|
|
Holiday: USA 29 August - 13 September 2002
Day 1 - 4 San Francisco
(click on each snap for a larger version!!)
|
After a 7 hour flight from Manchester to Philadelphia and
another 6 hour flight across America itself, on US Airways, we arrive at San Francisco; Day 1 was one
looong day! The clock in the airport said it was 21:20 but
my watch (and my head!) reckoned it was 05:20!! After a
cab ride we arrive at our Hotel, The Canterbury, for the next 3 nights in room 512. Hope
you don't mind a double the concierge said, as we checked
in. Little did we know the bed was absolutely huge!! As
we discovered most of the Hotels and Motels have twin beds
but doubles (as we'd call em, they call em Queen beds)...OK
if arguments arise I guess!
After unpacking we headed downtown and found an authentic
50's diner, Lori's, for a bite to eat, corner of Powel and Sutter
St's. As it turned out this diner was only one of a small
chain across SF which was decorated in the 50's style complete
with lots of chrome seating and fluorescent lighting not
to mention the real Cadillac!
The next day, day 2, after a fabulous breakfast at Lori's
this time on Powel St we headed across town to pick up our
rental car. We'd ordered a convertible and when it turned
up we were presented with a red Pontiac
Firebird! Driving it at first was a little strange with
it being a left hand drive and an automatic which we were
not used to but we soon got used to that! Driving back to
the hotel through the streets of San Francisco in the Californian
sun with the top down was rather special. In fact looking
back on the whole holiday the car made it that extra special.
Once back at the Hotel we gave the car to the valet and
got ourselves a municipal transport pass (Munipassport),
jumped on a cable car and explored the city taking in the
famous Fisherman's Warf. Lisa had organised a North Beach
walking tour starting off from the Transamerica
Pyramid in the financial district. We walked through
the hot streets taking in the sites of the Francis Ford
Copola Building, Coit
Tower (The building of the Tower on Telegraph hill was
completed in 1933. Lillie Hitchcock Coit, philanthropist
and admirer of the fire fighters at the 1906 earthquake
fire, left funds to The City for beautification of San Francisco.
Those funds were used to construct the 210 ft. tall art
deco Coit Tower at the top of Telegraph Hill. The towers
design is reminiscent of a fire hose nozzle, as well as
other things, and so was quite controversial at the time.),The
Vesuveo Cafe and The
City Lights Bookstore, the seedy neighbourhood along
Broadway (including Big Als' adult bookstore) and the scenic
views of the SF Bay and Bay bridge from the Vallejo steps.
We got back to the hotel via a not too great a meal in the
Sonato Mexican grill (Powell St at Bush).. good live music
though, crashed out and didn't wake up till 2 the next morning...
Talk about jet lag!
Day 3 and this meant our Helicopter flight round SF!! Couldn't
wait as I hadn't been on a chopper before (oo er!). Thoroughly
enjoyed it and got some great views of the city and Alcatraz . Flew
under a foggy Golden
Gate Bridge and over and under the Bay bridge before
returning back to the airport over both the SF 49ers football
and SF
Giants baseball stadia.
In the afternoon we used our Munipassport to ride the cable
cars and took some time to explore other quarters such as
China Town and paid a visit to the famous 'turny' Lombard
Street. That evening Lisa had a gorgeous milk Shake
in Lori's and I pigged out on a bowl of their delicious
chilli.
|
Day 4 to Yosemite
|
Day 4 sees us getting the car back from the valet and wondering
where to put the cases. Despite the car being enormous the
boot was a bit titchy but we managed to squeeze em in. Top
down on the car and with a copy of the Doors greatest hits
in the CD player we head out of SF through the financial
district and across the Bay bridge heading towards Oakland/Hayward-Stockton.
Out of the city and boy California sure is hot. Heading
along the CA-99 there was rows and rows of orange and fruit
groves that were sooo big that they disappeared over the
horizon. Lashings of sun cream was order of the day as the
tops of our legs just got hit with the sun. We were determined
to keep the top down on the car though!
Travelling through Mariposa, we started to follow the Merced
river (CA140) which would take us into El Portal and the
Yosemite
View Lodge (the closet accommodation outside the park)
for a nights stay in room 3331. After travelling 200 miles
(and this being our first proper drive in the car) we relaxed
in the spa pool watching the sun set on the fabulous scenery.
Later on, we got some good advice from one of the Yosemite
guides as to what we should see of the park in the time
we had. As well as suggesting seeing the waterfalls, the
guide told us that our drive through the park and over the
Tioga Pass would give us some of the best views of the park
(and how right she was!). We dine on pizza for ten and enjoy
the much needed air conditioning in the room - California
is certainly hot!. Have I mention this before?
|
Day 5 to Lone Pine
|
The next day we're up early to see as much of Yosemite National Park
as possible! As we enter the gates we purchase a $50
yearly pass. As our holiday would take us into 5 National
Parks this was a much cheaper option than paying individual
entry fees (approx. $20 a time). We collect our map, sticker
and entry card for the NPS
and drive into the park, passing the awesome El Capitan
mountain, a sheer rockface dominating the start of Yosemite
Valley. Here's the science bit, Yosemite Valley may be the
worlds best known example of a glacier-carved canyon, as
its sheer walls and flat floor evolved as alpine glaciers
lumbered through the canyon of the Merced River.
We make our way to Curry village which, despite its name,
has no hint of curry being made available! All the National
Parks have excellent free shuttle buses to ferry visitors
between the various attractions, so we park up and jump
a ride to take us to the start of the Vernal Falls route.
After scaling the falls route (which was quite busy, with
visitors from all the world it seemed) we returned to the
car later in the afternoon to start our journey to Lone
Pine. With hindsight we would have stayed at Yosemite for
longer as it is such a breathtaking location. The route
through Yosemite park on the CA 120 is very winding and
you seem to be climbing all the time. We passed through
amazing scenery at Crane Flat, Tenaya Lake and Tulomne meadows
before reaching the Tioga Pass entrance. The pass is closed
between November and May and at 9945ft it was hardly surprising
(we did see traces of snow at some points)!
Dropping down from Tioga Pass and joining the CA-395, the
stark contrast between the green lushness of Yosemite and
the beginnings of the desert like terrain of the Owens Valley
is startling. We travel through small typical American towns
like Bishop, Big Pine, Independence, before arriving at
Lone
Pine, which is a one night stop before braving the heat
of Death Valley.
For a motel booked over the internet, the Dow Villa Motel was perfect. Our room had a whirl pool
bath and 24 hour swimming pool and coffee shop. Interestingly
enough, John Wayne once stayed at the motel, whilst filming
his last movie in the surrounding area. We eat and then
walked the length of the town (which doesn't take long)
to find the 'Double' bar - which Lisa was very dubious about
frequenting! However, it is excellent and the barmaid gives
us frosted glasses to drink our Bud out of, while I put
ZZ Top on the juke-box (brave man!).
|
[Top of Page]
Day 6 to Death Valley
|
Day 6 and we breakfast at the totem pole restaurant,
which is opposite the Lone Pine Chamber of commerce a weeny
little office that has loads of information about the film
industry that sprung up around the area. Over 300 films
including Gungadin and Tremors were made in and around the
Alabama
Hills. When we were there they had a poster competition
running. I had a guess at naming the film, Kalifonia, stuck
my entry into the box and came second resulting in them
sending me a poster book. Upon the suggestion of the very
helpful ranger in the Lone pine tourist information
center we spent some time in the Alabama Hills exploring
the movie road and the plaques highlighting the films made
there. Amazing to think of these films getting made under
the brilliant sunshine and the stunning backdrop of the
Sierra Nevada Mountains with Mount Whitney (at 14,497.61
feet is the highest mountain in contiguous USA) as its own
star.
On the Owens Valley Floor there is a dried up lake. Story
goes there was a lot of jiggery pokery in the 1900's when
feeder streams were diverted into the Los Angeles viaduct
and spookily enough the lake became all dried up! Strange
that huh? Anyway there is an effort underway to refill the
lake and irrigate the surrounding areas, quite the thing
at the moment in the American deserts.
Whilst driving along the CA136 past Keeler and referencing
the map we come across an uncharted area, (30 by 50 miles)
entitled "China Lake Naval weapons centre". On
the map of the area the roads entering into it just stop
and there is no details shown at all . Over the State border,
in neighbouring Nevada, there is more than one area like
this (such as Area 51) and is an endless source of conspiracy
theories and government cover up stories about ufo's. We
kept expecting a fly past at any minute! Must admit though
the Nevada desert is huge and hiding anything extraterrestrial
wouldn't be as difficult as job as could be envisaged.
After joining the CA190, we took a well earned rest on
the boiling hot Panamint
springs bar terrace. It was 115oF in the shade and the
ice cold coke we had tasted fantastic. On the way back to
the car we got our fly past! Unfortunately a Jet...hmmm
although you never know really do you? Continuing up and
over the crest into the Valley itself, you have to turn
off the AirCon as the incline is so severe and so long a
cars engine would overheat and breaking down here is not
really a good idea even though there is a good routine cruising
of the highway patrol as advertised. So for the sake of
the car we had to suffer the heat. My old 957 Fiesta would
have died at just the thought of it!
Travelling on through Stove pipe wells on Highway CA190,
it wasn't long before we reached the famous Sand Dunes (Sahara-like
and rising nearly 100 feet) and the Devils corn field, a
field of brush reminiscent of such. We stopped to take a
picture and it was the quickest photo I had e ver taken
as the Death
Valley heat was up to 130oF. It was like standing in
front of a hair dryer.
Despite the roasting we made it to the Furnace Creek Ranch , which has the worlds lowest golf
course (at 214 feet below sea level) although why anybody
would want to play in such heat is beyond me. After booking
into room 733 we took a dip in the naturally heated, spring
fed, swimming pool which was up to 82oF. A coyote was spotted
outside the room so we played it safe by going to the bar
(after being ID'd again, which meant a 10 minute trip back
to the room to get the driving licences in the 100F heat
- it was pitch black and 9 o'clock incidentally). We met
up, had a meal and spent a pleasant evening with David and
Corinne from Wigan. They were doing virtually the same holiday
route as we were but in reverse.
|
Day 7 to Lake Havasu
|
Next day, day 7, we headed out through Death Valley Junction
on the longest drive of the holiday passing through the
towns of Amagosa and Shoshone. Upon reaching Baker, after
passing yet another Naval Weapons Centre, we met with the
worlds biggest thermometer and Mad Greek's Diner where you could get anything you wanted
(well to eat anyway). I just had to have beef patty and
eggs (over easy of course) with fill ups of hot coffee.
After breakfast we came across mini twisters in the desert,
too small to damage anything but strong enough to pick up
lots of dust giving the landscape an eerie feeling. We noticed
a very thin endless line stretching across the horizon which,
only when we drew closer we discovered was a huge train
ambling along. Eventually we had to stop at a crossing after
counting 150 carriages (goodness knows how many had passed
already) we realised we had a life and just switched off
the engine and waited. Even when this train had passed there
was another one behind it going the other way of equal length.
And who said truck drivers move the nation?
After heading east on the I15 we take the NV164 past Nipton
into Nevada, our first state change. At Searchlight we head
south on the US95 back into California picking up the I40
at Needles, heading towards Kingsman. After crossing into
yet another state, Arizona, we take
a right on the AZ95 and making good time we finally arrive
at Lake Havasu, passing the airport (every town even seems
to have its own!), and out onto the Island, over London
Bridge, yes the original one, to a very pink looking
Hotel. Despite the odd colour, the Island Inn and our room 214, proved very relaxing, especially
the spa pool. We even got a drink in the hotel bar without
getting ID'd!
Later that evening we took a look around the English village,
which wasn't really and was a bit of a let down. I mean
there was corny Big Ben sounds coming from somewhere and
not a village green in site. Again we were having problems
finding a place to eat, either too expensive or just fast
food, nothing in between. After walking round for ages and
getting some odd looks while we were doing so (hey who walks
in America? just like Warrington) we really needed a drink.
Again with no 'real' bars, and after deciding against going
in some dodgy looking places, ended up in the bowling alley
again getting ID'd. We only had one beer and then headed
back towards our Hotel via Denny's (casual dining restaurant
chain with moderately priced meals that's what they say,
a sort of upmarket little chef) for some 'moons over my
hammy'. yer weird but nice!
|
[Top of Page]
Day 8 - 9 Grand Canyon
|
Heading towards the Grand Canyon we leave
Lake Havasu past the airport and the Sheriffs Office with
to the sounds of Saturday night fever blaring out from the
CD. We stopped at Williams on the I40 for a drink
in Denny's and looked out for a town called two arrows on
the map. In reality this town (as a lot marked on the map)
was just a gas station. The place was actually derelict
but there were two huge iron arrows still embedded into
the ground.
Even though we knew about 'Meteor crater', after picking
up a leaflet in the hotel the previous night advertising
it, we hadn't realised we would be so close to it on this
trip. Since Lisa used to be (and I reckon still is despite
protestations that she isn't) a bit of an anorak when it
comes to astronomy we decided to do a smallish detour (176
miles heading back eastwards just past Flagstaff on the
I40) and go and see it. Apparently its the best preserved
meteor
crater on the earth, is 50,000 years old, 550 feet deep,
3 miles in circumference and 570 feet deep! or so the blurb
goes. The rock that hit had the same explosive force as
20 million tonnes of TNT. Boom indeed!
Then back we headed towards the Grand Canyon and on the
AZ64 the weather was pulling in and by the time we past
yet another airport, hmmm and an idea brewing, we reached
the Best Western Grand
Canyon Squire Inn in the rain, staying in room 2222,
to complete a 400 mile journey. We had a look at the canyon
but was totally foggy and so couldn't see a thing. We made
comment that where we were standing was probably right next
to a huge drop, which as it turned out the next day, was
the case. That night we spent an evening in an authentic
'Cowboy' restaurant with some 'rattlesnake' beer!
Day 9 and after another 1 beer only night, the idea we
had had the previous day materialised and Lisa booked a
flight over the canyon. Since we'd been on a chopper already
we decided to make the trip on a plane which turned out
to be a 19
seater Vista Liner. Unlike a mountain range that gets
bigger as you approach it, the weird thing about the Canyon
is that because it is well a canyon, you cant really see
it until your standing next to it; You cant see it from
a distance at ground level. So the first time we saw it
was from the air, flying along the North Canyon Confluence, and well we were just speechless,
it was breathtaking. Ha as was the extremely turbulent flight
as the weather was closing in again, an experience to remember!
After the flight we drove the short distance to the very
edge of the Canyon itself and booked into Maswick lodge,
room 6885, which is inside the Grand Canyon Nation Park
and as such was the most expensive accommodation we had.
We then had the afternoon to explore part of the Canyon's
south rim but due to the heavy rain and fog didn't get to
see that much. We started walking along the Bright Angel
Trail but had to give up shortly after due to the thunderstorms,
even the pack mules didn't venture out of their coral. When
we got back to the lodge the normally shy mule deer were
also taking shelter close to the buildings. However later
that evening the fog cleared and the rain stopped in time
for us to catch a park bus to Powel point and a walk to
Hopi Point to see the sun set over the Canyon.
|
Day 10 - 11 Bryce Canyon
|
Day 10 and making a stop at the Little Colorado River Gorge
we heading east on the AZ64 towards our next destination
Bryce Canyon.
At Cameron (Navajo country!) turned onto the US89 heading
North. We travelled through a place called The Gap being
met by some terrible driving conditions. The local radio
station was warning of flash floods and soon enough the
road become washed away with rain, hail and snow, which
was rather scary. There was falling rocks strewn across
the carved out roads too as we crossed into Utah State with
our eyes peeled watching for any fresh falls.
Out from Big water and we came across the 'Chocolate Syrup
Mountains' which gave the appearance of drizzled chocolate
in both consistency and colour. Further on, halfway to Kanab
we could see the Grand Stair Escalante so called as the
layers of rock etc date back to millions of years. Passing
through Kanab we continued on the US89 and passed the Coral
Pink Sand dunes which although a distance away, are easy
to spot as their colour looks strangely un-natural! We continued
through the Dixie National Forest passing Mount Carmel,
Glendale and Hatch. We made a small detour to Panguitch
before doubling back to join the UT12 through Red Canyon.
The rock here was a very intense red colour and we pulled
the car over to take some photo's while the sun was still
out.
We passed the famous Ruby's Inn, which must be famous as
it was on our map! However, we opted to stay at inside the
National
Park at Bryce
Canyon Lodge which we eventually found as the road wound
through the ponderosa pine forest. The 'western' style cabins
and rooms surrounded the original lodge which was built
in the 1920's and had the eerie feeling of the 'Overlook'
Hotel from the film 'The Shining'!!. Our room (221) had
a brilliant balcony made of whole tree trunks looking out
in the forest.
During our dinner in the Lodge we came across the strange
Utah law on alcohol and drinking! After polishing off a
bottle of Bud each we tried to order another plus a brandy
each. Our waiter was laughing with embarrassment when he
told us that under Utah law we could only have one drink
on the table at a time - yes really!! Anyway, the night
went from bad to worse when we went back to room and we
realised that the Lodge didn't allow TVs in the room! Now
you know why the Mormons have so many children!
After breakfast at the Lodge, the next day brought a walk
round Bryce Amphitheatre,
with a fab view of the whole area from Bryce Point (8,500
elevation). This bizarre geological area is dominated by
hoodoo's (tall pillars of rock). This canyon, which is not
technically a canyon according to a talk (inc songs!) we
heard by Park Ranger, Kevin Poe, has been created by freeze
thaw action rather than erosion by a river.Either way the
place is highly unique with many of the hoodoo's having
their own names based on their appearance (e.g. Victoria
which looks just like the queen herself). As Ebenezer Bryce,
homesteader of the canyon, said...'its a hell of a place
to loose a cow'.
|
Day 12 to Zion
|
After 'some of us'! witnessing the sunrise at Bryce Canyon
we were 'all set' (as the Utahians say) to continue our
journey to Zion NP. This was a short
85 mile trip retracing our steps to Mount Carmel junction
and taking the US9 and the Zion-Mount Carmel highway into
the National Park. This was a spectacular route into the
park along a narrow twisting 1930s road containing 2 tunnels
(one 1.1 miles long). We found our accommodation Cliffrose Lodge and
gardens just outside the south entrance of the park
in Springdale (which is a trendy little town). This motel
was fabulous with 5 acres of lawns and flower gardens. There
were humming birds in abundance as well as a large deer
intent on eating pears off one of the trees. That night
we enjoyed a pizza and pasta in the Zion Noodle and Pizza Co. Next day we made the short drive
into the park and hopped on one of the shuttle buses to
look around. We decided to take the 'Emerald Pools' trail
which had some brilliant waterfalls and views of smooth,
sheer rockfaces.
|
[Top of Page]
Day 13 - 14 Las Vegas
|
Day 13 and our last main journey of the holiday at 164
miles. Following the UT9 from Springdale we passed through
Virgin, stopping at the Burger King at Hurricane missing
out the Weinerschnitzel (apparently the largest hot dog
retailer! hmmm I wonder why?)Then picking up the I15 to
Washington St George, we pass through Arizona for 30 ish
miles heading to Mesquite back in Nevada. Making a detour
on the 169 we passed Longdale and Overton and skirted Lake
Mead, crossing back to Arizona (an hours time zone difference)
at the Hoover Dam.
Back into Nevada and we make our way through Boulder City
onto the 582, and the start of the casinos, then onto Freemont
Street with its older Motels, before turning left onto Las
Vegas Boulevard (The Strip!). Travelling along it we took
in the sites of the wedding chapels (cupid's and the say
I do drive though), passed the Stratosphere, the The Stardust and other
casinos to finally reach our hotel, The
Luxor.
After dumping our stuff in room 12033 we travelled the
inclined elevators that run along the inside each corner
of the pyramid building of the hotel and explored what looked
like a world from Tomb Raider. As with all the hotels in
Vegas, the ground floor is taken up by the casino and the
sound of slot machines can be heard everywhere. In the evening
we took the monorail out of the hotel and made our way down
the 'strip' to the Mirage and settled down
with a cool beer to watch the fab pirates battle at Treasure Island from the back of the set. The burning
English galleon gave off lots of heat as it sank to the
bottom.
All the next day we did a tour of the main casinos visiting
among others Caesars Palace, Aladdin, Barnaby Coast, Harrahs,
The
Bellagio, Paris and The Venetian. New York, New York,
The MGM Grand, and the
Excalibur. In
the evening we revisited the Bellagio to see the floodlit
water fountains, a show not to missed. after the gorgeous
Mexican meal in La Salsa in the Luxor we decided to try
our luck with the roulette. Lisa won $35 and so we left
straight away taking our winnings and free drink to some
funny looks from the croupier and other players... Apparently
we're supposed to throw it all back on the table under the
guise of entertainment?... yer right! Unfortunately our
luck didn't stretch to winning the Ford Thunderbird at the
Mandelay Bay.
|
|
Day 15 Las Vegas - Home
|
After dropping the car off at the depot, snif snif (it
wouldn't fit in the suitcase unfortunately) we got the shuttle
bus to McCarren International airport, which even had slot
machines in the departure lounge so that the addicted gamblers
could squeeze in that last flutter. Then, after a delayed
flight, we got re-routed via Newark, Paris before getting
to Manchester minus luggage! Still was good to get back
for the rest!! Ha could do with a holiday to get over this
one!
Top luggage Tip: If, after reading this you and your partner
are inspired to do a similar trip, when packing take the
following advice. Pack one case with stuff for both of you
for the first week and then pack a second case for the second
week. It saves carrying two cases at every Motel stop for
the full two weeks. (Take a break eat your heart out!) Enjoy
|
[Top of Page]
|