest success but you have to admit he went to all sorts of lengths to get the perfect ‘look’ for the women, and men, of the world.

It is a fabulous Hollywood Regency Art Deco building that greets you with the gorgeous white and rose marble lobby complete with chandeliers and gold leaf. On this floor one can browse through the original make up rooms designated by hair colour. There are four floors of photos, memorabilia, horror, costumes and so much more from days of old and modern movies. It was a pleasure to be lost amongst all these treasures.

We are lucky enough to be in town for a movie premiere for Inherent Vice, so we spend a couple more hours just wandering around Hollywood Boulevard, soaking in this surreal world and checking out the stars on the pavement, that make this the Hollywood Walk of Fame, before securing our spot outside Hooters opposite the TCL Chinese Theatre, hoping it is the one that will give us the best view of the stars. We are not disappointed as the evening unfolds and we get to see the stars, our favourites being Reece Witherspoon, Jena Malone from Hunger Games fame and Maya Rudolph from Bridesmaids fame. What a fabulous day in down town Hollywood.

Another day is spent touring around and exploring Beverley Hills, Rodeo Drive (just gorgeous but a little out of the adventure budget) and the Hollywood Hills. No more stars spotted on this day. In daylight this is not really that spectacular, it does tend to sparkle a bit more in the night. You can see lots of big gates to big properties but privacy is the issue here, and who would expect anything less. The views over LA are great from up on the hill but it is just a sprawling urban mass with a surprisingly small high-rise district. We pop into the centre of town to the Town Hall and are able to pop up to the 27^th floor that offers a wonderful view of the inner city and surrounds. All in all we soak up as much as we can before we head back in the atrocious traffic to get to our beds. We all decide that unless we were to be stars we would not want to live and commute in this city, it would drive you absolutely crazy tackling the traffic on a daily basis.

Time is running out very quickly now but we have one more adventure planned for out last day and night, a trip to Disney Land. We have done all the packing and are moving into a 4 and ½ star hotel right at the gate so we will have a fantastic day of adventure and childhood fun followed by a lovely evening before we head off to the airport tomorrow. We’ll tell you all about it later.

Photos can be found on our Facebook page in the album HOLLYWOOD, LOS ANGELES AND BEVERLY HILLS.

LAKERS IN LOS ANGELES

We have been making our way to LA for this specific day for a very special reason. We have tickets to a Lakers game tonight. We spend our day sorting out our plan of attack for between now and the end of our journey in the US on the 14th, accommodation, what we want to see and experience, getting in supplies and generally doing the house keeping and taking a little time to rest before the big night.

Off we go into the heart of LA to the Staples centre. The traffic is horrendous causing tense moments as the minutes tick past, even though we know we have left ourselves plenty of time. We are just as excited to see the venue as the game. This is a state of the art venue lit up to thrill and excite and we are excited. We find our seats, way up high, and look down with anticipation wondering why there are so many seats vacant. This does not last for long as people suddenly start to fill nearly all the seats, a great crowd of fans. The game is about to begin and the players hit the court.

On a sombre note, during the warm up the Lakers players are wearing black T shirts printed with ‘I Can’t Breathe’ in support of a young black unarmed man, Eric Garner, tragically chocked to death by a police officer whilst being arrested for suspicion of selling individual untaxed cigarettes, his last words shown on CCTV video being ‘I Can’t Breathe”. Another recent case in the news is the death of another young man, Michael Brown, shot and killed by police while unarmed and holding his hands up. It seems that in both cases there was a felony committed and both seemed to be resisting arrest, although neither deserved death. In both these cases the officers involved have been cleared of any wrongdoing. This has caused hot debate in the news during our travels and there is a growing protest amongst high profile sporting identities, black and brown communities and across all sections of society in general. Some of the reports I have seen highlight the need for change on how the young community and the police view each other and how both need to reflect that the police are there to protect the community and neither is an enemy to the other.

Earlier in our trip I met a woman serving in a remote US Post Office who was a victim of crime, her police officer son having been killed by a young man running from a crime, eventually caught and now serving a jail sentence. These incidents highlight an ongoing issue that, by all reports, is in a very heightened state of conflict at this moment in time. I do not presume to know enough about any of these issues to comment, and we all know how the media inflame these situations, but we hope for a peaceful resolution and better understanding on all sides. Understanding cannot be reached overnight and requires years of education and reconciliation, acceptance and a desire on all sides to live within the law, respect ones self and each other and each other’s property. Is this achievable in any country in the world? I hope so.

Watching the warm up is fun and they seem to not miss a shot as they practice, especially Kobe Bryant. The crowd erupts into what will be a continuing hub of excitement as the Lakers take on the Sacramento Kings. Game on, and the Kings are off to an early lead that the Lakers spend the entire game trying to catch, sometimes levelling but always dropping back again. The crowd is enthusiastic to say the least and they are very vocal when certain players miss their shots. We are impressed by the actual presence of an official Lakers band that play great music fitting to the moment getting all the fans cheering on their favourite team.

During the game we are reminded that Bryant is getting closer and closer to overtaking Michael Jordan to becoming the third highest points scorer of all time behind Karl Malone and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. These four giants of the game are the only players to have scored over 32,000 points. Tonight is not the night but with only 31 points now required the next game is going to be crazy, sadly it is not a home game, tragic for the fans (Note, next game completed and now only requires 9 points but it’s still an away game next). This guy is awesome to watch, poetry in motion, not showy or flash, just brilliant and has an impact on the game as soon as he steps on the court. We are so glad we have had the chance to see him in person. How far will he go up the points ladder in his career and will he catch Kareem on 38,387 or Karl on 36,928. It is a big ask for this 6’6” 36 year old, who has played basketball professionally since he left High School and always for the Lakers. I feel it is more likely that he will retire a champion and give his battered bodied a rest. Good luck Kobe, we will be watching closely to see how far you will go.

Also on offer to all the fans is free Taco’s if the Lakers win the game and the Kings are kept under 100 points. At the last break we decide together that even if they win it would be highly unlikely that the Kings would not score 100. WRONG. Lakers come up with only minutes to go winning the game 98 to 95. Very exciting to say the least, and not only because we get free tacos!

Game over it is time to leave the stadium. Here is where we have to congratulate the efficiency of the staff at this venue. We have been to many sporting events, concerts etc. and crowd control is always an issue. Not at Staples. It was quite magical how a large number of people were ushered effortlessly out into the street and beyond, all receiving their taco vouchers, within seemingly minutes of the end of the game. Congratulations Staples.

We linger on outside to get photos with the bronze statues of some great sporting heroes, boxer Oscar De La Hoya, hockey star Wayne Gretzky, basketball stars Kareem and Magic Johnson and Jerry West, and long time broadcaster for the Lakers, Chic Hearn. There seems to be plenty of room out there for at least one more sporting giant, good luck Kobe. Our evening is coming to an end as we soak up the atmosphere and the lights of LA. Sadly it is quite a long drive home but at least at this time of night it is a steady flow. What a fabulous start to our LA experience.

Photos can be found on our Facebook page in the album HOLLYWOOD, LOS ANGELES AND BEVERLY HILLS.

JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK

Our airbed has deflated overnight for the second time, must have a slow leak so lucky this is the last time we intend to camp out. Off to an early start, made even earlier by going back a time zone, we head off to the other side of Lake Havasu to see the Parker Dam. This is an interesting structure that is not that large but has created so much. On crossing over to this side of the Lake we are back in California and we are in for a treat, a wonderful scenic route through the rolling hills and steep volcanic mountains.

We are warned of the presence of burros and sure enough within a short distance we have our first wildlife encounter. A mum and offspring are waiting on the edge of the road and come right up to the window of the car as we slow to pass. Stopping to take photos like any good tourist we are an annoyance to a local driver. The Burros that inhabit this region are literally cast offs. They were brought to the area as hard workers during the mining boom in 1858. This short-lived boom was then accompanied by the arrival of the train leaving nothing for the burros to do so they were set free. They have adapted to this harsh environment quite easily, their ancestors having evolved in the harsh North African deserts. We see mainly grey coloured burros with some leg baring but also spot a white one and some black ones. The babies are just so cute, would love to have seen them when new born. Apparently their numbers are kept in check by monitoring the vegetation, once showing signs of overstocking the burros are offered to the public for adoption. Seems a good working program and it is lovely to see these friendly critters along our way.

We arrive at our destination for today, Joshua Tree National Park, quite early, the bonus of a leaking airbed and that extra hour earned. We like this travel back in time but wonder how it is going to hit us when we make the big journey in the opposite direction back to Perth. I think we should all just keep going anti clockwise making life just that little bit longer.

Back to Joshua Tree National Park. Having already experienced the weird and wonderful shapes of the Joshua Tree, thought to have been named by the Mormons as it symbolized to them the arms of Joshua stretching toward the promise land (we relate more to the Dr Seuss analogy), back in Death Valley we had thought that if we ran out of time we could give this Park a miss. What a mistake that would have been! This is a diverse environment where two different deserts meet, the higher elevation of the Mojave desert, famous for the Joshua Tree, and the lower elevation of the Colorado desert, part of the greater Sonoran desert. These two different eco systems come together to form such a rich and wonderful landscape. It is believed that people have inhabited this area for about 5,000 years, from the time of the Pinto Culture through to the miners, homesteaders and ranchers, all leaving evidence of their occupation, some of which can still be viewed throughout the park. This park is home to a surprisingly large and diverse range of plants, bird life, reptiles and wildlife all surviving in the harsh elements of the desert.

We start our visit entering from the south, the Colorado Desert end, stopping at yet another Visitors Centre to grab our last map and valuable advice on how best to see the wonders of this park. We take a couple of short hikes to see one of the five oasis in the park, home to the towering Desert Palms so wonderful in such a harsh world, and also to see a most extraordinary plant called the Teddybear Cholla Cactus; it looks cuddly but certainly not one to get up close too with its sharp needle like spines. There is an area easily accessible which is a veritable sea of these interesting cacti. In the south of the park we also see the Silver Cholla, both are a quite spectacular and different. The south side is a more low level vegetation and gives the feel of the arid world that early inhabitants endured.

As we move northwest, we move into the Mohave side of town. The Joshua trees here are quite large and it is incredible that they can reach this size with the lack of water. They really are a unique tree and in this park there are so many to greet the eye. This end of the park is also a visual wonder because of the rocks. At one time this must have been a violent world of upheaval as the earth pushed and exploded leaving piles of granite rubble in all sorts of shapes and forms. Time and the erosion of wind and water have rounded off the rocky and craggy landscape to form some of the most spectacular and diverse scenery one is likely to see. This park is famous for its perfect rock climbing and is always full of climbers doing their thing. We take a few hikes out, and sure enough, nearly every straight up wall is inhabited by a climber. These are not like the serious climbs up in the mountains, such as Yosemite but I am sure they are still great fun.

We head to one of the highest vantage points in the park at Keys View atop the crest of the Little San Bernardino Mountains, providing panoramic views of the Coachella Valley and as far away as Mexico, and we are lucky enough for it to be a clear day and can see Signal Mountain. Below us we have spectacular views of the shinning Salton Sea, which is 230 feet below sea level, and around us the mountain ranges of Santa Rosa, Indio, San Jacinto Peak of the Peninsular Ranges and the San Gorgonio Mountain topped with snow at 11,500ft. WOW. We are looking over a section of the San Andreas Fault and all its work over millions of years. It truly is a wonderful view. We then head out to the Barker Dam and see that it is just a puddle now after the years of drought. On the rocks one can see water level marks of days gone by and we try to visualize what this area would look like with all that water. Our long day is coming to an end and it is time to leave this fantastic environment.

We are in luck again and as we traverse through the last part of the park we come across a Desert Kit Fox, a rare creature that calls the park home. He is happy to stare at us as we stare right back at him and take photos of this cute little fellow. We stop to chat with a Ranger and ask about the effects of the drought upon the park and its inhabitants. We are advised that all species are adapting to the dry conditions but that there are some losses. Sadly one of the most effected species is the Joshua Tree, apparently if the lack of water is a permanent situation the tree could become extinct within 200 years. This information is quite shocking really, more evidence that we must see what we can while it is still here, and while we are here, for everything changes eventually. Lets hope for a break in the drought and big falls of rain this winter.

Well, this is the end of our National Park journey within the USA. What a journey it has been. We are working on a list of all that we have seen and how we rank these wonderful treasures, be sure to watch the blog for this post. We pop into Palm Springs for a quick look and discover the most enormous wind farm with more turbines than we have seen through Europe, UK and USA put together. This is the San Gorgonio Wind Farm and it is here because of its unique location in the valley that has fantastic winds funneled by the mountains as they rush toward the desert, though tonight there is hardly a turbine moving. This farm is the oldest in the US, built in the 1980’s, and is a history lesson in itself. You can literally see the development of the turbines as the old and new stand together to form a sea of man made structures. There are actually 2,700 turbines producing enough power to run 300,000 homes, three times more power than Palm Springs requires. It is quite a sight to see. Darkness has descended as we hit the highway to join an extraordinary amount of traffic. Tonight we will sleep in the sprawl of Los Angeles.

Photos can be found on our Facebook page in the album JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK – CALIFORNIA.

LEAVING THE TREES – GOING EAST AGAIN TOWARDS DEATH VALLEY

After three nights camping in the big trees and canyons of Yosemite, Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks it was time to move on toward the East again, our next destination being Death Valley and then onto Las Vegas where we were a week ago.

We wake fairly early, as the sun lightens the sky over the mountains, to the shenanigans of deer, doe and buck. It is like she is saying “if you really love me you will follow me anywhere”. She seems to want to skittishly visit every sight, weaving her way around and he following along looking like he thing she has lost her marbles. Really funny to watch.

We have to finish our drive down off the mountain along the very windy switchback road and love seeing the early morning colours down through the valley. The road finally straightens as we hit back into the flats again. After a little highway driving through a very fertile farming/orchard area we stop to shop for food and treat ourselves to another corn dog. They are delicious and this time cost only $1.50, bargain. Onward we travel over dead flat land obviously very good for producing.

We lunched overlooking a very depleted but beautiful Isabella Lake, south of Wofford Heights then heading on we started into a very different climate zone. We have crossed over the High Sierra and down the Eastern side and the land is very arid. We are now in a desert conservation area. These are large hills of rocky outcrops and pasture at first and then the hills begin to look like papier mache as they are like piles of granite doted with a cactus type plant/shrub that we have never seen before. There is also a huge Naval Air Weaponry Base here, sounds a bit scary but guess they have to try things out somewhere.

Soon we are passing through huge basins surrounded by these wild hills into the Trojan area, home of Searles mining. This company uses eco friendly solution mining to produce borax, sodium carbonate and sodium sulfate. These are used to create so many things we use every day such as your windscreen, your flat screen TV, dyes and detergents and many more things. I actually swear by Borax to solve any ant problems at home, mix a teaspoon of honey and borax and put in ants pathway on a flat tray. It will turn black with ants but by morning they will be gone, having delivered the borax back to the nest, very effective.

We are just discussing that the hills remind us a little of the Scottish Highlands although the hills are further apart. This is the most remote we have felt in USA. There are a few cars crossing paths with us but for long lengths of road there is nothing. This feels much more remote than the Prairies or the Plains. We turn a corner up and over the top of a hill and the view is jaw dropping amazing, we all exclaim WOW at once and pull over to see this fantastic sight. We are at the top of a mountain overlooking a massive basin, the Panamint Valley and Range. The valley is huge with mountains surrounding, it actually was a 30 mile drive down and through to the other end, spectacular, and we are not yet in the Death Valley National Park, rather gazing at the outskirts to the West.

By now the sun is nearly down and the colour of the mountains just gorgeous, purples, greys, pinks, orange and white, breathtaking. We arrive in Death Valley and search for a free campsite we have looked up in advance. On finding it we are setting up in the dark, wondering what the morning will bring. We have just climbed up to 5000ft and descended to 4000ft in only a mile along a road like a roller coaster, so think we are in for something special.

KINGS CANYON AND SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARKS

Our next destination is Kings Canyon National Park and we pull in after dark again to set up camp. Tonight is a little different at dinner time though, Mikayla is suddenly making a strange noise of distress when she realizes a raccoon is pulling on our plastic bag right next to her. She was in shock as she had just turned to look straight into two very large bright eyes that just shouldn’t have been there. Our fellow campers must have been having a good laugh as they listened to us as we chased off 3 raccoons and then tried to keep them at bay whilst eating our wraps, very cute persistent little fellows. Good fun and I guess we were lucky it wasn’t the bears.

The morning reveals we are once again in the forest with a pine needle carpet softening our steps but this time we are under some of the largest trees in the world. This is what this area has to offer us. We pop into the Visitors Centre and are helped by a couple of lovely ladies to plan our time here and in Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks, and also take in a movie about the area. It is describing the wonder of the trees and apparently I exclaim a very loud WOW at one point that sends the girls into a fit of laughter, (a bit like the NO over the potatoes at Christmas lunch last year for those who remember haha). We also discover that the road to the High Sierra had been closed only a week before our arrival, rather sad but lucky to have seen a glimpse of this true wilderness during the movie.

We start off on this road to see as far as we can and near to the end we encounter a young fox who we think has been hit by a car and, on initial inspection, seems to have damage to it’s hind leg. He otherwise seems in good health with a very shiny and healthy coat and clear eyes, no mangy appearance or saliva issues. Dilemma. Can’t leave the poor creature just dragging itself along so decide to wrap it in a towel and pop it into a plastic bag, for obvious fluid loss problems, and take it back to the Visitors Centre, hoping they have some sort of rehabilitation centre in the park. It is a hairy ride holding the small creature, being sure to have a secure hold behind its neck so no biting can occur, though he now seems to be in some shock and mostly quite relaxed though still conscious. On our arrival we are greeted by surprised staff and even more surprised fellow visitors. The poor creature is secured in a box and it is decided to take it to a sanctuary just outside the park for a diagnosis. We try to explain that on the initial look that there did seem to be an injury as the ranger is suspicious that he is just sick with rabies, eek. Our decision was based on the fact that if repair is not possible that at least he could be humanely destroyed. In hindsight, a wonderful thing, we were probably mad to have interfered with nature at all, but is being hit by a car a natural thing? At no point did we actually touch the creature and had him quite securely contained with wrapping and gloves so feel we are all quite safe. What would we do if we encounter another injured creature? Probably the same thing. If he had been snarling and seemingly dangerous we would have had to let him struggle on but all we can say is that it seemed the right action to take at the moment.

We are off again to explore the park and our next stop is to see the General Grant Tree, this being the second largest tree in the world. The Sequoia is not the tallest, that honour being claimed by the Redwoods, but because of their width they do take up the largest area, hence the largest in the world. They start from a seed the size of your porridge oats and spend their first years of life striving to gain height and light. Once they are approximately 250 to 300 feet tall they stop growing up and start putting on some weight, a lot like humans really. They just keep on growing outwards though, no see-sawing diets for them. If the conditions are right they become absolutely massive and the conditions here seem to be perfect.

It has been discovered that fire is the Sequoias’ best friend, cleaning out the undergrowth and providing perfect growing conditions. For this reason these massive trunks are scared by fire adding to their beauty. It is a humbling experience, as it was in the Redwoods, to walk between these majestic giants. We move on to the Sequoia National Park and the Crescent Meadow area to meet the General Sherman Tree, the largest tree in the world. WOW again. As we have said before the East may have the leaves, and they are out of this world, but the West has the trees, also some of the most majestic moments of our journey.

We add in a hike up the 400 odd steps to the top of Moro rock, an extraordinary geological specimen that was formed millions of years ago and continues to shed its layers into the valley below. Pictures show it over some 150 years and it is an ever-changing shape. We are inspired by the stupendous views and the actual size of the rock jutting out from the forest floor. The steps have made it easy for us to experience this splendid area. On to the Crescent Meadow for a late afternoon wander hoping to spot a bear or two, very common in this area, to finish off our wildlife experience but we are only able to spot the deer. Perhaps that is for the best but would love to see another bear. Not to be this time as we end our time here and head for campground number three in this fantastic region. It is a long and winding road to head down and takes us about an hour to get to our destination, once again setting up in the dark.

Photos can be found on our Facebook page in the album YOSEMITE, KINGS CANYON AND SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARKS.

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK

The Sierra Nevada is a huge mountain chain on the Eastern side of California and stretching into Nevada. On its western side sit three very special parks that have been preserved for all to enjoy; Yosemite, Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks. These parks were our next stops after San Francisco. Snow has closed the High Sierra in all parks but there is still so much to see, it is truly a special place on earth.

West of this mountain range is a farming area of California that is basically flat. It is a bright blue sunshine day as we set off from Westley toward our next adventure. After a couple of hours the land starts to break into hills of pasture where the road just rolls along between. We stop to lunch at a boat ramp/recreation area on a huge dam. Only problem was that the water is just a thin little stream at this end of the outer reaches from the dam wall, no boat launching going on here for a while, until there is some serious rain.

A little more driving and climbing and we are finally heading into Yosemite. We start our drive down toward the valley floor where we thought we might camp. Along the way we are taking in views of some of the most spectacular granite cliffs you will ever see. Over 3 million people visit this valley every year and you can understand why. Along the valley floor it is a neck breaking view up to the top of the cliffs from the meadows dotted between the dense forest.

On arrival at the campsite we are told reservations were needed and we should have been there in the morning. We had thought it would be OK to just turn up being winter but had not taken into consideration the beautiful weather and it being a Saturday. There are people everywhere and it is muddy and wet and we are not too upset at having to retrace our steps back to near the entrance again to camp. This campsite is just gorgeous, atop the mountain in a treed area with pine needles carpeting the ground. Once again it is a set up in the dark and a picnic dinner in the blackness.

With the dawning of light we are able to fully appreciate the beauty of this area and are so glad we had not stayed down with the masses in the valley. Back on the road again we take in the valley for the third time in yet a different light. This is even more beautiful as the morning sun lights the sheer granite faces on the west side that then seems to reflect over to the east.

We decide to hike the Mirror Lake trail and surprisingly share it with only a few others. It is evident as we travel along that there is no lake at this time so the reflections of Half Dome, a world famous sheer granite rock with a sheer north face, will not be happening. We meet a lovely couple who are actually locals and they explain more of the extent of the drought. They are shocked to see that there is no water at all, something they have not known to happen their entire lives. As we stand in the middle of the sandy lakebed and take in the majesty of the dome we are told that this is its most spectacular lighting in which to view it, once again we just pick the perfect moment to be there. Jon goes on to tell us of the climber, Alex Honnold, the only person to free climb this massive granite face. This is an ascent of 2,000ft without a rope or harness, just a bag of chalk and climbing shoes and a whole lot of nerve. WOW. I truly believe that of all the sportsmen in the world, rock climbers are the most incredible. The fitness and agility required to hang on a rock face by your fingers and toes and traverse hundreds of feet upward is beyond a challenge and absolutely marvelous. What a rush it must be to get to the top, I take my hat off to those who manage this. What a lovely couple we have met again, sharing tales of travels and getting more valuable advice of must see spots to fit into our last weeks here. Thank you Sara and Jon, would love to have spent more time with you both.

We move on to find a picnic spot in the meadow for lunch and take in El Capitan, another famous climbing face and spot a couple of climbers two thirds of the way up just sitting on a ledge taking a break, they are just two little specks of yellow and red, once again you are just amazing guys. We then take another road into the higher lands of Yosemite. This takes us to the Glacier trails and here we are looking out at the Dome from yet another angle, taking in the size of the dome. We have photos from many angles around the park of this dominant natural wonder and they are all amazing. We are standing at 7,000 feet looking straight down and what a view we have of the valley carved by the ancient ice glaciers. This is certainly a view to rival any we saw in Europe, magnificent.

This area offers glacier carved valleys, huge waterfalls, caves and groves of massive trees. We can see the falls that are still running and they are a just a trickle to what we have seen in photos. The extent of the drought is scary. Lets hope it is a very wet winter for California. One can certainly understand why this is one of the most popular parks in the entire world but the day is closing and it is time to move on to Kings Canyon National Park.

Photos can be found on our Facebook page in the album YOSEMITE, KINGS CANYON AND SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARKS.

OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK AND THE TWILIGHT SAGA

We’re still posting in flashback and it seems we will be for a while! This post is from Olympic National Park and Our journey through the sights of The Twilight Saga, don’t let that put you off though! We are now just leaving Las Vegas having traveled down through California stopping at San Francisco, Yosemite, Kings Canyon, Sequoia and Death Valley National Parks along the way. Stay turned for more!

We drive from Seattle to Port Angeles and first stop is a hotel, we are shattered and need to sleep. The next day sees some sunshine but quickly it turns very grey and grim. A very helpful stop at the Olympic National Park Visitor Centre sees us setting off with a plan of attack. This is a highly anticipated stop on our journey.

The park is the highest in the Pacific North West and it is home to such a diverse range of nature, from glacial carved mountain peeks to the temperate Rain Forests, the coastal beaches, 11 major rivers, waterfalls, lakes and a variety of flora and fauna found no where else in the world. It is also home to the Quileute Tribe who have lived here for thousands of years. As with every national park it is unique but few are this diverse. Sadly we have been warned that bad weather is coming tonight so we want to try to see as much as possible before it sets in.

Our first stop is up to Hurricane Ridge. We know we can’t get right to the top but we climb to as high elevation as possible to take in a view that is obscured by low clouds but still awesome. Our trip back down sees us take a back road through the rain forest taking in the amazing variety of trees covered in their rich green mosses. This has taken a good part of the day but we push on to the next trail promising grand waterfalls. It is becoming clear that if we are to reach our camping destination we are going to have to miss some things and also the weather is setting in, decision time, and we head back to the previous nights accommodation in Port Angeles.

The next day we awake to a wild wind but push on to see more of the park. It is no time at all before we are in a full on storm. We are taking it easy on the road, as there is a lot of debris scattered about when a very tall tree falls in front of us blocking the road. Some locals traveling in the opposite direction jump out of their car to start clearing the road and we join them, throwing and dragging branches to the side of the road and getting pretty dirty in the process. We’re almost done clearing when, CRACK, another tree falls behind us, what an adventure and a little scary. We wind our way a few more kilometres and stop to ask for some local advice, carry on or head back. We are told this is normal for this time of year, this being the first of many storms to come and the man is angry he has forgotten his chain saw. That said he felt we were better to push on through and head to the coast, probably being best to avoid the forest.

Well that kind of changed the day’s plans but all things happen for a reason. We are not getting the experience we expected in Olympic but we are certainly experiencing something different. We head to the coast to La Push, the northernmost point of Washington’s Pacific Coast beaches. First beach lies to the south of the Quileute River outlet and is normally a sandy crescent beach with sea stacks enhancing your view to nothing. Well, today is so wild that even the locals are down on the shore to watch nature at it’s best. They say the power is out in town and there is nothing else to do. The ocean is a churning, charging grey that has totally covered the beach to crash into the tree logs that form a break in the channel to smash against the sea walls. Spectacular. The sea birds are even taking refuge in sheltered spots.

We continue our adventures moving around to the north side of the river outlet to Rialto beach and brave a stroll along this amazing wild coast. We are to discover that whole tree logs are constantly moved by the sea and washed into the shore, adding to the beauty of this wild coast. Swimming on a hot day is not advised though; imagine a thirty-metre tree in the surf, more dangerous than a shark I think.

We have come to this part of the world not just for the nature, but also for the Twilight Saga experience. Now I know some of you will not be fans of the trials and tribulations of Bella, Edward, Jacob and their fellow Vampires and Werewolves but we are, so bare with us. La Push is a famous scene in the first movie and we are experiencing it in a similar state, wild and crazy. Though most of the movie was filmed in Canada, this is the area that they all live in the books, because it rains a lot of the time, perfect. We now head into Forks, you guessed it, Twilight guide in hand. The area has totally embraced the movie, must drive the locals mad but also brings in the tourists. Not many around today though. The power is also out here so everything is closed. We make our way around the highlights and finally find Bella’s house and guess what, there is an apple tree fallen in the storm right outside delivering beautiful red apples to the road, this is a sign don’t you think Twilight fans, haha. Look for the famous photo.

Having ‘done’ our Twilight thing, we turn back into travellers and head on down a spectacular coastal drive with views over the wild ocean and the many sea stacks dotted along this shore. Our daylight time is coming to an end so we push on to Kalaloch campground. This is an experience in itself being situated right on the coast with only tree logs by the tonne between us and the Pacific. There is enough daylight left to explore the beach and we marvel at the size of these trees that have travelled by sea to their final resting places. I wonder if they do harm to the shoreline or if they are a natural buffer from the sea. We find a most extraordinary coastal tree that is hanging on to the cliff by it’s roots each side of a small ravine, complete with a small waterfall making its way to the ocean. How can this tree be alive with the majority of it’s root system just hanging in mid air. Nature always delivers something amazing. It is a spectacular sunset over a grey ocean that brings our day to an end and delivers a wonderful night sky full of stars. Love this camping life.

The morning weather is a lot more gentle and we are visited by some lovely birds, 3 very inquisitive Stellar’s Jays and a very large gull. The Jays pop around the car and give us lots of photo opportunities as they are very human friendly and then a large gull decides to come and perch on a fence post not to be outdone for photo poses by the Jays’. We take another stroll on the beach finding interesting flotsam from the nights high tide. Something we had not seen before was the seaweed pulled from the ocean floor root attached. The root is a hard rubber like bulb and tentacle that is about 10 ft long, very interesting. Time to move along. We head to our last destination in Olympic, another rain forest part of the park and traverse a loop road around large Quinault lake and explore some gorgeous old forest growth and some of the parks lovely waterfalls feeding into the river. Time to make some ground till we end our day in Vancouver, WA.

Photos can be found on our Facebook page in the album WASHINGTON.

A link to all our photos, here.

A STOP IN BAVARIAN LEAVENWORTH BEFORE SEATTLE

When we arise the next day we discover it really has been raining and our car is sitting in a new lake. Lucky we were all high and dry. We are in for a driving day through more gorgeous scenery as we move West out of Montana and in to Idaho. This is just a gorgeous area of forest with the Alpine conifers scaling the steep slopes showing off their gorgeous autumn colours. The Alpine Lurch has its glorious golden shedding coat on in all its glory.

Nature just turns on one spectacular vista after another. We pass some lovely little towns along the way. We stop to rummage a little through an antique shop and meet a most delightful man to swap stories with. He and his family are the proud owners of this ever-changing wonderful collection of furniture, memorabilia and bits and bobs. I am particularly drawn to an old restored child’s highchair/ rocking chair and also a very old gramophone. It is the type with the metal records with punched out holes. We hear it play and are so surprised by the quality of the sound, just lovely. We have to be practical and realize this is impossible to achieve, shipping to Australia is just so expensive it is not viable. It has still been a pleasure to chat with such an interesting man and we come out of the shop realizing it was a very long chat as darkness is descending. We drive on to the town of Couer d’Alene and find a place to stay.

Our next day begins with a slightly boring part of the country, very flat and uninteresting, through Lincoln County and Douglas County. We say boring but that is because we have been treated to so much amazing scenery lately that we are almost dismissive of anything that is not out of this world. We have moved into Washington State, and this is really an area of farming with small communities doted along the way.  We are soon heading into Chelan County from Wenatchee on the banks of the Columbus River.  We start to wind our way through some amazing hills.  This time they are not covered with the Alpine Pines, just grasses, but we are treated to some wonderful gorges as the road snakes its way around, up and down the hills.  We come through some small towns until we hit Leavenworth.

We had read a little about this town recently. Before we left Australia I had thought of Leavenworth only as a detention centre, but this is something a bit different.  The entire town is Bavarian styled, and I mean the entire town.  Every building is designed or modified to look like your typical chalet with all the bells and whistles, down to fairy lights and murals and so much more.  It is like America can even do Europe better than Europe.  Even Starbucks is in a chalet.  We stopped for a quick look at this picturesque town and ended up staying over.  It really is pretty and all the Christmas lights are in the trees, very enticing. Those who know us know how much we just love Christmas and all the decorations. Needless to say we have managed to add a couple of little treasures to the suitcase. We have also gained another hour with a time change, so that is 2 hours in a couple of days with the day light saving end, meaning it is getting dark really early too so did not want to be driving in the dark and missing anything.  It was lovely to stop early and enjoy a little rest time with a couple of rented movies and some popcorn.

Our next day we start late as the clouds are so low that we don’t want to miss the views, that’s our excuse anyway, didn’t help much that there was the opportunity to have a late breakfast and in a really nice hotel.  We did the right thing as literally from our front door we started to wind our way through some spectacular mountains, the Okanogan Wenatchee National Forrest along the eastern slopes of the Cascade Range. It is just gorgeous steep sided mountains with many waterfalls carving their way through the rocks heading into the rivers below to add to the cascades tumbling their way to the Pacific.  The white low cloud adds to the mystical appearance of the byway and once again the road winds its way up, down, around and over, every turn a wonderful view over an edge or up from the floor to the towering walls above.  We are lucky again to have made it to the Stevens pass and just about out of the natural area before the rain settles in for a while.

We are lucky again to see it stop for us to make a stop in Seattle.  This is a lovely city built on the steep sloping banks of the water.  We are imagining that the steep roads down toward the bay are a little like San Francisco, we shall see. It reminds us a little of Perth except that we only have two levels instead of about 8.

We decide that the Pike Place Market will be our best spot to stop and soak up a little of what Seattle is like. These markets were established in 1907 and are a busy hub of activity. We enjoy strolling through the markets taking in some original works of art from wood to pottery to leather to jewellery to wool to just about anything and then come to the veggie shops, fish stands and all sorts of culinary treats.  And don’t forget the gorgeous flower stands and the restaurants and eateries all there for the taking. It is not that busy and we chat to some of the vendors as we meander along. We also take in the harbour views from this area too.

One thing we are surprised to see is a lot of homeless disadvantaged people.  They are not actually begging but are obviously struggling and they are more than we have encountered anywhere in our travels.  We do a drive through of the city and love the buildings, especially the Space Needle, a structure built for the 1962 Worlds Fair that towers 605 feet into the air. The outside lift takes you up 520 feet to an observation deck that also has a revolving restaurant.  If you are a Grey’s Anatomy fan you will be very familiar with the UFO design.  Tick another thing off the list.  We push on to get to our destination, Port Angeles, to start our Twilight time and Olympic NP.

Photos are on our Facebook page in the album WASHINGTON.

FURTHER WEST TO DES MOINES AND MADISON COUNTY

Des Moines was incorporated in 1851 and is now the State of Iowa’s Capitol. It is home to the largest State Fair in the country that happens in August, sadly missed that one, that attracts over a million visitors.  We are only here for a short visit and take in the Capitol Building.  This is a spectacular building full of gorgeous detail from the tip of its golden dome, down it’s spiral staircases to the sculpture filled memorial gardens surrounding it. The Library is just wonderful and all rooms are a pleasure to behold. We thoroughly enjoy our visit before pushing on towards Madison County.

We decide to take an exit to Adel to look for a camping spot and located a couple of dodgy looking grounds.  It is late so we decide they will suffice but that we will treat ourselves to a meal out and find the Italian Villages Restaurant.  Put this one on your list if you are in the area.  We were greeted by a lovely young woman who we find out later is the owner of this establishment with her father and brother.  We could not have been welcomed any better as she sat down to hear a little about Australia and our travels.  A couple at a nearby table soon joined in on the conversation and in due coarse another couple moved tables to join us.  We all chatted and we entertained both our new friends and ourselves with tales of our travels.  We remembered all the funny and sometimes sticky situations we had got ourselves into and so enjoyed the chance to relive them with these new friends. Our host  spoiled us with a traditional sticky treat that was quite delicious. We were also given some valuable advice by everyone on what to see and do along our chosen path.  It was a fabulous evening that eventually had to come to an end.  After a group discussion on our camping plans everyone decided we should move on to a much nicer KOA campground and Dawn kindly convoyed us to it.  What lovely people we meet along our way, Dawn was not happy until we were checked in and safe, and that she had a photo of us.  Hopefully we will now keep in contact via email and maybe we will be able to welcome them to Perth one day.

Having caught up on the washing and sorted the car out we are ready to explore for another day.  Off we go to find the Covered Bridges of Madison County, made famous by the movie Bridges of Madison County adapted from the novel of the same name by Robert James Waller. The area once had 19 covered bridges but only 6 now remain.  They were built between 1870 and 1884 by Benton Jones and Eli Cox.  They were covered because it was thought the amazing timber of the bridges was actually worth so much that the extra cost was warranted.  We managed to see 4 of the 6 and enjoyed every one.  They are an engineer and architects dream, each a thing of beauty and ingenuity that the builders must have been very proud of.  The covers actually do a fantastic job as when you enter it is obvious that the old timbers are dry.

It is also obvious that they are frequented by lots of lovers as words of devotion are written over the walls.  It is quite funny to read and then see where some people have actually returned to cross out their pledges of love or just changed the name on the other side of the heart.  It is also apparent that some parts are painted out on a yearly basis as they only have 2014 pledges, whilst others are carved into the timber to last forever.  Paris has it’s bridge of padlocks, as do other copy cat cities of Europe, while Madison County has its bridges.  We also swing by the birth place and childhood home of John Wayne.  Such a lot in a small town, such fun. The rest of our day is spent putting some miles underneath us.

This is a large country and to get from East to West requires that a good portion of the day needs to be behind the wheel.  But being Australian we are quite used to this and enjoy the subtle changes in the scenery.  We hit the end of Iowa near Omaha and turn right to head up through Sioux City, touching Nebraska, but our real destination is South Dakota.

We are moving from the Prairies to the Great Northern Planes and are reminded of the remote area of Western Australia out past Mt Magnet into the Great Sandy Desert, one of our favorite areas. The natural landscape is just gorgeous with the rolling hills, flat prairies and a river running through.  There is just one thing that spoils it and that’s’ the touch of people.  Because it is a road well traveled it is full of huge advertising signs.  By the time you have read them all and get to the destination you are over it and just pass by.  I guess it works for some but for us it would be much better to just enjoy the natural landscape.  Perhaps the signs should be limited to a 20 mile radius of the destination, this would be more than enough to warn you of the coming attraction.  Still, we were keen to have a couple of stops and chose a couple of interesting spots to stop to break up the days.

MAKE YOUR LIFE SPECTACULAR

Over our five weeks of travel so far we have received so much reinforcement that now is the right time to travel for us. When we meet new people they are so interested in what we’re doing and how. A hard answer to give. We’ve taken 2014 off school and work and plan to travel for this time throughout Europe and America. Hopefully back to Australia via Africa and India around January 2015.

At the moment we are in England with family and will be here for about another 2 weeks before heading over to France in our camper van Vincent, who you can read about here and here. After that our only plan is to head south through France, to warmer climates (hopefully), to Spain then move along through Europe seeing what we see (and we want to see as much as we possibly can). I think the beauty of having our own little home on wheels is that if we like a place we will be able to stay and if we don’t we’ll be able to move on. We’re going to see where the wind takes us!

We’ve also been compiling a list of places to visit from the recommendations of friends, new friends we’ve met along the way and family. I can’t wait to see everyone’s favourite places in the world. We are always open to recommendations and travel tips, especially those specific to certain places. What to do, eat and see and equally as important, what not to do, eat and see! By the end we will be able to give our own recommendations, and will do so as we go along through this blog.

Another joy of traveling is the people you meet along the way. We have already met so many lovely people, all so different with interesting stories to tell. People like Dave and Lauren who have just done what we hope to achieve and who, like me, have worked out young that now is the best time to do what you love. What better time is there than the present? And that there is always a way! Life is for living and by living we mean enjoying and filling it! I’m so lucky to have the opportunity to travel, and even luckier to be able to do it with with my Mum and sister. Finally our dreams are coming true!

Yesterday we had a relaxing movie day. The first movie we watched was “Jack”; Robin Williams plays a child with an accelerated aging disorder that means when he is 10 years old he has the appearance of a 40 year old. His body ages rapidly, shortening has life, even though his mind ages normally. At the end, during his valedictorian speech at his high school graduation, he says “make your life spectacular”, I think a very good mantra to live by because life is short anyway.

So where are your favourite places to visit in Europe?

What are your best travel tips?