Santa Fe tonight, after we've seen some Aztec ruins.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Spectacular scenery
Yesterday morning we left our gun-toting motellier in Kingman, Arizona, and headed for the Grand Canyon. Most of the way we were on the I-40 (big interstate highway) which runs over the top of what used to be Route 66. A lot of the towns along the way have been bypassed by the I-40, but they all maintain slices of their heritage as service stops for travellers on the USA's old "main street." Most cafes have references to 66 and there are plenty of museums and information stops, which looks set to continue as we head further East. Seligman and Williams were both quaint little towns overflowing with 66 memorobilia and American flags. Williams alone had about 40 flags (2000 stars, 520 stripes) in a town around the size of Greytown. There were few 'genuine' American flags in the Indian reservation (most have a picture of an Indian added, or are replaced entirely with Navajo Nation flags).
The Grand Canyon was stunning and it's probably a waste of time trying to put it into words here. It's up to 18 miles across and up to 1.83 km deep. It's 277 miles long. It's huge, it's impressive, look at the photos. Even when you're standing there it still looks kind of 2D because of the distance. We had a great walk along the South Rim and got back into Tusayan (where Winston had been hanging out) around 5pm.
Some helpful advice from a ranger led us to pass through Tuba City and Kayenta situated in the Navajo reservation heading for Utah. Travelling in the evening was great, we saw the sunset on the desert, and drove in moonlight into Utah. We got to the start of Monument Valley quite late and the huge rock formations looked amazing against the blue/black sky. Our campground was just across the border and we swung in there just past 9, or so we thought. Apparently some parts of this area adhere to daylight savings time and others don't. Luckily, we managed to get in, park up and settle in (just after 10) at Gouldings RV park.
After a well deserved sleep in (sorry to those at work, we are thinking of you) we checked out and went into the Monument Valley park proper. The park is run by the Navajo and has some great information about the tribe, including an exhibit on how the 'Navajo Code' was used for secret communication in WWII. The rock formations are huge and like Grand Canyon are best seen in person. It's great driving through this area and Charlotte managed to get Winston up to 60mph.
We crossed into Colorado this afternoon. There are quite stark differences in scenery between the various states we've been to and this is no exception. Arizona was desert with small bushes, Utah had big rocks and red/pink sand, Colorado is much greener. Off in the distance are snow-capped mountains. We're staying at an RV park just across the road from Mesa Verde National Park, which we'll head into tomorrow.
Photo Gallery
We've started a gallery of photos that we'll add to when we have time and internets. Have a look at the Photo Gallery link at the top of the page (next to Contact).
Saturday, May 29, 2010
For our Dads - Hoover Dam
So we got to leaving Las Vegas at about 2pm... heading for the Hoover Dam. About two hours later we got there and man is it huge. It's about 900 feet high (400 of that is underwater) and 110 people died building it. It's not an understatement to say it makes engineering interesting (and, as the voice over told us, proved the 'engineering genius of America'... and compared it to the Colosseum and the Egyptian Pyramids... although completed slightly more recently).
It's the strangest thing, when you've been driving through the desert for hours to turn a corner and all of a sudden see a massive dark blue expanse of lake (Lake Mead) stretch out as far as the eye can see. Pulling up to the Dam itself involved a security check (a walk-through of Winston as well as checking our propane tank) and a slow drive. But it was worth it. One thing we really like about American infrastructure is that everyone involved gets their name on the bronze plaque - including the lawyers, auditors and consultants. Very civilised.
It was pretty hot out there on the dam... 30+ but the cool breeze off the Dam cooled us down.
The Hoover Dam also took us into Arizona... interesting so far. The first hundred or so miles was alongside an Indian reservation - not such an inviting looking place, but there's a lot of jerky to be bought in them parts. We hooked up with Historic Route 66 for a bit - see post below for our dinner - and our now at a really nice camping ground - which is also inexpensive, and the land lady is packing heat.
Catch Up - Vegas baby!
Time to catch you up on Vegas... We left this morning (Friday) and got there on Wednesday evening, after a very long drive (8 hours).
We had to go round the block three times (and two U-turns) til we managed to locate the Paris, Las Vegas RV park. It's the most stressed I've ever seen Mark, but he did us proud. We found Winston a wee spot and then checked in at Paris - which has a 1/2 size Eiffel Tower and entry via a 3/4 size Arc de Triomphe. The Hotel itself resembles the Louvre from the outside and the swimming pool looks like the Versailles fountains.
The rest of the time flew. On Wednesday night we visited Caesar's Palace (which is amazing from the outside - although the ersatz Colosseum is a bit off) and tried out some really, really potent rum cocktails, the Mirage (more later) and the Venetian, which has a mini Bridge of Sighs, internal St Mark's Sq etc etc. At the Venetian we got suckered in to going on a "two hour" trip the next day to look at an "amazing" new hotel to tell our friends about back home. In return, we'd get free passes to a bunch of stuff we wanted to do anyway- at a value of $230 US. Then home to Paris exhausted (and hungry).
Thursday - we headed to the Mirage at 10am for Siegfried and Roy's secret garden - complete with dolphins, white tigers, leopards (the black one was really pretty), white lions, alpacas and a goose. We were spell bound - particularly by the baby dolphin Bella. Then to the Venetian. Well, we knew this would happen - the "two hour" trip was more like four, and the "hotel" was an attempt to sell us a timeshare. Not only us, but about another 400 people. It was full on - and really hilarious to see the US sales techniques. It was evangelical realty. We tried to explain that we weren't the timeshare type - more the RV across the US type! - but they decided it was about the money. So they halved the price, halved the deposit and halved the value - kept reducing until the $41k they wanted originally became $999. The accountant who came over to cut us the deal was the creepiest dude we have ever seen. Mark wrote this on the feedback form.
Anyway, back at The Strip, we went to the Aquarium at Mandalay Bay (crocodiles, kimodo dragon - a deadly bite with 7 lethal bacteria in its mouth to boot - pirhanas, SO MANY sharks, an octopus - did you know they are really smart and can do puzzles and undo jars? - two giant turtles etc etc Very cool). The Luxor's massive King Tut tomb and giant pyramid were impressive. New York New York - once again a one person lunch split between two and we could barely finish. Then back to the Venetian to pick up our prizes. The Madame Tussaud's waxworks museum (the generic horror theme scream ride freaked me out). A 'romantic gondola ride' (that we shared with two rugged chaps from New Orleans (they asked us if NZ was where the erupting volcano was). The gondolier serenaded all four of us... then free dinner at a trattoria 9this time just for two). We also got gambling dollars... but we lost them all... but only lost $21 of our money. Treasure Island, Bellagio, home at about 1:30am - we tried to find an ice cream parlour before bed, but only slot machines and bars are still open at that time in Vegas.
This morning - a spell in the hotel pool and jacuzzi, brunch at Planet Hollywood, Eiffel Tower ride and on the road.
Vegas was awesome - hard to explain the buzz and the entertainment. Never thought I'd say I loved Vegas but I really, really did. The place is insane.
We had to go round the block three times (and two U-turns) til we managed to locate the Paris, Las Vegas RV park. It's the most stressed I've ever seen Mark, but he did us proud. We found Winston a wee spot and then checked in at Paris - which has a 1/2 size Eiffel Tower and entry via a 3/4 size Arc de Triomphe. The Hotel itself resembles the Louvre from the outside and the swimming pool looks like the Versailles fountains.
The rest of the time flew. On Wednesday night we visited Caesar's Palace (which is amazing from the outside - although the ersatz Colosseum is a bit off) and tried out some really, really potent rum cocktails, the Mirage (more later) and the Venetian, which has a mini Bridge of Sighs, internal St Mark's Sq etc etc. At the Venetian we got suckered in to going on a "two hour" trip the next day to look at an "amazing" new hotel to tell our friends about back home. In return, we'd get free passes to a bunch of stuff we wanted to do anyway- at a value of $230 US. Then home to Paris exhausted (and hungry).
Thursday - we headed to the Mirage at 10am for Siegfried and Roy's secret garden - complete with dolphins, white tigers, leopards (the black one was really pretty), white lions, alpacas and a goose. We were spell bound - particularly by the baby dolphin Bella. Then to the Venetian. Well, we knew this would happen - the "two hour" trip was more like four, and the "hotel" was an attempt to sell us a timeshare. Not only us, but about another 400 people. It was full on - and really hilarious to see the US sales techniques. It was evangelical realty. We tried to explain that we weren't the timeshare type - more the RV across the US type! - but they decided it was about the money. So they halved the price, halved the deposit and halved the value - kept reducing until the $41k they wanted originally became $999. The accountant who came over to cut us the deal was the creepiest dude we have ever seen. Mark wrote this on the feedback form.
Anyway, back at The Strip, we went to the Aquarium at Mandalay Bay (crocodiles, kimodo dragon - a deadly bite with 7 lethal bacteria in its mouth to boot - pirhanas, SO MANY sharks, an octopus - did you know they are really smart and can do puzzles and undo jars? - two giant turtles etc etc Very cool). The Luxor's massive King Tut tomb and giant pyramid were impressive. New York New York - once again a one person lunch split between two and we could barely finish. Then back to the Venetian to pick up our prizes. The Madame Tussaud's waxworks museum (the generic horror theme scream ride freaked me out). A 'romantic gondola ride' (that we shared with two rugged chaps from New Orleans (they asked us if NZ was where the erupting volcano was). The gondolier serenaded all four of us... then free dinner at a trattoria 9this time just for two). We also got gambling dollars... but we lost them all... but only lost $21 of our money. Treasure Island, Bellagio, home at about 1:30am - we tried to find an ice cream parlour before bed, but only slot machines and bars are still open at that time in Vegas.
This morning - a spell in the hotel pool and jacuzzi, brunch at Planet Hollywood, Eiffel Tower ride and on the road.
Vegas was awesome - hard to explain the buzz and the entertainment. Never thought I'd say I loved Vegas but I really, really did. The place is insane.
The burgers arrived...
half a roasted capsicum in there, and there's a gherkin hiding
underneath.
Dinner on Route 66
way, note Elvis and Marilyn in the background and root beer in hand.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Breakfast in Vegas
potato and fruit. I managed to eat about half. The waiter was great
and we finally got a REAL coffee. Totally did not expect to love
Vegas, but it would be next to impossible not to have fun here. Photos
and more details to follow!
Roadside Diner #1 - Pixley, California
brown, with a bottomless coffee each. It was about $10 and was
suprisingly good. Except for the coffee, of course.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Winston update
He's a 2009 Ford E450 V8. That's 4.5L of liquid money. We're currently getting 5. 8 miles per gallon (based on 2 fills). He's not the most economical brick on the road, but the engine sounds glorious when you get up around 60 MPH.
Charlotte had a wee drive yesterday morning and will have another shot today. She's put her foot down - at ever reversing him - but is an excellent guide. Perhaps someone back home could slip her CV to Kiwirail or Mainfreight?
Charlotte had a wee drive yesterday morning and will have another shot today. She's put her foot down - at ever reversing him - but is an excellent guide. Perhaps someone back home could slip her CV to Kiwirail or Mainfreight?
Yosemite National Park
After a three hour drive which took us from the green hills of Angel Camp through Central Otago-like scrub, we arrived in Yosemite National Park. We picked up an $80 All National Parks Pass which should get us in to most the NPs for free (and give us a few more days of awesome rock formations, monuments and forests). We knew Yosemite was going to be beautiful, but we weren't really prepared for the grand scale of it.
It is absolutely stunning. We both reckon it's the most beautiful place we have ever been.
Ralph helped us at the tourist office, although Charlotte paid more attention to his turquoise rings than where he was pointing on the map. We headed in through dense Sequoia forests over sheer granite cliffs with amazing views of the valley below. Winston handled the narrow winding roads well and we drove right into the park. Yosemite was the first national park, and the inspiration for a number of others, so it's not surprising that it's incredibly well set up. A free shuttle bus connects car parks with visitor centres and loops past walking tracks to the main sights. There are lodges, camping grounds, cafes, a gas station, art galleries and activities like horse trekking. That may sound commercial and awful, but it is all so well thought out and everything fits perfectly and blends in with the scenery. Certainly a different experience to NZ's national parks.
We spend a good part of the day looking at (and getting drenched by) waterfalls and taking spectacular pictures of the surroundings. No real tramping was done (most of the inclines are approximately 0%), but we did have a good wander. Yosemite Falls has the highest drop of any waterfall in the USA (and 4th in the world) and was just incredible. We're running low on adjectives now, it's fair to say we had a great day there!
Most of this post was written on the way out of Yosemite, as we were waiting in a 1/2 hour road works queue. We had hoped to cross the Tioga Pass Road to the eastern border of the park. Unfortunately there is still quite a bit of snow around and the road is still closed. We headed to Wawona, then to Fresno. On the plane Mark watched a Louis Theroux documentary on Fresno, or more specifically, its high proportion of methamphetamine users. We sped away from Fresno to Kingsburg where we found an RV park (right by a highway and closed) and a lost RV man called Gene (retired, of Nevada). Using our incredible RV park bible we found an alternative place, and led Gene there. It was also closed and locked, but a nice man let us in. He also returned my license and credit card when I left it in the shower.
There's light rain tonight, but it's still warm.
Stats
USA Flags: 54 (we're noticing a strong inverse correlation between town population and number of flags).
NZ Flags: 2
New Zealanders: 0
Squirrels: many
Bears: 0
Coleopterists: 1 (Gene)
Link - www.nps.gov - The American National Park Service has loads of info on national parks/monuments/forests.
Post written at 9pm, 25/05/10 - delayed posting due to lack of internets. Or rather, lack of willingness to pay for internets.
It is absolutely stunning. We both reckon it's the most beautiful place we have ever been.
Ralph helped us at the tourist office, although Charlotte paid more attention to his turquoise rings than where he was pointing on the map. We headed in through dense Sequoia forests over sheer granite cliffs with amazing views of the valley below. Winston handled the narrow winding roads well and we drove right into the park. Yosemite was the first national park, and the inspiration for a number of others, so it's not surprising that it's incredibly well set up. A free shuttle bus connects car parks with visitor centres and loops past walking tracks to the main sights. There are lodges, camping grounds, cafes, a gas station, art galleries and activities like horse trekking. That may sound commercial and awful, but it is all so well thought out and everything fits perfectly and blends in with the scenery. Certainly a different experience to NZ's national parks.
We spend a good part of the day looking at (and getting drenched by) waterfalls and taking spectacular pictures of the surroundings. No real tramping was done (most of the inclines are approximately 0%), but we did have a good wander. Yosemite Falls has the highest drop of any waterfall in the USA (and 4th in the world) and was just incredible. We're running low on adjectives now, it's fair to say we had a great day there!
Most of this post was written on the way out of Yosemite, as we were waiting in a 1/2 hour road works queue. We had hoped to cross the Tioga Pass Road to the eastern border of the park. Unfortunately there is still quite a bit of snow around and the road is still closed. We headed to Wawona, then to Fresno. On the plane Mark watched a Louis Theroux documentary on Fresno, or more specifically, its high proportion of methamphetamine users. We sped away from Fresno to Kingsburg where we found an RV park (right by a highway and closed) and a lost RV man called Gene (retired, of Nevada). Using our incredible RV park bible we found an alternative place, and led Gene there. It was also closed and locked, but a nice man let us in. He also returned my license and credit card when I left it in the shower.
There's light rain tonight, but it's still warm.
Stats
USA Flags: 54 (we're noticing a strong inverse correlation between town population and number of flags).
NZ Flags: 2
New Zealanders: 0
Squirrels: many
Bears: 0
Coleopterists: 1 (Gene)
Link - www.nps.gov - The American National Park Service has loads of info on national parks/monuments/forests.
Post written at 9pm, 25/05/10 - delayed posting due to lack of internets. Or rather, lack of willingness to pay for internets.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Meeting Winston
Firstly, Happy Birthday Dave! Hope you have a great time with Dad down.
We left the hostel this morning with a minor case of fear and
trepidation. We needed a sim card, a coffee, and a shuttle to Dublin.
We got the coffee, some fruit (finally) and delicious pastry (queue
for waffles was too long), got the sim card, and checked out of the
hostel.
Spent a nervous hour in the foyer of another hotel, waiting for the
shuttle, chewing our nails, watching traffic, and wondering just how
big our RV was going to be and how we would ever manage to drive it!
The shuttle arrived and we left for Dublin, via the Bay Bridge and a
beautiful view of San Fran's industrial areas.
Dublin is a small(er) city on the outskirts of San Francisco, where we
were to meet our travelling companion - now known as Winston. Winston
is a mammoth piece of machinery, far more equipped than we ever
imagined. He's 25ft long, 11ft high, and about a lane wide. Yet to
open the hood, so not sure of the engine, but it's plenty powerful. He
has cable TV (where available), DVD player, outdoor and indoor
showers, outdoor and indoor tables, "patio" light, two double beds,
two kitchen sinks, fridge/freezer, oven, stove, microwave, toilet, did
we mention the kitchen sinks?!
But the piece de resistance is the magic button which (when Winston is
stationary) can be pushed to move the left side wall outwards about
2ft. This provides us with even more space, quite ridiculous really.
The hotel in Vegas will probably feel small! Pictures to follow.
The first few minutes (okay, hours) were very stressful, especially
given that we headed almost straight onto the I580 and the CA120. Both
are massive motorways, about 6 lanes wide (each way), and absolutely
choc full of cars, trucks, vans, cop cars, etc. Once we got off the
interstate, we were amongst the beautiful Californian countryside.
Rolling hills, green crops, brown grasses, fruit trees, 10kms of
windmills on the crest of a range, and some tiny farming communities.
In the aptly named Farmington (near Copperopolis) we were delighted to
see that the local Fire Station offered a side service as a depot for
abandoning babies.
Having lightened the load, we continued on to Angel Camp, home to the
delightful Angel Camp RV Resort. Complete with emu, this has been a
good first stop, despite 3 U-turns to get here. When you see the
portraits of Winston you will soon see that such a manoeuvre is one
likely to raise blood pressures.
So we're now settling down to sleep. Heading to Yosemite early tomorrow.
Monday, May 24, 2010
San Francisco - Owned
Up at 6:45am to taste the hostel's free waffles - you have to make them yourself, so just as well that it turns out Mark has a latent talent for waffle making.
We got to pier 33 by 9:00am in time for our boat-ride to Alcatraz. The only boat left during our time in San Fran was this one, it cost an arm and a leg (per person) and meant we were also locked in for a trip to Angel Island. It turns out this was awesome. Alcatraz was quite simply amazing. And Angel Island was beautiful, and actually kinda culturally significant as it turns out (a Civil War fort, WW2 post, immigration detainment facility for Chinese arrivals - and also the birthplace of Chinese-American literature - as well as a Cold War missile site).
Back to San Francisco at 3pm and, after a lunch of crab and shrimp chowder served in a bowl made of sourdough bread (one 'Merican meal served both of us and we couldn't finish it!), we rented bikes and set off for the Golden Gate. It was a really cool way to see the Fisherman's Wharf area as well as the park surrounding Golden Gate Bridge. Back to Lombard Street (allegedly the crookedest street in the world, which may be true, but it seemed contrived to us and like it has just been done to attention-seek) then, a whole heap of steep, steep walks later we jumped on an over-full tram car. It surprised us that the Golden Gate bridge is SF's most popular suicide spot. Tram-cars seemed much more likely to kill you. Mark got yelled at by the tram driver for leaning back just as another tram car was passing very close and going in the opposite direction.
As we were waiting at a bus stop, a crazy homeless man starting giving lip to a ghetto chick. He picked the wrong girl, cos she maced him. Four times. Turns out mace is less of a spray and more of a liquid jet. Karen and Rosie: Don't worry Mums, we weren't in any danger - it was one of the day's highlights!
We passed through Alamo Square, home of the 'Painted Ladies' - the pretty pastel coloured houses which showed at the start of 'Full House' and then headed to Haight for a Lonely Planet recommended pizza restaurant. We ordered one large pizza for the two of us, but should have stuck to the entree size, because we didn't even get half way.
Bus, walk, home. We're exhausted but we love San Francisco. It's like Wellington, only bigger, better and the wind is colder.
Flag count: 46
Fruit/vegetables consumed: 0
We got to pier 33 by 9:00am in time for our boat-ride to Alcatraz. The only boat left during our time in San Fran was this one, it cost an arm and a leg (per person) and meant we were also locked in for a trip to Angel Island. It turns out this was awesome. Alcatraz was quite simply amazing. And Angel Island was beautiful, and actually kinda culturally significant as it turns out (a Civil War fort, WW2 post, immigration detainment facility for Chinese arrivals - and also the birthplace of Chinese-American literature - as well as a Cold War missile site).
Back to San Francisco at 3pm and, after a lunch of crab and shrimp chowder served in a bowl made of sourdough bread (one 'Merican meal served both of us and we couldn't finish it!), we rented bikes and set off for the Golden Gate. It was a really cool way to see the Fisherman's Wharf area as well as the park surrounding Golden Gate Bridge. Back to Lombard Street (allegedly the crookedest street in the world, which may be true, but it seemed contrived to us and like it has just been done to attention-seek) then, a whole heap of steep, steep walks later we jumped on an over-full tram car. It surprised us that the Golden Gate bridge is SF's most popular suicide spot. Tram-cars seemed much more likely to kill you. Mark got yelled at by the tram driver for leaning back just as another tram car was passing very close and going in the opposite direction.
As we were waiting at a bus stop, a crazy homeless man starting giving lip to a ghetto chick. He picked the wrong girl, cos she maced him. Four times. Turns out mace is less of a spray and more of a liquid jet. Karen and Rosie: Don't worry Mums, we weren't in any danger - it was one of the day's highlights!
We passed through Alamo Square, home of the 'Painted Ladies' - the pretty pastel coloured houses which showed at the start of 'Full House' and then headed to Haight for a Lonely Planet recommended pizza restaurant. We ordered one large pizza for the two of us, but should have stuck to the entree size, because we didn't even get half way.
Bus, walk, home. We're exhausted but we love San Francisco. It's like Wellington, only bigger, better and the wind is colder.
Flag count: 46
Fruit/vegetables consumed: 0
Sunday, May 23, 2010
In one piece
After a long wait in LA, we've made it to San Francisco. Experienced the first of many Starbucks "coffees" and Funyuns (a portmanteau of Fun and Onions. Clearly their marketing guy excelled in puns 101).
As we've come to expect from taxi drivers, ours was slightly mad. He somehow managed to sing, write, drink and swerve his way into the city, all for a very reasonable price. The hostel is fine, for some reason there is a microwave and fridge in our room.
After a short recovery nap, we headed our for a sight-see. Bitterly cold here - about 10C - which threw us a bit, and we had to warm up with burgers and beers at a Mexican bar. This evening we've seen to Union Square, Macy's, Nob Hill, a dozen or so trams, and a vaguely important church.
Stats updates
Flags: 5
Burgers: 1 (each)
Buds 1 (each)
As we've come to expect from taxi drivers, ours was slightly mad. He somehow managed to sing, write, drink and swerve his way into the city, all for a very reasonable price. The hostel is fine, for some reason there is a microwave and fridge in our room.
After a short recovery nap, we headed our for a sight-see. Bitterly cold here - about 10C - which threw us a bit, and we had to warm up with burgers and beers at a Mexican bar. This evening we've seen to Union Square, Macy's, Nob Hill, a dozen or so trams, and a vaguely important church.
Stats updates
Flags: 5
Burgers: 1 (each)
Buds 1 (each)
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Friday, May 21, 2010
Sunday, May 9, 2010
The Final Countdown
Down to 12 sleeps!
Here's an pic (stolen from www.elmonterv.com) of what our RV might be link. It's meant to be 25' long, and will no doubt be a total beast to drive. And it sleeps five.
It's revenge time for every minute of my life wasted behind a damned Maui camper on NZ roads.
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