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.

ZION NATIONAL PARK AND A REST AT BRYCE CANYON

We head northeast out of Nevada and into Arizona, briefly, then into Utah, a semi arid landscape of rolling rugged hills. We are heading for Zion National Park, highly anticipated. The days are closing early and we have stopped at a gallery that we make more purchases at, not sure how these will pack, so are heading into the park as darkness descends. We head to the first come first serve South Campground to grab a spot and meet the very pleasant camp hosts who help us find one of the few sights left. It is perfectly flat and near to a very nicely kept toilet block, lucky. The sun sets over the mouth of a spectacular canyon of craggy mountains towering above us and the colours are amazing, one of the highlights of this park. We are full of anticipation for the next day.

Let me give you a background on Zion. We have spent a lot of time lately in the parks that showcase the mighty power of earth and all her forces. We have seen effects of the rupturing strength pushing the ancient layers skyward creating spectacular landscapes, some once the floor of huge oceans. We have experienced the power of glacial ice carving, cracking the earth apart. Now we are in a landscape that was essentially huge sand dunes deposited and then compressed into rock over the ages, through which a river system has carved a spectacular landscape.

In Zion one is at ground level with the mountain cliffs sheering upward, a vision of rocks, some smooth and rounded by the power of water and others craggy massive blocks that defy gravity. The Virgin River constantly flows through this landscape continuing to sculpt a wonderful world for all visitors to see, over 3 million a year, all craning their necks upward to experience this stupendous landscape.

This is an area largely developed by the Mormons who came west and populated and broke the land into viable fertile farms that provided a harsh but special life out west. The area surrounding the park is still ‘ranching’ land that we have loved driving through to get this far, with livestock roaming the huge expanse of acres. It is an area full of various gems and rocks of beauty which are displayed for sale at numerous outlets along our journey, rocks we would love to be able to return home with but alas this would be impossible.

We awake early but don’t rush to jump up, it is freezing. Eventually we walk down to the visitor’s center to start our explorations. The majority of this park runs off a road that snakes its way for 18 miles up the canyon. Because it is one way in and the same way out the park has devised a shuttle bus system to try to decongest the area. At this time of year the buses only run on the weekends, and it being Sunday we are obliged to take the shuttle. We spend the day jumping on and off and taking the small hikes to see the sights, along with many others.

It has all been gorgeous, but on reflection that evening we feel we have not done this park justice. There is a highly recommended 4/5 hour hike called Angels Landing, a switchback climb that takes you 1500 feet up the mountain at which point a challenging climb begins out to the top of a huge rocky buttress. We decide this is what we need to do and, after a good nights rest and securing our site for yet another night, we set off to greater heights.

We have spent our coldest night yet in Jetson, how do we know that, the ice on the inside of the car is a good guide. We are soon warming up though as the steep climb unfolds. We eventually reach the challenging part. It is time to get over the fact that it is a very long way down and grab onto a seemingly well attached substantial chain that is a small comfort as one edges their way over smooth sandstone sloping cliff edges traversing around the side of the cliff, eventually coming to a large flat area. This is the spot that decisions need to be made. Some say anyone who gets this far has done really well but from here one can see the real challenge. Angels Landing is actually a huge buttress across a narrow saddle that actually heads down from our present position and then ascends seemingly straight up for quite a climb. We take our time to decide along with many other hikers, taking advice from those on their way down on how tough it actually is. It seems it is more than doable, the general advice being just do it at your own pace. It is decided to head on to complete the challenge.

The chains once again aid the short distance downward and I decide if I can get back up this part I can probably do it all. Guess what, I could, so we continue. At first the edges seem very close and we move with trepidation but eventually it is all about the climb and not about the view, which comes later as a reward.

We eventually reach the top, about 3 hours from our starting point at the car. The view is amazing on the rocky outcrop, not the highest point in the canyon, but definitely one of the most scenic. We meet a very lovely local couple, he has been a wild beach bum Californian traveler in his early years and she is a woman apparently scared of heights, though you certainly wouldn’t guess that, who has completed her second climb to this point. They tell us about the pros and cons of other hikes in the park and yet more history of the area and are really interesting to talk to. We grab a bite to eat and take some amazing photos in glorious sunshine. After about an hour we decide it is time to take the challenge of the decent, something that is in the back of your mind all the way up, how the hell am I going to get down?

In 50 minutes we are back at the decision point, I have spent quite a lot of time on my backside feeling much more connected to earth this way. It has actually not been that bad and we are now the ones encouraging others to keep on going. The biggest trouble was the wind that sprung up just as we were starting our decent, a major danger as you can actually be blown off the mountain. Did I mention there is a sign reminding people to do this at their own risk, 6 having died trying. We have been so lucky again with the weather.

We return to the valley floor 5 hours from beginning and are pleased with our efforts and make our way to the general store just outside the park, ravenous. We have discovered their home made treats and their free to use microwave for campers like us, haha. We devour our hot treats back at our campsite as the sun sets again. We reluctantly endure our cold water washes to clean away the days dust before slipping into our comfortable PJ’s. Not going to be any trouble getting to sleep tonight, though we have rented a DVD, Cast Away, and enjoy watching Tom Hanks and Wilson battle the elements before we call it a night.

Not quite as cold, but still ice on the inside of the windscreen, when we wake to start a day moving on to yet another famous National Park, Bryce Canyon. It is with regret that we move on from Zion knowing now about some other lovely hikes we could have done. This is one of our favorite parks so far and think we should make another visit one day.

Sadly the cold I have started is taking it’s toll, picked up in Vegas somewhere, and energy levels are low. It is a beautiful 60 mile drive to Bryce, so close and yet we are in for a quite different landscape. There will be no long hikes today but we are very lucky in our destination. Bryce is a park that takes in the view from the rim of the Colorado Plateau, spectacular vistas laid before you over this dominantly orange world of hoodoos and windows and other wondrous sculptures. Once again this is a world carved by the elements of wind and water into the sandy stone that has been pushed skyward and is the Plateau. We are treated to easy walks to amazing views, just the trick for our failing energy levels. We are back in snow-covered landscape on the high plateau and it is pretty chilly, though sunny.

More motel time needed is the decision made and we leave the park and the touristy villages and find a very small, almost non-existent in fact, town that has a 3-story hotel with a vacancy sign, The Grand Staircase Inn in Cannonville. We book a very reasonable night and settle in and it is so good that we end up staying 3 nights and not even walking further than the front desk for all this time. Our last day is actually Thanksgiving and we are really thankful to have found this gem in the desert. The family run business is just fantastic. I think the thing that made it so good was the room having a very high vaulted ceiling and king size beds. This probably sounds really strange but it created so much space that we have obviously been missing in our subconscious. Thanks to the Grand Staircase Inn, we will recommend a stay to as many as possible.

The other bonus of downtime is that this blog sees us completely caught up to real time, WOW. We are very pleased with our efforts as we venture on, hopefully with renewed energy. We are sadly running very low on time now and still lots to see. This area is full of National Parks and we will try to see as many as possible with some that are a priority.

Photos can be found on our Facebook page in the album NATIONAL PARKS OF UTAH.

LAS VEGAS MADNESS

As we have spoken to people along the way we have mentioned Las Vegas as one of our destinations and in general the comment has been “do not hold that against us”, haha. As our day of splendor in Death Valley ends we head out of the hills and before us lies a mass of light, out in the middle of nowhere, that sparkles and twinkles on the horizon. As we sink into its midst we are amazed at the brightness and grandeur of this unique city. We settle into our hotel that is very cheap, just off ‘the strip’, and crash, excited about what is to come over the next few days. Vegas is known as a pit of gambling and sin, bright lights and recreations of world icons, a must see that many will tell you to avoid.

Our first day we decide to go out to Hoover Dam. This is quite a feat of human excellence. It was built between 1931 and 1936 giving employment to 21,000 people during the Great Depression. Sadly it cost the lives of 100 men during this time. It is built in the Black Canyon on the Colorado River on the border, literally, of Arizona and Nevada. During our visit we lost an hour crossing the dam wall into Arizona and gained it back on our return to Nevada. The surrounding ground is made up of rock of volcanic origin making it hard and very durable. The structure of the dam is like a whole lot of concrete Lego blocks varying in size that are reinforced and joined together and grouted to give its smooth appearance. It is said that there is enough concrete within the structure to pave a road from San Francisco to New York, now that’s a lot of concrete.

In creating this dam and the hydroelectric power plant, still one of the largest in the country but once the largest in the world, a massive body of water was created, now known as the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. It provides over 9 million visitors a year with all sorts of water based sports and activities. All in all this is a tourist destination of National pride, being the largest dam of it’s time and still considered to be one of Americas’ Seven Civil Engineering Wonders. Needless to say we enjoyed our visit and also very much enjoyed just heading back to a motel to refresh before we made our first visit to ‘the strip’.

Bright lights and crazy images of grandeur and also some crazy people. This has to be the most interesting city we have been to, not in an architectural way or a learned way but in an out there kind of way. There are many shows you can go to from show girls to Cirque du Soleil to Santana and Rod Stewart, love him but saw him back in Perth only a couple of years ago, and many, many more but we have decided to save our pennies and just take in the show that is Las Vegas. The streets are lined with buskers of varying talents, singers, artists, show girls and musicians, some fantastic and others just bazaar. There are the homeless people down on their luck just begging, but not too many. There are some people just dressed up as movie characters or stars that have their photos taken. Then there are others that seem rather sad as they are dressed to attract attention baring all, their costumes grubby and lurid and their demeanor affected by substances. These people we feel sad for, is this what life intended for them, though they seem happy enough?

There are hundreds of hawkers selling tickets, women and bars. The general atmosphere is party town and the lights and grandeur of the many casinos show a world of fun and excitement. It is a town of stretch limousine’s, never seen so many in one street before. There seems to be loads of tourists just taking it all in like us. Lots of families out and about clutching many bags from the M&M store and other themed outlets, girls in higher than high heals that are more often than not in their hands. Young and old mix together to create a fantastic world for people watching.

We venture into quite a few of the casinos and hotels to just take a look at this colourful world and are amazed that Mikayla is allowed to walk through, at 16. The casinos are huge and all have quite a large clientele. We think about the one casino we have in Perth in comparison to the hundreds here and boggle at the thought of how many people are in this city of lights in the middle of the desert. How do they all make enough to survive?

Hotels range from the average to the spectacular, from a New York City skyline, Paris and the Eiffel Tower to the land of Fantasia to Hooters and Super 8, but there are some special spots you just have to see, one of them being the Bellagio. First we head inside to soak up the gorgeous richly decorated spacious interior, probably just a little more expensive than the motel we stay in just around the corner. This is a fantasy world decorated for fall with talking trees, a waterwheel, unicorns, pumpkins and flowers galore, just gorgeous. But all that spectacular extravagance is nothing compared to the water show that is played to music every half an hour at the front entrance. WOW. This is the best show we have seen anywhere, thousands of gallons of water pumped by the second into the air in time to all sorts of music from Singing in the Rain to Top 40 hits. Our first show is to a song that talks of footprints on the world, what could be more apt for us. We are amazed and liken it to fireworks but agree it is perhaps even better. We take in three full shows over our time on the first night before we decide our feet and minds have had enough for one day and crash back into our beds.

We decide we would like to stay yet another night and pop out to get in supplies for lunch, taking our time to just enjoy our own little space and then we head into the movies, this day being the first release of Mockingjay Part One, third movie in The Hunger Games series. Being huge movie fans we are excited to see this follow on and love it. We have timed our visit to end in darkness so we can begin our next night on the strip, heading for the other end of the strip to explore new territory. We stop in at the famous shopping complex, Fashion Show, and spend some time trying on clothes, each finding something nice at a bargain price to add to the ever stretching suitcase, in Macy’s.

We then set off back into the bright lights and head for the other absolute must see hotel of The Venetian and its gondolas. Outside there is yet another spectacular show to see, this time fire. Out of this world burning red hot orange plumes of fire and sparks dance into the night skies every half-hour, amazing. Fatigue is starting to set in again but we must have another couple of Bellagio water shows before we call it a night, our last night here having had our fill of the wondrous, many faced city that is Las Vegas.

It’s not all fantastic but it is unique. Some will visit over and over and some will just see it once because you just have to see it to believe it. Some will lose a fortune and decline to the streets, sadly, and others will just take in the sights and shows and wonder who on earth came up with the idea of this entertainment mecca. You can do it on a budget or go all out. It is a place for everyone yet is probably one of the most transient places in the country. Our time has been fantastic fun but we are now ready to head back to nature where the only lights are the stars in the sky and the spectacular sunset/sunrise vistas provided in this amazing neck of the woods, oh I forgot, we have left the trees behind, its all rocks now.

Photos can be found on our Facebook page in the album LAS VEGAS AND HOOVER DAM – NEVADA.

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.

STUNNING DAY IN SAN FRANCISCO

Still posting in flashback, this time to our visit to San Francisco about two weeks ago. What a great time we had in this city that reminds us of Perth.

Off to an early start we head into the famous San Francisco, approaching from the North East. We have a plan of attack that takes us over the Oakland Bay Bridge that gives us our first view of the famous Golden Gate Bridge across the bay. The weather is kind and visibility is good in the city today, blue skies shinning bright. Our route takes us through the centre of the city with its high-rise buildings some shining gold and all sorts of interesting designs. The traffic is heavy but this gives us lots of photo opportunities hanging out the window to take in the sights.

We head to Fisherman’s Harbour first where we spend time just soaking in the atmosphere and have our very first Corn Dog. It is a sweet tasting cake coated frankfurt that is really bad for you but just yummy, surprisingly. At $5.50 each we are sure we are being ‘ripped off’ but just have to have the experience. This area is designed for tourists but is a lot of fun to wander through with lots of interesting eateries and shops ending down on the wharf. It reminds us of the time we were walking around Universal Studios Orlando when Georgia said, “imagine if there were places in the real world like this!” Turns we have come across many places all over America that remind us of this. From here there is a wonderful view of the harbour and also the famous Sea Lions put on their show. There are many sea worn platforms for the sea lions to choose from but they all like to stick close together and only choose a couple to gather on. This makes for funny sights as some just can’t fit so slither back into the water. It is delightful to watch the ones that just say ‘here I come’ and launch themselves forward, crowd surfing to a resting spot. All the while there is a constant honking and chattering going on, such fun. These gorgeous sea creatures arrived at Pier 39 in the January of 1990, a couple of months after the Loma Prieta earthquake hit San Francisco in October 1989. Since then the number have ranged from between 300 and 1700 depending on the seasons, but there are always some sea lions there to entertain the visitors.

Our time on the wharf over we decide to move on to the most famous icon in the city, you guessed it, the bridge. We stop at a near by marina to take more shots of the harbour, Alcatraz (sadly all tours are booked up for a week so we have to be content with the view of this famous island) and the bridge. Next we take a drive over the Golden Gate to the north side where one can drive to the hilltops of the Golden Gate Recreation Area to take her in from all angles. It really is a special structure and we loved that the weather was kind giving us stupendous views. Whilst up here we took a walk through a tunnel built during World War I to house huge guns to defend from attack. Nearing completion it was decided that the guns were ineffective as a defence and never installed. It makes for an interesting short cut through the hill and up to a magnificent view of the bridge. We have a snack to lengthen our stay overlooking this icon and eventually have to drag ourselves back down for the return journey, more photos taken from every angle to remember we were here.

Now we decide to take to the streets heading for the infamous most crooked street in the world, Lombard St. Traversing the hilly streets is fun and we have a great laugh thinking about how Vincent might have coped living in this town, not very well. We end up at the bottom of the street and take in the view down to the harbour and up at the people traversing the windy switchback road. Then it is time to traverse from the top and it is surprisingly easy but we still have photos to prove we did it. The gorgeous houses and gardens complete the experience and we wonder how annoyed the people must get with the constant stream of traffic that just has to drive down their road, guilty as charged.

We then head deeper into the streets and go to the mosaic staircase, 16^th Avenue Tiled Steps project, just a gorgeous piece of artwork that snakes up the steep hillside steps. This project begun by neighbours in January 2003, took until September 2005 to complete. What an effort by all those concerned. What was once 163 steps straight up to a road above is now a piece of art that takes you from the ocean depths to the night skies. It is an ongoing effort to maintain the landscaping on either side of the staircase and is just a lovely spot in the middle of a very desirable neighbourhood. The views are just awesome too when you remember to look away from the stairs.

We have loved our day here and decide it is an area that has a feel of Perth and all its surrounds in one spot. The wharf is like Fremantle and Mindarie, the city a little like Perth set on a gorgeous waterway. The surrounds are flat until you hit the hills, just like Perth suburbs and the colour is very similar, big blue sky with a parched landscape, due to the drought no doubt, but giving a similar feel. The people are friendly, but there are a lot of them. This is the second most densely populated city in the US after New York City with approx. 17,500 people per square mile. The biggest difference is the sheer size, like McDonalds, it is upsized hugely. There is much more to do here than we have managed, many art galleries and museums, architecture to delight in, nightlife and supposedly awesome shopping but it is nature we are still here to see. We realize we have only seen a tiny snippet of all there is on offer but have really enjoyed our time none the less. Maybe we will get back another time with more time to explore.

Day is coming to an end and we decide to head out of town and on toward our next destination, the mighty Sierra Nevada. This path takes us through an amazing road system that Georgia navigates perfectly and eventually into the outer suburbs and beyond. We pass areas made famous by the Sons of Anarchy and, although we love Jax we don’t want to run into any of his buddies, push on until we are well out of town. The last part of the journey is through an area called Patterson’s Pass Road, a scenic short cut through some amazing hills, the narrow road running like a roller coaster until it pops out the other end into a flat area as far as the eye can see. We drop into a hotel bed absolutely exhausted, another amazing day under our belts.

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

CRATER LAKE OREGON

Flashback to the stunning blue Crater Lake, Oregon, where we visited about two weeks ago. Hope the weather is still as perfect for those visiting now as it was for us! You can check it here.

From Vancouver, Washington, we set ourselves a driving day to finish at Crater Lake. This is a spectacular lake formed after the collapse of an ancient volcano, known as Mountt Mazama, which erupted about 7,700 years ago. The top 5,000ft collapsed and was sealed by lava creating a lake that is the deepest in USA at 1,932ft. The water in the lake is provided only by snow and precipitation and delivers the clearest water you can imagine, in fact its proven to be some of the purest on earth. The lake is 6 miles across and even has its own island, Wizard Island, a volcano within a volcano. The park experiences an average yearly snowfall of 44ft, keeping the lake topped up. The lake is a centrepiece to a magnificent park of mountain peaks and alpine forest, waterfalls, gorges and ravines, cascading rapids and volcanic potholes.

Our driving day sees us reach the lake rim just after sunset, our first glimpses by glowing light of the moon over this stunning water, an eerie stillness as blackness descends. We find what we think is a campground and begin to set up, later to be asked very politely by two police officers to move along with directions given to a campsite back down the hill.

Back to the rim in the early morning we watch the changing colours as the sun rises in the sky. Words cannot describe the steel blueness of this pure water and the light changes of the volcanic lava sides of the crater. There is not a cloud in this perfect blue sky, luck being on our side yet again as at this time of the year the visibility is usually extremely poor, in fact this day it would descend into cloud by 10am.

The rim road is closed due to snow, though it seems that has melted away again. Wizard Island takes on many different hues in the changing light. We take a hike up to one of the highest vantage points of the rim and enjoy a view so majestic and tranquil. On our return to the base we visit the Rim gift shop and find a few additions to the suitcase, whoops.

As we start to leave the weather is turning and we have had the best of the day at the lake. We spend a couple more hours stopping at the waterfalls and rushing cascades of the river carving its way through the volcanic rock. It is interesting to see the natural bridge where the water disappears underground for about 60m through a volcanic tunnel. Whilst walking these vantage points we meet two local ladies and a gentleman also taking advantage of this wonderful day. We enjoy a chat for a while and then set off and choose a seemingly very popular restaurant for lunch, Beckie’s. It is always good to eat where the locals go and this is one that proves this point. Amazingly our new friends decide to stop at the same place, famous for it’s pies. We chat whilst waiting for a table and decide to lunch together. We proceed to spend a couple of lovely hours talking and laughing with Valerie, Trudy and Howard who are all just lovely people. We are told Valerie is 85, and find that hard to believe, as she is so full of energy, reminding us a lot of Nan at that age. We are given valuable advice for our next part of the journey whilst enjoying that amazing pie! Sadly we all must go our separate ways, though they have all invited us to stay with them. Though very tempted by their generous offers we have to make a hard choice to continue on knowing our time is quickly slipping away. We will keep in contact with these gorgeous friends and would love to welcome them to Perth one day.

Pushing on we head for the famous Redwood Trees, slipping quietly into Oregon and find a camping spot at Panther Flats, a gorgeous spot to end a very special day.

Photos can be found on our Facebook page in the album OREGON

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.

STUNNING FALL COLOUR ON THE MOHAWK TRAIL

It turns out to be a very good idea to head west from Boston along the Mohawk Trail as we meet a couple on holiday from Florida who advise us that the leaves further north are coming to an end and that they have come South from Vermont to see the last of the season.

The Mohawk Trail is a lovely scenic drive through Massachusetts and we’re rapt to discover it gives us even more fall colour to enjoy.  We manage to find a campground that is still open, nestled right on a river and under those gorgeous trees, near the small town of Shelburne Falls. We are lucky to stay as they are only days away from closing for the season. It is a lovely evening despite the fact that it has rained all day so we have no problems camping in Jetson.

We spend the following day exploring the town of Shelburne Falls and its many features. It’s a cute little town that has been the set for a couple of films, The Judge released recently and Labour Day starring Kate Winslet. The falls in the middle of town and glacial potholes are great, though the falls look man made. We are lucky the Deerfield River is quite low at this point to really appreciate the ancient potholes and we imagine how much water would flow through when the snow on the surrounding mountains is melting.

There are two bridges side by side right in the middle of town.  The first is an 1890 Truss Bridge that is a very interesting metal structure.  The second only meters away is the Bridge of Flowers, an old trolley bridge converted into a Botanical Garden and maintained enthusiastic locals.  It is just glorious at this time of year with so much colour and the flowers blooming and yet again the perfect day lets us see it is all its glory.

We explore the town and its many art and craft galleries and move on to fit in some lovely walks nearby, including the Natural Bridge State Park, named so because it contains the only natural white marble arch/bridge in the USA and is accompanied by the old marble quarry.  The bridge is believed to have been carved 13,000 years ago by the glacial melt water from 550 million years old bedrock marble. just awesome.

Every move we make provides a different view of the trees.  As I said it is impossible to describe the colors, from purple and rust to orange and flaming red to yellow and gold and deep browns.  That doesn’t sound like much but to see it with your own eyes is out of this world.  Since we left Perth we have been treated to all the different seasons, seeing leaves falling in England, the bare trees of winter then sprouting in Spring in Europe and so glorious through Summer and now the Fall in USA.  Australia is so different where the only color change of trees is with the odd specimen trees, beautiful but nothing like the world of deciduous trees that the Northern Hemisphere has to offer.  It is probably the most distinctive difference and one that we have loved so much.

We have managed to time our trip perfectly to the New England area, the most famous fall destination. Hardly a minute goes by that we don’t exclaim how spectacular these trees are and how many wonderful views of changing color we have experienced, hopefully we’ll have photos up very soon!

CAROLINE CLIMBS BEN NEVIS

Another flashback to our time in Scotland, the day Caroline climbed Ben Nevis.

The end of this adventure is to tackle the highest mountain in the UK, Ben Nevis.  We get to the Visitors Center mid afternoon and are a little disappointed to hear the weather forecast for the next day is quite poor, but alas we are too late to do it this day as we would be coming down in the dark, not a desirable for our first attempt.

We camp in the car park and decide on an early start to try to beat the bad weather coming in. It turns out that there are people coming in right into the night as we see a torch or two traverse the car park with a weary climber.  Awake at five and it is already raining quite heavily so we have another hour in the warm and try again when the weather seems to have cleared a little.

We finally decide to head off at 7.15am.  Now, this mountain is divided into three sections and the first is a steep climb over a path of boulders set as steps.  It is hard going and sadly it starts to become apparent that Mikayla is not very well.  She hadn’t wanted to say anything but was progressively worsening and eventually we have to make a decision that she and Georgia would return to Vincent and I would go on as far as I could. They have made it nearly half way and are very disappointed to have to turn back.  I might add that because of the constant drizzle we are already soaked even though we are quite warm.

I continue on and enjoy a break in the weather and the climb as I pass the easiest part of the trail past the Loch, it is so gorgeous.  Then starts the second section of the shale zig zags.  The climb is steep and still I am warm as toast even in just a t-shirt.  As I plod ever upwards I start to meet some climbers coming down and they advise me that it under an hour to the top but that it is freezing up there.  A couple more zigzags and I hit the biting wind and it is time to put on the layers.

The climb turns into a scramble over large boulders, past the ice trap and then a difficult path between the cairns.  Vision is poor as the rain has really set in up here and I am strangely quite alone at this point.  There have been people on the track all the way but for this final accent it is just me and I can only just see the next cairn, the only way to make out the trail.  It is quite an adventure as I imagine what it would be like to get lost in this wilderness and how very cold a night alone would be up here.

No wonder this mountain claims a few lives every year, to be unprepared would be madness and even with everything organized a weather change could be disastrous.  The top seems to be taking a long time to reach, I am now about four hours into my journey and eventually reach the top.  I have a few moments alone to take a photo of myself and the top beacon, and off the cliff edge.  I can only see about three meters down the cliff face before the cloud invades but it is clear it is not the best path down!  A wrong step up here could be quite a big one.

Quite suddenly there is an influx of fellow climbers and we are all congratulating one another for reaching the top, some are first timers like myself but others are repeat offenders, one man on his seventh ascent.  Well done to everyone.  It is not pleasant up here, visibility is next to nothing, there is a howling gale and it is freezing and wet and I decide it is time to head back down.  It has not been about the view since about half way but about the challenge.  Now I face the challenge of getting back to Vincent.

The top stage takes its toll quite quickly and my knees are complaining.  Once I reach the top of the zigzags I am treated to about half an hour of sunshine and a clear view of the world around, I stop to eat my supplies and chat to some climbers on the way up.  They have a while to go and I advise them that it is harder to come down than go up.  Everyone seems to agree on this point.  I have been able to take of a few layers and dry out the gloves and beanie in the constant wind.  I am now thinking the decent would be lovely if it stayed like this.

Sadly I have been too optimistic and as I reach the bottom of the zigzags the weather sets in worse than ever.  I am about half way down and the path is treacherous and slow and my legs are screaming.  The rest of the journey is agony and at times I wonder why I am here.  I am once again drenched to the skin, it is a rain that by-passes the very best waterproofs.  My feet are just puddles but my boots keep me safe on the slippery boulders and muddy track.  There are some young men that run pass me, Oh to have those knees again.

I slosh on at my very steady pace and I wonder about the poor soles that had still been climbing upward.  I am also so very grateful for the week of sunshine we have had previously to enjoy the highlands, the views would not have happened in this,  how lucky we are.  At about 4.15pm I knock on Vincents door and exclaim to the girls that I think I am about to die.  I head off to the loo while they prepare for my recovery treatment.  I also stop in at the visitors center to let the ladies know I did it.  Congratulations are received with thanks and we discuss the various spots on the mountain, it seems everyone finds coming down the hard part and I am glad it is not just me.  I am still able to laugh though and am pleased to have conquered Ben Nevis.

I meet a guide, and very experienced climber, that is taking a group of climbers up at midnight, “why would you do that?” is all I can respond.  He thinks it’s crazy too, what a way to make a living. Back to Vincent and the girls have the hot water ready.  Hair washed and body bathed they guide me under the covers and provide me with hot water bottles (thank you Maggy, I think you saved my life).  We are going to have to stay another night in the car park as I could not drive, and wonder if my legs will ever manage this task again.

While the girls provide me with food they also fill me in on their day.  By the time they got back to the car they were both very ill with a stomach issue, say no more.  It is so lucky they turned back when they did, at least they had managed to make a recovery and get warm and prepare for my return.  I don’t think Vincent would have coped with three drowned rats at once.

When I wake in the morning I am scared to move, wondering if this is indeed even possible.  My need to get to the loo gives me the motivation and I am very relieved to find that it is not as bad as I thought it might be.  No real damage has been done it seems, just some aches and pains to recover from over the next few days.  The girls are relieved when I seem relatively normal, not sure I was making much sense the night before.

We now have to try to sort out Vincent.  He is water logged with wet jackets and clothes and just invaded by the constant water flow outside.  We get on the road and crank up the heater and start to dry him out.  The next day sees the return of some sunshine so by about day three we have everything back to normal.  What would we do without our precious Vincent, our little home away from home.

We continue traveling south back into England and soon reached the Lake District. It had been our intention to complete the three peaks of the UK, Snowdon and Ben Nevis conquered and Scaffle Pyke to go.  Sadly the legs are not recovered enough to go up the last one after only three days so will have to save that for another trip.

We can console ourselves with our meandering through the Lake district enjoying such a beautiful part of England.  The weather holds quite well and the scenery is just gorgeous and we get to visit the part of the world that Beatrix Potter loved so much.  As we are mad BP fans we enjoy soaking up all the information we can. We visit her husbands law office first and are treated to passionate guides that give us a little more insight into her life.  We gaze on lots of her original drawing and sketches. We then head out to Hill Top and experience an eccentric world that she created to work from.  We can just imagine Peter and all his friends popping up in the garden.  It is a magical journey we thoroughly enjoy.  We look across the fields to her marital home and imagine her plodding across to work with her friends in tow.  We are glad to hear that the movie made of her life is almost all accurate, though she did not know her husband as a child.  A small amount of creative license is acceptable.  Our passion for this wonderful writer will continue on and I look forward to reading to my grandchildren the stories their mothers loved so much.

It is time to head south toward Devon and it takes a few more days to drive through the green lanes and on a couple of high ways till we are back with family.  What a great adventure we have had again and we look forward to coming back in the years to come and explore some more.

This brings the England adventure all up to date.  The final days with family have already been posted on Sep 25th if you would like a flash back update.  All posts from now on for a couple of months with be from USA and our adventures in this wonderful country.  Some are already up and will endeavor to be up to date very soon.  Madly adventuring and writing is really hard work you know.

SCOTLAND: INNERLEITHEN, EDINBURGH AND THE HIGHLANDS

We’re taking you back in time to when we said goodbye to Minting and continued North to Scotland during our UK adventures.

After a sad farewell to Minting and Serenity we head on up the UK through the Yorkshire Dales and enter into Scotland through Jedburgh.  We pop into the visitors center to be given fantastic advice by a very helpful and young woman.  We leave with a load of information to help plan our next part of our journey.

On our way up we stop in a little village called Innerleithen where there is a chance take advantage of our National Trust Membership again. An opportunity to visit Robert Smail’s Printing Factory, a fantastic step back in time.  We are greeted by a lovely young woman who is so passionate and proud of this special opportunity to see how a printing works was ran before all the ‘mod cons’ came along.

Mr Smail resisted the evolution in the printing game and also left behind all the original documentation, all the bells and whistles for the future generations to now enjoy.  Our tour moves on to the case room where all the type is set.  Another equally passionate woman takes us through the whole process and even gives us the opportunity to make our own book mark which we are very proud of and will treasure always.

On now to the big machines with a lovely young man who shows us how the old dragons work. The business is still running thanks to the National Trust and along the tour we see some of their splendid work including posters, cards, invitations and calenders etc.  We talk for a very long time to our original guide about our travels and her passion for her work.  Time to move on and we thank everyone for the best tour we have done our whole trip.

The day is still young and we head into Edinburgh, lucky enough to catch the last days of the Fringe Festival.  We spend time wandering the streets taking in the many entertainers and pop into a few free galleries.  It is a very attractive city that we enjoy our short time in. We move on, deciding to head for the North, passing through Perth.

Our decision to spend as much time exploring nature turns out to be the best plan we could have made. We head up the middle through the Grampians and explore magnificent scenery before finding a spectacular spot on a Loch to settle for the night.  Before the sun goes down I head up a hill for a walk.  It is a bit of a climb along animal tracks but the view over the Loch improves with height and Vincent becomes very small behind me.

We wake the next day to the shinning Loch with a low cloud suspended over it and the most magnificent reflections in the mirror like surface.  We move on to see Loch Ness, famous and busy, beautiful no doubt, but we are headed for a more wild experience.  Further North we press and into the highlands.

Lady luck is on our side once again.  Apparently a storm has just passed through with so much rain there have been landslides,  we arrive and spend 5 days exploring the highlands with spectacular sunshine and perfect blue sky.  We pass along the single lane roads winding and weaving our way through some of the most amazing scenery of our entire trip.  You can’t go past Austria and Switzerland for mountains but this comes so close.  Every turn is another spectacular view.  If you have never been try your hardest to come and see some of the most unspoilt beauty in the world.

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

You can also find Robert Smail’s Printing Works Facebook page by clicking here.

YOU LEARN SOMETHING NEW EVERYDAY

Learning curves are a fact of life and thankfully so because life would be pretty boring if we all stopped discovering new things and absorbing the enormous amount of information available to us. I love the saying, “you learn something new everyday”, because it’s so true, and I think while you’re travelling the only thing wrong with this saying is that there is much more to learn than only one thing a day!

We have mentioned it before, but one of the biggest things we’ve had to grapple with as travellers is the fact that we won’t be able to see everything that each country has to offer in the time that we have. I think we’ve come to accept this reality pretty well but there are still times when we struggle to decide what to see and what we can miss. Our answer always being if we don’t see it now, it’s the perfect excuse to come back again!

Although we never miss out on what we can do because as we always say, “we’re here now, we may as well do it.” This is especially true when Mum suggests we visit another church and Mikayla groans from the back seat. But seriously, this leads me to another of my favourite sayings, “don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today.”

We are wild camping in our van and move on to a new place every day. If we do stay in one spot it’s only when we’re staying with friends, or in a place (such as Paris) with lots to see in one area. So there is no time like the present to see that building, explore that park, walk along that beach or do whatever we can to immerse ourselves in the culture of a new place.

Deciding where to move onto next is also tough as we want to see all the best places but we also love discovering areas that are as yet mostly untouched by the commercial side of tourism. When we say commercial tourism we mean souvenir shops rather than local artisans, signs in English rather than the local language and large restaurants sponsored by ice-cream companies rather than traditional little cafes and bars.

After only a short time it’s very easy to spot the resort style, summer holiday destinations from the quaint little towns that hold real substance when you stop and look around. A few times we’ve been driving through a small town and decided to stop because we like the feel of the place, only to discover a historical castle or an ornate church.

We love meeting new people and sharing stories, learning and making new friends, but we also love heading into the national parks and escaping into nature. Although we have learned that not all national or natural parks are desired destinations, or potential camping spots.

Yesterday it was time to leave Portugal so we set off from Praia Grande de Pera on the south coast towards Spain. We have had a couple of encounters with the police at the Spanish border and while we were absolutely fine both times we thought it would be best to camp a long way from the border, so pouring over the map we picked out a final destination, Parque Nacional de Donana.

Big mistake! Our logic was that we would stop at the national park, find the perfect camping spot (as we have before) with only a slight detour on the way to Seville. Didn’t happen! We ended up driving alongside the national park as there are no roads through it, and it wasn’t even a pretty drive and in hindsight a waste of time because we ended up sleeping in a car park on the outskirts of Pilas. Moral of the story being, not all national parks are wonderful, beautiful places.

Since our last post we have also been to Lisbon, and aside from the atrocious treatment we received on the public transport here (one guard on a power trip) we had a lovely day. First stop was the Torre de Belem (Tower of Belem) which we admired from the outside. We strolled along the waterside pasts the monuments and came across the monastery.

We were so comfortable in Joao and Maria’s apartment that we decided to stay another two nights and spent the whole next day doing nothing but watching TV, writing and getting organized for more adventures in Vincent. Sometimes doing absolutely nothing is just what we need to recharge because as self-indulgent as it sounds, travel, site seeing and driving are really tiring.

When we did finally leave the apartment we had to say goodbye to Maria and Joao who were the best hosts ever and such wonderful people. We know count them as lovely friends and hope to see them again one day, maybe in Australia. We had lunch with them before setting off south.

In Santiago do Cacem we stopped at the post office to send a few gifts then continued on through the gorgeous area between here and Lagos, sleeping in a quite pull off from the main road near Alfambra.

On arrival in Lagos the next morning we went straight for the Ponta de Piedade, a point below Lagos where we walked along the rugged cliff that reminded us so much of a mix between Ganthuem point in Broome, Western Australia and The Twelve Apostles on the Great Ocean Road, Victoria.

We drove east from Lagos to our beautiful and private camping spot behind the dunes at Praia Grande de Pera where we walked along the beach before heading home again to Vincent.

Since then we have arrived back in Spain after a day of driving and we’re now spending a bit of time at MacDonald’s trying to book a side trip to Morocco. More on that soon!

Photos can be found on our Facebook page in the album PORTUGAL

HOME TIME

Mikayla here, Obidos was next. We had been told by the couple that we met at the caves that there was a chocolate festival in Obidos so of course we had to go! What else do you do when you find out there is free samples of chocolate? We got to the walled town and before beginning our search for chocolate we saw the church just outside the wall. We have seen a lot of churches so far and I was not completely enthusiastic but the ceiling of this one was quite nice. Each one has had a something a little different.

So now for the chocolate search. We went through a little section of the market looking at little things, finding that cork seems to be everywhere. After about ten minutes we found the upsetting news that the chocolate festival was only on from Friday to Sunday, we were there on a Thursday.

We ended up deciding that we may as well go through the rest of the market. We went through a few odd stores but it was the last two stores where we had the most success. One was a museum in which we found a beautiful china doll. We had thought of it first as a gift but after a closer look we decided that she was too beautiful to part with. That was the only place where we made a purchase but the last shop had beautiful china that we wish that we could find room in Vincent for, but sadly we couldn’t.

We ended the day in Peniche. We were able to find a camping stop that was perfect for us, private but still with a beautiful ocean view, although it took about half an hour to choose the spot.

Back to Georgia now. Our next morning was spent walking over the cliffs in Peniche and organizing to stay in an apartment for the next few days. Exciting!

We decided on an apartment in Mem Martins, very close to Sintra and a 40 minute train ride to Lisbon, perfect for a few days of space and rest. A few days that turned into 6 nights total.

We have had access to a shower, cable TV, a toilet, an oven, a microwave, Wi-Fi and separate beds for 6 nights; total luxury in a gorgeous apartment. When we arrived we were greeted by our hosts Joao and Maria who are just wonderful. Such wonderful people who have gone out of their way to make us feel welcome and at home, they’re just lovely.

First thing on TV, to my delight, was Grey’s Anatomy, but we’ve also watched as much Keeping up with the Kardashians as I can get Mum to allow, lots of Ghost Whisperer and a few episodes of Offspring (why haven’t I got into this sooner?)

While here we have done a little site seeing around Sintra and one trip into Lisbon to visit Belem.

We had a late start on our Sintra day so had limited time to see what we wanted to. The Palace of Pena and the Moorish Castle were at the top of our list.

The best part of seeing the Palace of Pena is walking through the extensive gardens. You could get lost in all day in the huge sloping hills walking through the vibrant green forest, lakes, streams and bits of history along the way.

The palace is pretty inside with some more differences in furniture and décor, namely patterned and shaded walls, the papier mache furniture (that looked like it was inlayed with mother of pearl detail; Mikayla’s favourite), and Indian looking furniture intricately carved in dark wood with red cushions (Mum’s favourite). Another unique feature inside the palace are the 3D patterned walls.

You can also get a great view of the natural park from the outside walls of the palace as it’s built right at the top of the hill. This also makes it visible from the window of the apartment where we’re staying.

We walked to the Moorish Castle next, up and down those sloping hills, well worth the effort though because this one is a good one. Worth seeing and probably the largest we’ve come across on our trip so far. We also met a fellow Perth gal up here, very nice to meet an Australian and her new friends.

We decided to have dinner out to try bacalhua (Portuguese word for cod) at a restaurant Joao and Maria had recommended to us. The owner here has lived in Australia and again it was really nice to speak in English.

The restaurant was called Bacano Churrasqueira Restaurante in Mem Martins and Mr Rui was lovely treating us to a feast of garlis bread and bacalau for entre and main cooked two different traditional ways. Delicious, and again some very yummy potatoes to try and recreate in Vincent!

The highlight of our time here has been being able to skype our friends! Mikayla got to skype all her best friends and so did I, talking to Ellen and Shauna made me feel so much better, love those girls!

After our skype time we really felt like going to the movies, something we do quite a lot back at home. We’ve been hanging out to see The Monuments Men so off we went to the cinema. English movies are shown as is with Portuguese subtitles so we had no trouble understanding (except when German and French were spoken), it felt like we were back in Perth.

The Monuments Men was fantastic and we loved it so much Mum suggested we see another movie straight away so back to the ticket office we went and decided to see Non Stop. Another great movie and Mikayla’s first thriller, we were very proud!

Photos on our FB page here!

AIRPORT.

Over the next year or so we will use this space to update you of our travels. Will write a bit more about our preparation for this trip soon but for now we thought we’d get something on here.

Our last hour and a half in Perth was spent with our best friends. Ellen and Shauna came to see me off and I just felt neutral, the excitement of going away was cancelled out by the sadness at leaving my best friends for just over a year. Mikayla spent the time with Zeena, Rory and Sheridan and Mum spent the time with Marilyn and Michelle. We were so sad to say goodbye when the time finally came and there were lots of tears. When we went through the departure gate we realised there was a bit more to do than just get on the plane so forms were filled out, hand luggage was scanned and toilet trips were made in a mad rush before making it onto the plane on time.

During our flights from Perth to London we gained a few funny stories to tell. We flew from Perth to Denpasar (Bali), Bali to KL, then KL to Heathrow London. When getting off the plane in Bali we thought we were organised with all our hand luggage (3 large hand luggage, 1 backpack, and 2 handbags). Half way up into the airport we realised that we had left our coats in the overhead compartments on the plane so Mum had to rush back to retrieve them! She wasn’t allowed back on the plane so the flight attendants had to go and find them, when giving them to Mum gave her a look that said “why on earth do you need coats in Bali??” It was boiling! So humid and we had to pick up our luggage and drag it through the airport to check it in with a different airline. Tip: when transiting through Denpasar airport (if you ever have the need) make sure you have enough cash to pay visa and airport taxes.

Short flight to KL and then we started the 13 hours to London. This flight was on a Boeing A380 and actually quite comfortable. Even thought the flight left at 11:50pm we were quite hungry and waiting for food before trying to sleep. About an hour into the flight we decided they must not be providing food until breakfast time so we took our sleeping pills. Literally just as we swallowed our sleeping pill they started serving food. I went into panic mode and had to be reassured by mum that they wouldn’t work straight away and we would be able to eat. Eating was uneventful until Mum started talking gibberish… She’d finished eating the main, savory, part of her meal and salad and was starting on her extras. She turned to me and said something I couldn’t quite understand, after asking her to repeat a couple of times I gave up and though she must be falling asleep. But, she continued to try to eat sitting hunched over and eyes pretty much closed. We had a small sachet of creamed cheese (about the size of a butter sachet) and she picked it up and examined it as you would something small in the light, opened it and then started dipping her fork in it, swirling it around her salad bowl (that was empty), then eating it. She did this a few times and then just as the flight attendant was about to collect the trays she picked up her scrunched up piece of foil that had covered her meal, looked at it then stuck it in her mouth to eat it. When I noticed she was sucking on the foil I had to pull it out of her hands with a “no Mum” and she turned to look at me as if to say “why not?” All the while I watched laughing, and then told mum the story when we all woke up about 5 hours later, very funny!

After arriving in London we changed into our thermals and warmest clothes to brave the freezing cold weather! Our cousins Matt and Kelly met us at the airport and it was then time to brave the tube…