Monday 9th July – Today we hired a couple of bikes downtown and headed out round the Stanley Park circuit. It was a lovely day with warm sunshine. We enjoyed the cycling so much we carried on round the south side of town along the shoreline and back towards Stanley Park. We stopped along the way at a beach for a brew and a butty, super stuff. Late afternoon we wandered back up through the problems of East Hastings to the hotel for another Chinese feast and a beer.
Tuesday 10th July – Moving on day today and another car hire adventure awaits. We went downtown to pick up the car but the car wasn’t in yet and we were early so we went back to the digs and I went down for the car at lunchtime then picked Lynn up with the luggage.
The hire experience went OK but we ended up with a bigger car than we had expected. It was a very nice car, as they go but it was all gadgets with buttons for this, sensors for that. However it was very comfortable and roomy so off we set for Squamish and some more camping. Before we set off we had to find some more camp fuel – proving to be a real nuisance out here. Found a DIY shop that didn’t sell it. Told us we needed a paint shop. Found the paint shop, they didn’t know what we meant until they got another guy who finally got us sorted.
Lovely run up to Squamish and we found the campsite quite by accident. Nice friendly owners but we were back with the trees again. Not only were there trees but also mozzies which were a real nuisance. We had a lovely big pitch as before and the chumping queen was straight on the case finding wood for the fire. After we had site set up we went shopping and had dinner and a beer by the fire. Well wrapped up in an attempt to keep the mozzies at bay.
Squamish was about 6 miles away from the site in a pretty mountain valley alongside a wide river. The site itself was set in ‘woods’ next to the railway which chugged up and down the valley to Whistler. Whistler is where they held the 2010 winter Olympics.
Wednesday 11th July – Managed to sleep in today. After a leisurely breakfast we walked from the site up the Thomson trail up to Lake Brohm. Steep start to the walk but then got easier and ended up on the lakeside where we lunched. Trail back was probably more difficult going down as it was so steep. Got back to site mid afternoon and headed out shopping. Here in Canada you cannot buy alcohol in the supermarkets you have to go to liquor stores – what a bind. Also it is far more expensive here in Canada than it was in the USA.
In the evening we had a BBQ and tried to BBQ as many mozzies as we could – what a nuisance they were. Dinner was good but the evening cut short as we had to sit in the car due to mozzies.
Thursday 12th July – A day out locally today. First stop was ‘eagles run’ in Brackendale which boasts to be the bald eagle capital of the world!! They allegedly counted 1600 one day last winter. Oh I forgot to mention the eagles come down here in winter so we didn’t see any that day!! After eagle spotting unsuccessfully we headed into Squamish for a brew then down to the beach side via Sawmills Road where we had excellent views of Shannon Falls and The Chief – a local huge granite monolith where all the local climbers test their skills. Quite a sight I have to say.
We then headed across town to do a short walk and ended up having to turn back as the path ran out!! Very frustrating but an interesting if only short walk. We then went shopping headed back to site and had dinner. Mozzies once again really bad so after dinner we drove up the valley to a place marked on the map called Garibaldi, which in reality did not exist as we couldn’t find it. There were some stunning views along the way which in some way redeemed the trip out.
Friday 13th July – The dreaded Friday the 13th and we are heading for Whistler today. Well I say heading as we didn’t actually get there 'til late afternoon. We got delayed at a place called Brandywine Falls – sounds like something from Lord of the Rings!! It was actually quite a spectacular waterfall but once we had seen the falls we saw a sign for the Whistler bungee so we followed that. It was further than I think the signs lead you to believe but quite spectacular when you got there. We stood and watched a few folks leaping off then headed back down the long trail back to the falls and car park.
We arrived in Whistler 3.30ish and were amazed at the number of mountain bikers queuing for the gondola to the top so they could come tearing back down. There were also guys wandering around with snowboards and skis and there wasn’t any snow to be seen!! We made enquiries about gondola tickets but were too late in the day to get any real benefit from the tickets so we headed back set on coming back early the following day.
Back at the site it was the ususal round of showers, fires, food, drink and battle with the mozzies – who seem to be winning at this place!!
Saturday 14th July – Early start as we were off to Whistler again! Got off to a bad start though as I left my boots back at the tent and we had to go back 17kms to get them, what a muppet!! Finally on our way again we parked in one of the many giant car parks and got our gondola ticket.
The first gondola was of the open bucket type with your feet swinging about under you, this took us half way up Blackcomb mountain. Here we had to get off and get another to took us almost to the top. Where we got off to change gondolas we saw a black bear, he was sitting in the grass about 100 yards away from the gondola station not bothered about anyone. It was great to see him sat there tucking into some alpine flowers. The second gondola took us to the bottom of the ski and snowboard trails where there was tons of snow!! So we got on the third gondola to take us up to the start of these trails. It was like a different world at the top with a dedicated course for snowboarding, downhill ski runs and courses it was remarkable.
Fourth gondola back down to the snow board finish, all gondolas so far have been bucket types. We were now waiting for our fifth gondola which was a large 16 person type enclosed gondola. Not just any old gondola tho’, this was the highest and longest in the world and we were waiting for a gondola car with a glass bottom!! It connected Blackcomb mountain to Whistler mountain via one continuous cable car system, what a feat of engineering and designed and built in Austria!
It was quite a ride across between the two mountains and it took about 12 minutes to do the journey. Now on Whistler mountain – keep up please – we headed for gondola number six to take us to the top of Whistler mountain. Another bucket type gondola and more spectacular scenery and piles of snow.
We actually walked down from the top of Whistler mountain back to the longest/highest cable car where we got in an ordinary car (no glass floor) back across to Blackcomb mountain. Here we had a wander about before getting gondolas number eight and nine back down to Whistler village and resort. We saw another black bear on the way down rolling around in the alpine meadow below us. It sounds like all we have done all day is ride on gondolas but we have in fact done quite a bit of exploring and wandering about in between.
A superb day was had on Whistler and Blackcomb mountains, probably one of the best ‘fun days’ of the trip!! On the way back down to Squamish number 1 chumper spotted some more wood at forty yards – good job as we were out of wood!! So after a quick gathering of the woods we headed back via the ‘Wigan chip shop’ in Squamish for dinner and the usual battle with the annoying biting little farts!!
Sunday 15th July – Moving on day again, this time it’s back to VC straight through town and down Tsasswassen where had a ferry booked for Salt Spring Island. The journey went OK although wet and foul, we did however manage to get the tent away dry!
The ferry across to Saltspring was steady but we couldn’t see much because of the bad weather. We arrived at the camp site around 4.30ish and it was an open spot with no trees!! We got all set up in nice cosy little site setting, just got the fire going when Mrs D spotted a huge Roland rat running at the back of the site so that was the end of this nice site feeling……… We got through dinner and watched some TV via the internet with good old free wifi on site. Despite Roland a good nights sleep was had and the following day the sun was back and all was beautiful!!
Sunday, October 14, 2012
USA WEEK 7 – Champoeg USA to Vancouver Canada
Many apologies for the delay with these scribblings I humbly apologise, if there are any of you left to apologise to…………..
Monday 2nd July – Today we headed towards McMinville and the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum. We hadn’t planned on coming here but the owner of the campsite in Golden Bay, where Myrtle the moggy was, told us about it and said it was worth a visit. Well worth the visit it was too, we had a super day out. Planned for a couple of hours but ended up being kicked out at 5 o’clock!
The main reason for the visit was to see the famous ‘Spruce Goose’ the wooden seaplane built by Howard Hughes. It is in fact made from birch not spruce but it is enormous and only flew once for a few minutes – to prove his critics wrong!
It made its one and only flight in San Francisco Bay on November 2nd 1947. After this it was put away in a hanger for posterity. After Hughes death it was put on display in 1980 alongside the Queen Mary in a large hanger but the Disney boys bought the exhibition and the plane did not feature in their plans so it was then sold to Evergreen who have put it on permanent display at McMinville.
We did the tour of the museum and we also did the cockpit tour of Hughes plane and sat in up front in the seats that were once occupied by Hughes and his co-pilot, quite a special moment!
Also in display in the museum was the history of aviation going right back to the Wright brothers. There was also a good display of the aircraft used by Evergreen over the years.
In an adjacent building there was a space display. This was also excellent as there were space rockets, the lunar module from the moon landing, a blackbird and historical timeline on space travel. There were also a few USAF fighter planes there too. All in all an excellent day out and well worth the visit.
Tuesday 3rd July – Today we headed out towards the Columbia river Gorge. Quite sad really as this was pretty much where our trip started at the mouth of this enormous river. We had to go through Portland which was a huge sprawling mess but the gorge was quite a sight.
We visited the highest waterfall in Oregon, had a hike to the top, found another long bridge over the river, saw a huge hydro electric dam operation where in the basement they had someone sat at a computer counting and identifying fish in the lake. What a job, I think it was so they could keep an eye on fish numbers…..
In the evening we headed into downtown Portland where we had a walk and some grub. The centre where we were looked OK, typical of a large US city being super clean with what looked like an excellent public transport system. There was a blues festival in town but sadly it started on the day we were leaving.
It was then back to our campsite at Champoeg, which was not the best with a dingy corner for campers and it was extremely busy too. Oh well at least it was the last camp for a while, our next being a good few days away up near Whistler in Canada.
Wednesday 4th July – It’s US independence day today and we are moving on back up to Seattle via Mount St Helens. The drive up to the Johnson Observatory on St Helens was fantastic. Super views up into the crater which was venting steam all the time we were there. At the top there was a theatre where we watched two short films about that devastating day back in 1980 on May 18th. At the end of the film the curtains pulled back to reveal a most spectacular view right across and into the volcanic crater.
A steady run up to Seattle followed this, the last of our adventures in the US. We arrived in Seattle late afternoon, ditched the bags at the motel and went downtown to see if there was some 4th July event going on anywhere. I have to say, down town was pretty quiet. All we saw from our harbour side vista point was a display of fireworks going off in any direction you cared to look. Sadly nothing close enough to walk to. Slightly disappointed we headed back up to the motel for an evening not under canvas!!
Thursday 5th July – With the car now empty and all traces of chumping expeditions removed we went to drop the car off at the infamous Budget. Car now gone, with no hassle or fees I might add we headed back to the airport for the train into town.
We were going to check out the train station for our rail adventure into Canada tomorrow. Amtrak had sent us an e-mail saying that the station in Seattle was undergoing refurbishment and to allow more time. Good job we went as it was a major expedition just finding the station amongst all the building work!! After we got sorted for the following day we headed across town for a look round the centre of town. It was OK but usual city stuff, hard work wandering round towns.
Late afternoon we headed back up to the motel and got the bags sorted for the train tomoz. We did have a baggage allowance and Lynn was a bit concerned over the bag weights and would be happier as soon as the bags were checked in!
Friday 6th July – Early start into town for the 7.50 train to Vancouver. Bags just sneaked through within limits so there was a big sigh of relief. The journey was superb, the train very comfortable and roomy and the food tasty and reasonable. We did have a bit of a delay crossing into Canada over the river due to a broken rail. This however seemed to fly by due to the carriage entertainment. As we approached the border, the guard announced that there were 8 carriages on the train which would be let off 1 carriage at a time to get through customs. He said if anyone was willing to go to him and sing the Canadian national anthem over the speakers throughout the train, their carriage would be let out first. Well there was a line of Canadians attempting to get their carriage out first and the singing was interesting. We managed to get out 5th and the deal was whoever sang got to leave the carriage first. Quite entertaining, you wouldn’t see that on the transpennine express!!
We arrived at Vancouver Station early afternoon and got a cab to the hotel. The reception area was very nice and there was a microbrewery on site. We got a room key and went to a very small and untidy, unready room. A quick trip to reception got us another marginally better room overlooking the delights of East Hastings (more on this later.)
We unpacked and had a stroll into downtown Vancouver. We had quite a stretch towards Stanley Park, the cruise terminal and town centre. We were wrecked when we got back. We dined and had a local beer in Pats pub – the on site brew house – and it was very nice.
A note on East Hastings, it is an area of VC where all the folks with problems reside. Not just ‘problems’ but serious drug problems and serious mental health issues. The road out of town – East Hastings – is strewn with very shabby looking hostels where all these folks live. There are obviously some staff who keep an eye over them, feed them and assist them with their drug habits. I understand that they have to be somewhere but nothing on earth could have prepared us for what we saw in East Hastings. There was open needle use, all sorts of dodgy looking deals going on and lots of people with an array of injuries from minor to serious from either scuffles or drug related issues. It was quite shocking. The thing was that our hotel was in the middle of all this and we had to walk through it to get into and back from downtown, quite an un-nerving experience. The police were on hand many times daily resolving issues with the guys and local business owners. Very sad to see and there must be another way………..
Saturday 7th July – Today we had another walk into town via the seafront and towards Stanley Park. We noticed shed loads of bicycles going past and eventually found a hire shop. Great to see them all on official cycle paths. In the afternoon we called into VC Police Museum for a shuffle round. It was very interesting with loads of historical stuff on the force going back. The building used to be the mortuary where post mortems were undertaken. We were very surprised to find out that no less than Errol Flynn (Lynn’s brothers idol and hero) was taken there when he died and had his post mortem done in the building we were in! There was even a copy of the post mortem report on the wall in the mortuary next to the very table where he sadly laid dead all those years ago. We seemed to be in there ages, it was a very interesting visit. After the police museum we headed back up to good old East Hastings and our hotel where we had a splendid Chinese meal for dinner.
Sunday 8th July – Looking through the local what to see and do guide we noticed that there was a local custom to do ‘the Grouse Grind.’ Now the Grouse Grind is a mountain across the bay which is a 3000ft almost vertical climb up a steep winding path to the top of Grouse Mountain. At the top of the mountain is an alpine resort where they ski in the winter and hike in the summer. There is also at the top a hotel, various viewpoints one of which as at the top of a wind turbine, a collection of birds of prey and two grizzly bears who were found abandoned as cubs and have been living up there ever since. All sounds pretty good. So we decided to do the ‘grind’ so we got our bus ticket which was $2.50 and got a bus into town, a ferry across the bay then another bus to grouse mountain, splendid value! It all worked out very efficiently and we were at the bottom of the climb. Now the locals or anyone for that matter can register at the bottom and as you climb your progress is monitored electronically so you know your time, can attempt to beat personal bests an such like. Additionally when you cross the line at the top your name comes up on a screen to say you have finished and in what time. We didn’t bother with this we just struggled on up slowly and did the ‘grind’ in two hours. There were others passing us running, walking quickly and generally on a mission to get to the top. Looking at the time boards at the top, the best time for the day was 37 minutes!! We were wrecked again as we found it very difficult.
After a butty and a brew we had a wander around the top. Super views down to VC and out towards Vancouver Island in the distance. We found the grizzlies who lived in a huge compound and were very entertaining. When they were found, they were both in such a state it took weeks to save them, they had to be fed via drips intravenously. It took so long to get them right that by the time they were, they could not be put back into the wild and the decision was taken to keep them atop Grouse mountain in a dedicated enclosure.
After the Grizzlies we saw the birds of prey which were magnificent then watched a lumberjack type show before heading back down by a cable car. All in all a superb day out on the mountain and quite a public transport epic to get there and back. Back at the digs, well deserved showers and more of Pats ale and fine foods.
Monday 2nd July – Today we headed towards McMinville and the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum. We hadn’t planned on coming here but the owner of the campsite in Golden Bay, where Myrtle the moggy was, told us about it and said it was worth a visit. Well worth the visit it was too, we had a super day out. Planned for a couple of hours but ended up being kicked out at 5 o’clock!
The main reason for the visit was to see the famous ‘Spruce Goose’ the wooden seaplane built by Howard Hughes. It is in fact made from birch not spruce but it is enormous and only flew once for a few minutes – to prove his critics wrong!
It made its one and only flight in San Francisco Bay on November 2nd 1947. After this it was put away in a hanger for posterity. After Hughes death it was put on display in 1980 alongside the Queen Mary in a large hanger but the Disney boys bought the exhibition and the plane did not feature in their plans so it was then sold to Evergreen who have put it on permanent display at McMinville.
We did the tour of the museum and we also did the cockpit tour of Hughes plane and sat in up front in the seats that were once occupied by Hughes and his co-pilot, quite a special moment!
Also in display in the museum was the history of aviation going right back to the Wright brothers. There was also a good display of the aircraft used by Evergreen over the years.
In an adjacent building there was a space display. This was also excellent as there were space rockets, the lunar module from the moon landing, a blackbird and historical timeline on space travel. There were also a few USAF fighter planes there too. All in all an excellent day out and well worth the visit.
Tuesday 3rd July – Today we headed out towards the Columbia river Gorge. Quite sad really as this was pretty much where our trip started at the mouth of this enormous river. We had to go through Portland which was a huge sprawling mess but the gorge was quite a sight.
We visited the highest waterfall in Oregon, had a hike to the top, found another long bridge over the river, saw a huge hydro electric dam operation where in the basement they had someone sat at a computer counting and identifying fish in the lake. What a job, I think it was so they could keep an eye on fish numbers…..
In the evening we headed into downtown Portland where we had a walk and some grub. The centre where we were looked OK, typical of a large US city being super clean with what looked like an excellent public transport system. There was a blues festival in town but sadly it started on the day we were leaving.
It was then back to our campsite at Champoeg, which was not the best with a dingy corner for campers and it was extremely busy too. Oh well at least it was the last camp for a while, our next being a good few days away up near Whistler in Canada.
Wednesday 4th July – It’s US independence day today and we are moving on back up to Seattle via Mount St Helens. The drive up to the Johnson Observatory on St Helens was fantastic. Super views up into the crater which was venting steam all the time we were there. At the top there was a theatre where we watched two short films about that devastating day back in 1980 on May 18th. At the end of the film the curtains pulled back to reveal a most spectacular view right across and into the volcanic crater.
A steady run up to Seattle followed this, the last of our adventures in the US. We arrived in Seattle late afternoon, ditched the bags at the motel and went downtown to see if there was some 4th July event going on anywhere. I have to say, down town was pretty quiet. All we saw from our harbour side vista point was a display of fireworks going off in any direction you cared to look. Sadly nothing close enough to walk to. Slightly disappointed we headed back up to the motel for an evening not under canvas!!
Thursday 5th July – With the car now empty and all traces of chumping expeditions removed we went to drop the car off at the infamous Budget. Car now gone, with no hassle or fees I might add we headed back to the airport for the train into town.
We were going to check out the train station for our rail adventure into Canada tomorrow. Amtrak had sent us an e-mail saying that the station in Seattle was undergoing refurbishment and to allow more time. Good job we went as it was a major expedition just finding the station amongst all the building work!! After we got sorted for the following day we headed across town for a look round the centre of town. It was OK but usual city stuff, hard work wandering round towns.
Late afternoon we headed back up to the motel and got the bags sorted for the train tomoz. We did have a baggage allowance and Lynn was a bit concerned over the bag weights and would be happier as soon as the bags were checked in!
Friday 6th July – Early start into town for the 7.50 train to Vancouver. Bags just sneaked through within limits so there was a big sigh of relief. The journey was superb, the train very comfortable and roomy and the food tasty and reasonable. We did have a bit of a delay crossing into Canada over the river due to a broken rail. This however seemed to fly by due to the carriage entertainment. As we approached the border, the guard announced that there were 8 carriages on the train which would be let off 1 carriage at a time to get through customs. He said if anyone was willing to go to him and sing the Canadian national anthem over the speakers throughout the train, their carriage would be let out first. Well there was a line of Canadians attempting to get their carriage out first and the singing was interesting. We managed to get out 5th and the deal was whoever sang got to leave the carriage first. Quite entertaining, you wouldn’t see that on the transpennine express!!
We arrived at Vancouver Station early afternoon and got a cab to the hotel. The reception area was very nice and there was a microbrewery on site. We got a room key and went to a very small and untidy, unready room. A quick trip to reception got us another marginally better room overlooking the delights of East Hastings (more on this later.)
We unpacked and had a stroll into downtown Vancouver. We had quite a stretch towards Stanley Park, the cruise terminal and town centre. We were wrecked when we got back. We dined and had a local beer in Pats pub – the on site brew house – and it was very nice.
A note on East Hastings, it is an area of VC where all the folks with problems reside. Not just ‘problems’ but serious drug problems and serious mental health issues. The road out of town – East Hastings – is strewn with very shabby looking hostels where all these folks live. There are obviously some staff who keep an eye over them, feed them and assist them with their drug habits. I understand that they have to be somewhere but nothing on earth could have prepared us for what we saw in East Hastings. There was open needle use, all sorts of dodgy looking deals going on and lots of people with an array of injuries from minor to serious from either scuffles or drug related issues. It was quite shocking. The thing was that our hotel was in the middle of all this and we had to walk through it to get into and back from downtown, quite an un-nerving experience. The police were on hand many times daily resolving issues with the guys and local business owners. Very sad to see and there must be another way………..
Saturday 7th July – Today we had another walk into town via the seafront and towards Stanley Park. We noticed shed loads of bicycles going past and eventually found a hire shop. Great to see them all on official cycle paths. In the afternoon we called into VC Police Museum for a shuffle round. It was very interesting with loads of historical stuff on the force going back. The building used to be the mortuary where post mortems were undertaken. We were very surprised to find out that no less than Errol Flynn (Lynn’s brothers idol and hero) was taken there when he died and had his post mortem done in the building we were in! There was even a copy of the post mortem report on the wall in the mortuary next to the very table where he sadly laid dead all those years ago. We seemed to be in there ages, it was a very interesting visit. After the police museum we headed back up to good old East Hastings and our hotel where we had a splendid Chinese meal for dinner.
Sunday 8th July – Looking through the local what to see and do guide we noticed that there was a local custom to do ‘the Grouse Grind.’ Now the Grouse Grind is a mountain across the bay which is a 3000ft almost vertical climb up a steep winding path to the top of Grouse Mountain. At the top of the mountain is an alpine resort where they ski in the winter and hike in the summer. There is also at the top a hotel, various viewpoints one of which as at the top of a wind turbine, a collection of birds of prey and two grizzly bears who were found abandoned as cubs and have been living up there ever since. All sounds pretty good. So we decided to do the ‘grind’ so we got our bus ticket which was $2.50 and got a bus into town, a ferry across the bay then another bus to grouse mountain, splendid value! It all worked out very efficiently and we were at the bottom of the climb. Now the locals or anyone for that matter can register at the bottom and as you climb your progress is monitored electronically so you know your time, can attempt to beat personal bests an such like. Additionally when you cross the line at the top your name comes up on a screen to say you have finished and in what time. We didn’t bother with this we just struggled on up slowly and did the ‘grind’ in two hours. There were others passing us running, walking quickly and generally on a mission to get to the top. Looking at the time boards at the top, the best time for the day was 37 minutes!! We were wrecked again as we found it very difficult.
After a butty and a brew we had a wander around the top. Super views down to VC and out towards Vancouver Island in the distance. We found the grizzlies who lived in a huge compound and were very entertaining. When they were found, they were both in such a state it took weeks to save them, they had to be fed via drips intravenously. It took so long to get them right that by the time they were, they could not be put back into the wild and the decision was taken to keep them atop Grouse mountain in a dedicated enclosure.
After the Grizzlies we saw the birds of prey which were magnificent then watched a lumberjack type show before heading back down by a cable car. All in all a superb day out on the mountain and quite a public transport epic to get there and back. Back at the digs, well deserved showers and more of Pats ale and fine foods.
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Short note.................
Well it's Saturday the 21st July and we are flying back to the UK on Monday!!! That's it, it's just about over aside from a day in downtown Seattle tomorrow. This means I will have to finish my ramblings from home when we get back.
I've yet to drone on about Howard Hughes, Portland, Mount St Helens, Amtrak to Vancouver, Vancouver, Bob Bear, Whistler, more mozzies, Salt Spring Island, Victoria Island, killer whale watching, the bus back to Seattle 'coz the train was derailed and sunny Seattle. All this to come and more silly pictures to go with it.
So, god willing and all that we are back in Blighty for little over a week then we are sloping off to Corfu as we have seen what the UK weather has been doing. I will finish this off just in case there is any of you few followers left.
Speak again soon................................................
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| Born again cyclist in Vancouver |
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| Bald Eagle |
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| Mr Grizzly |
I've yet to drone on about Howard Hughes, Portland, Mount St Helens, Amtrak to Vancouver, Vancouver, Bob Bear, Whistler, more mozzies, Salt Spring Island, Victoria Island, killer whale watching, the bus back to Seattle 'coz the train was derailed and sunny Seattle. All this to come and more silly pictures to go with it.
So, god willing and all that we are back in Blighty for little over a week then we are sloping off to Corfu as we have seen what the UK weather has been doing. I will finish this off just in case there is any of you few followers left.
Speak again soon................................................
Saturday, July 21, 2012
USA WEEK 6 – Lassen Volcanic Park to Klamath Falls
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| Bonfire night by the tent |
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| Crater Lake again |
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| Bit of snow about |
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| Crater Lake |
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| Guard and passenger |
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| Our first bald eagle |
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| Meal with a view |
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| Rocky Point |
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| Splendid Oarsman |
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| Moving the rock - it's spoiling the view!! |
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| Mount Shasta |
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| Lassen Peak |
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| Bumpass Hell Trail - Closed |
The epic Budget saga was to it’s usual drama, this time the office I called at could not access our files because the system was down AAAAHHHHHHH!!! She nicely told me I would have to call them in Seattle. I explained the auto voice not understanding my accent which raised a smile so she give me a direct line number to a real talking person in Seattle. To finish the saga, I managed to get through to Seattle and yes all wa confirmed and in order – hooray!!
On with the journey to Mount Lassen via Safeway to stock up on goods, ale and food as shops are in short supply at this high altitude destination. By the way, Mrs D is now an official club card member of Safeway USA and now we get all the savings and discounts, what fun. All stocked up we were on our way and it was one long big climb. A 50 mile climb actually. Reading is at sea level almost and Mount Lassen is at 12000ft. The campsite is at 8000ft so could be cool nights, no more 90 degree Californian nights.
The snow covered peak of Lassen got nearer and nearer. In actual fact because the Sacramento valley is so low you can see Lassen Peak from almost 100 miles away on the west side. We arrived at the camp site late afternoon. Nice big pitch again, surrounded by more damn trees.
Every site we have had has had a fire ring for a camp fire. Something the Americans love and light every night even when it is 90dgs. Anyway, Mrs D is now the champion, chumper or rigger (whatever your term) at foraging for firewood. Never mind the hunter gatherer males, we can be driving along and she will spot good firewood at 50 yards. We had to make extra space in the back of the car for all the excess wood we collected along the way.
Camp all set up, dinner done it was firewood time. Fire cracking and Dan Deer wandered through the site and yes we are in Bob Bear country again. Back to bear proof food and cosmetic storage along with Bob proof trash and recycling bins. The elusive ‘Bob’ is a bit of a nuisance on the quiet. Enough said for one day.
Tuesday 26th June – Up early due to the fact it WAS a very cold night and the toilet rush was on!! The bad news was that due to the cold over night, our old faithful water bag froze and both sides split – what a bummer!! Once the sun was up it warmed up quickly but the nights here were going to be nippy, good job I packed my old Damarts!!
After breakfast we headed on up around the park stopping off at a couple of viewpoints along the way. The first was Hot Rock which was a huge 3 ton boulder thrown 5 miles from the summit explosion and was found still hell hot some weeks after. A quick lesson here so you know what I’m droning on about. In 1915 Mount Lassen erupted and rumbled right through the year on and off until into 1916 when it mega erupted. This blew large parts of the mountain and the resulting rock/lava field down valleys up 20 miles away. It just so happened that some photographer just happened to be up there when it blew and managed to catch it all on film and survive the destruction.
The second point we stopped was ‘devastation point’ an obvious name I think with views up to the summit via the destroyed valley which has recovered in some areas but bears no resemblance to it’s former beauty. As we got higher and near the ‘trail head’ for Lassen Peak the snow on the roadside was 2ft deep in places. The trail to the top is steep, windy, crosses snow fields and closed at .9 of a mile from the top so we went up. It was super and so were the views along the way.
After this we had lunch then drove on some more to see Bumpass Hell a geothermal area with hot pools and bubbling mud stuff. Sadly this trail was closed as it was under 4 feet of snow.
We then headed back down to camp but stopped on the way back to get some more firewood kindly spotted by eagles eyes herself!!
Big fire and grub was enjoyed at the end of an excellent day.
Wednesday 27th June – Not quite as cold last night and a walk from the site today. It was a lovely walk up through fire damaged forest then volcano damaged land to a lake called Craggy Lake. It was a steady climb up and steep going back but nice to walk from the tent. On the way back Mrs D got into chumping mode and I went to get the car to fill it with her findings. Back mid afternoon for a couple of hours sun before showers and a huge fire whilst listening to neighbours playing Johnny Cash music in huge RV (recreational vehicle, a campervan to us folks.) Cracking day out Gromit!!
Thursday 28th June – Moving on again today and sadly leaving California which has been a super experience. Today we are back into Oregon at Klamath Falls (where there are no falls) but a huge lake. This area of wetland is the home to many migrating and nesting birds including the famous American icon the bald eagle.
The journey was excellent passing mount Shasta another 14000ft snow capped volcano and other smaller ones along the way. The whole area we are driving back up through is known as the cascade mountain range and it has both active and dormant volcanoes all the way from British Columbia in Canada down into California. It has been quite a spectacular drive so far.
We arrived at Rocky Point Resort late afternoon. Quite a small site by comparison to some but nevertheless very nice and we had a prime lakeside spot. Facilities were excellent and the owner very friendly and helpful. After a brisk walk up the road we got back to tent armed with half a forest as and had the usual campfire dinner.
Friday 29th June – Away from Bob bear territory we are now in mozzi country – well what do you expect if you camp next to a lake in wetlands!! Persistent little blighters too. Today we hired a canoe and took to the waters of the lake. Now, it wasn’t a vast open lake as you imagine more like a lake covered in reed beds with water ways running through them. Our host told us there was a steady little 4 mile circuit down the shore and back up through the reeds and that we may see bald eagle nests, beaver lodges and an abundance of birds.
We set off and very pleasant it was too, that was until we realised we had missed the right turn and had gone 4 miles down the shore following the wrong trail. This realisation did not occur until after lunch when we seemed to be heading further away from the shore. Now imagine your on a reed bed six feet tall, in a canoe which you can’t stand up in to see where you are and the signs for the route are seven inches square if you are lucky and they are not hanging upside down. Before I go on we had a lovely quiet lunch sat in our canoe somewhere on Klamath lake. Also, we did see bald eagles nesting, beaver lodges but no beavers and plenty of birds.
After lunch we followed the trail and all did not seem well, especially when I announced to Mrs D we were turning round as I felt we were heading the wrong way. I was not popular but we persevered and did find the right turn and paddled our way back to the site. So what was supposed to be a three and a half hour trip was nearer five and we had done nearer ten miles than four and were both wrecked with arms like some body builder.
The day was saved with a meal out in the evening overlooking the lake. The food, drink and setting was superb and we soon saw the funny side of the days antics, however we were not hiring another canoe tomorrow.
Saturday 30th June – Early start for our big day out at Crater Lake. It was a super sunny day and a lovely run up there, sadly the gas was running a bit low and and the towns we went through (on the only time you need any) did not have any gas. After driving up through the Annie Creek Gorge we arrived at the state park village of Mazama where they had gas, good news.
Education time again folks so pay attention please. The crater which is now Crater Lake was formed from what used to be Mount Mazama. 7700 years ago a massive volcanic eruption left a deep hole where the mountain peak once stood. What is now Crater Lake was once the belly of an active Volcano. Crater Lake is 6 miles wide one way and 4.5 miles across the other, not quite round. It is 1943 feet deep at deepest point and holds 4.9 trillion gallons of water. The tallest point on the rim is 1978 feet above the lake, end of education wake up please.
Once at the lake rim we stopped off at the visitor centre and got our first view of the lake. It was stunning. No doubt the pictures I took will not do it its full justice. We then set off to do the tour round the rim to find that we could only get half way round due to the winter snow on the road. Apparently there was 6 feet of snow on the east rim road. This soon became believable as we drove through snow cleared roads where the snow walls were higher than the car!! We had a bit of a stroll at the end of the drive before heading back down to rocky point. What a superb place and a lovely drive back too. In the evening we got chatting to our camping neighbours who were from San Fran and kindly gave us some logs as head chumper was off duty today and firewood was dwindling. Lovely people, they actually offered us their boat to stay on in Whistler, Canada after only an hour of conversation!! Anyway a splendid evening was had after an excellent day.
Sunday 1st July – Time to move on from Klamath and head further north nearer Portland and Washington State. It was a good run without incident and we arrived at Champoeg State Park mid afternoon. Now, how to describe this site……primarily an RV site with an afterthought camp ground. Very small pitches and on top of your neighbours. Hey, we are entitled to complain after all the spacious pitches we’ve had. Anyway, camp was set up, the camp fire was rubbish and we managed to have a reasonable evening.
Monday, July 9, 2012
USA – Week 5 – Millerton Lake to Sacramento.
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| Another BIG tree |
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| The famous No 3 |
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| What a feast |
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| Leaping frogs |
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| View along the way |
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| Local shop |
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| Apprentice mechanics |
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| Millerton Lake |
Tuesday 19th June – We like it here so much we decided to do another night to fill the gap between here and Tuttletown (just like saying the name.) With a day to kill we decided to head down to Kings Canyon to see some more trees and maybe a canyon. It is also Budget day again and we need to call them to extend our car contract to 5th July. Off we go towards the canyon. A lovely drive en route with a slight detour into an unsceduled town because we were yacking on and both missed the turn. Oh well, twas a nice town.
We arrived at Kings late morning and 1st job was the car phone call, yet another farce ensued….. At first phone the card wouldn’t work, at the second phone we got through but it was an automated service. Don’t you just love it, the system could not understand my accent as I yelled the answers into the phone. I was just about to destroy the phone into oblivion when the computervoice decided to put me through to a real person to see if they could tell what I was saying. After hanging on for about two and a half weeks I spoke to a real bod who could only just hear so I had to shout again and share my booking with half of the car park at Kings Canyon. The upshot was the contract was extended to the desired date and I had lost the will to live!!
After the battle with Budget we drove down to a grove of giant sequioas where the 3rd largest tree in the world ‘General Grant’ was. Yep, it was one hell of a big tree and so were most of the others around it was quite a splendid trail. After here we headed for yet another lake where we could have our picnic lunch. We found the lake but no picnic site so we had to haul ass back the 15 miles to another one. By this time it was mid afternoon and we were treed out and brassed off (Budgets fault) so we headed back to our lake side camp. Another swim in the warm waters before the usual evening rituals of a shower, glass of pop and some food.
Wednesday 20th June – Moving on day to the famous Tuttletown. What is it famous for, well I’ll tell you. Not only Tuttletown but the whole area hangs onto Mark Twain who was here once many moons ago and wrote some book called “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,” (apologies to Mark Twain fans here.) More on frogs later. We had a lovely drive round the outskirts of Yosemite through the stunning scenery and gorges of the area before arriving at Tuttletown Recreational Area late afternoon. Nice pitch overlooking another lake but no Bob Bears but still the old rattlesnake warnings. All we saw this time was Dan Deer wandering around at dusk thankfully.
Nice big park but not enough toilets tho’. Also we had to don hiking boots to go and seek out the water tap. Nevertheless, the weather was great and we had a nice spot. Must do a piece on toilets/restrooms/bathrooms sometime soon.
Thursday 21st June – One of the problems we have been been having is a milk problem. Now because it has been so hot in sunny California we have been trying to get milk in the mornings for our breakfast and my tea as we have had a few that have turned into damn good lumpy cheese. We have a cool bag which we have tried filling with bottles of cold water, did work sometimes but not once we got over 100 dgs.
Anyway I digress, I had to go out and get some milk and it was 2 miles just to get off the campsite and to the main road. Anyway fuelled up with breakfast we headed out to downtown Senora which has a famous main street that has been used for a few movies. We did manage to get hooked up to the local free wifi hotspot in town so we caught up with the world and made a few bookings for the next few nights.
We then had a wander round town looking for another post office which we found and was open this time but we didn’t have the post!! Quite a splendid looking old street with shops selling things like tobacco, liquor, bate, guns and ammo. Like you would expect in any old town high street. With a boot full of huge cigars, a couple of shotguns and a shed load of ammo we headed up to Safeway to get some serious food shopping for dinner. (We did actually pay for it we didn’t hold up the store, only joking about the ammo!!)
We got back to the site early and got our BBQ fired up and had some pop to wash it down – super…..
Friday 22nd June – Another fine and sunny day and yippee wer’e off to see some more trees. We went to Big Trees State Park, where there were more sequoias and redwoods all on the rather large size but not quite as big as the ones seen at other groves. After another tree fix we headed back down the valley to Angels Camp where Mark Twain allegedly was staying when he wrote his famous short story mentioned earlier about jumping frogs. Now, this whole area has Mak Twain post and signs dotted all over the place including the hut in which he actually stayed when he was here. However, Angels Camp steals the show on Mark Twaining by actually building the whole town around jumping frogs. There’s one every ten feet on some building somewhere and they even host an annual frog jumping contest. That’s only half of it, the winners of this amphibious olympics get their name, the frogs name and the lenth of the jump carved into a stone which becomes a paving stone on the towns main street. A bit like Hollywoods walk (or hop) of fame. The winning jump currently stands at about 14 feet!! It’s actually the combined length of two hops, I had to ask in the visitor centre as I don’t know many frogs that can jump 14 feet, not sure there’s many that can do 7!! After such excitement we headed back for the usuals. The evenings highlight was spotting an ospreys nest atop a telegraph pole with two young sat in there. Very entertaining, I’m sure they would have appreciated a couple of frogs………….
Saturday 23rd June – It’s 3rd time lucky with the post office this morning and yes it was a success, the mail is finally on its way after a 600 mile drive round California!! Now off down to Jamestown, another famous movie town for different reasons. Here in Jamestown is a small steam locomotive line called Steamtown 1897. On this line runs a superb little engine called the No 3 which is in fact hollywood super star status. It is the most filmed train in Hollywood and the list of both TV and movie appearances is endless. It starred in the Virginian, Back to the future 3, High Noon, the Unforgiven and even the Marx brothers Way Out West to name but a few. We of course had a run up and down the line on the train in a super old western carriage. We then had a guided tour of the site which included the famous roundhouse where all the exhibits are kept.
From here we headed up to Columbia State Park which is a kind of western style Beamish museum with all the attractions of the time. It was very good with saloons, jail, shops, blacksmith and of course stage coach rides. It was a very well done attraction and so much so we headed back in the evening to see some live music and dancing but sadly that didn’t start ‘til much later and when we arived we sat through the auctioning of blueberry pies etc so decided to get back to base.
Sunday 24th June – It’s goodbye to Tuttletown and all it’s attractions today as we head off to Sacramento for a night in a motel before heading up to the high altitude wilderness of Lassen Volcanic Park.
The drive to Sacramento went well as it wasn’t too far so we were there early afternoon. We were on the hunt for stove fuel again so we ended up at the Home Depot an American type BnQ but 4 times bigger, as you would expect. Armed with fuel we headed back to the motel where there was a pool so we swam then we TV’d and got an internet fix. All this done it was a good break from putting the tent up and a good nights sleep on the outskirts of Californias state capital.
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
USA – Week 4 – Yosemite to Lake Isabella.
Monday 11th June - Our last day in this natural history wonderland and no sign of Bob Bear yet…..On that subject the warden told us that black bears are very intelligent and have a sense of smell 15 times stronger than a bloodhound. With this obvious intelligence I propose to design a sign similar to the ones used by white van man in the UK but it will read ‘no food left in this vehicle overnight.’ Should do the trick and stop all this Bob Bear food and cosmetic storage nonesense…..dream on. I have actually seen a video of Bob Bear ripping off the passenger door of a car to get to the grub!!! Sorry, I digress, back to the days events. We went to tunnel view for an alleged better shot of El Capitan, which we did and walked a trail from there to Inspiration Point. The trail was steep, hot, sweaty and I was not inspired when we got to it!! There were more inspiring views on the way up to the point. Anyway, on the way down there was a family with a herd of kids doing the trail. The kids were walking in front as kids do, generally fitter and slimmer than their parents. All of a sudden there was a right to do, parents hollering for the kids “come back, come back quick there’s a bear!!” Well wow we thought ace, we’re gonna see Bob Bear after all but there was so much screaming and shouting going on that Bob siddled off the trail and headed back into the undergrowth. We did manage to see him heading away from us down the trail. Fantastic but could have been a whole lot better without the oscar nominated performance of the muppet family…. Needless to say by the time you get your camera out the big lad had cleared off. What a super treat never the less.
After this episode we drove up to Glacier Point which is an elevated position above the Yosemite Valley. What a place and what superb views. We could see the waterfalls walk we had done the day before, all the famous ‘domes’ and the Yosemite Falls. It was well worth the drive up as the vistas were the best we’d ever seen!! After the excitement of the day we drove back down to the yosemite valley for the last time and had a beer and cooked dinner by the river. What a wonderful, unforgettable place.
Tuesday 12th June – Up and off early today as we have a long drive to the other extreme from natural history to the man made excesses of Las Vegas. Vegas was not on the schedule and lets face it it’s 300 miles in the wrong direction. We love it having been before and we were enjoying the great weather after our damp and dismal start. The weather in Yosemite was in the mid 90’s every day and it is expected to be at least 100dgs in Vegas. We drove out of Yosemite via the Tioga Pass which climbs to 9500 feet and goes through some stunning scenery. The journey once we were over the Sierra Mountain range was pretty desert like all the way down to Vegas past Death Valley. The temperature outside was 105 and it was not good in the car so we had to get the air con fired up!!
We arrived in Vegas 5ish and were booked into a motel just off the strip for two nights, opposite the MGM Grand (hows that for name dropping.) We ate locally and had a stroll down the strip to see the hotel sights which just seem to get better and bigger. Finally a good nights sleep in a room we didn’t have to erect before we could sleep in it – super……
Wednesday 13th June – After another laundry morning, bit of internet stuff (booking the next few nights accommodation and catching up wth the world) we had a walk out into the heat and had some lunch and a look round the MGM Grand. In the afternoon we had a swim in the motel pool then headed out onto the strip a bit earlier via the monorail system this time. We headed to the end of the strip and the tallest hotel the Stratosphere. A giant sized hotel with a theme park and restaurant etc built on the very top of it. It was quite a site to see but the area it was in was a bit dodgy so we hurried back to the monorail and back up to the centre of the strip. We wandered some more, had a beer and sat and people watched, did a bit of shopping then got back in just after midnight. The slots in the casinos now take plastic, how quick is that to run up a big bill!!!!
The strip is a fascinating place, an area of vulgar excess in every sense of the word but at the same time there is something about it that makes it and gives it that attraction that it has. A super couple of days, thoroughly enjoyed it and were clean and recharged for some more camping at Lake Isabella.
Thursday 14th June – Today we are ‘leavin Las Vegas’ via H&M so Mrs D can get some retail therapy before we head to the sticks for a few nights. Armed with a bag full of goodies and a smile she returned. In actual fact H&M was not too good and the bargains were found in the Old Navy store. Enough of this, off we go again. Heading in the wrong direction again, as according to our plans we should be heading north by now and we are in fact heading south west towards Los Angeles!! A lovely steady drive through desert lands and we lunched at ‘the Mad Greek!’ An American chain with all the Greek goodies like gyros and souvlaki but as you can imagine the portions are three times bigger but no where near as tasty.
We are on the lookout for a Walmart as our inflatable camp bed has developed a huge lump in the middle as the 2 sides separate. Most inconvenient as it was like sleeping on a hill and I ended up pushing Mrs D out of bed or falling out myself. Anyway, we found a Walmart and a new bed so all was well!!
We arrived at Lake Isabella late afternoon and it was a lovely setting overlooking the lake. The trouble was it was 105 degrees and not good for sleeping or storing food. We also had ground squirrels and chipmunks to contend with so we couldn’t leave anything out. It was midweek so the site was quiet. It was a popular fishing and water sports lake with many camps dotted around its shores.
Friday 15th June – We drove to the visitor centre in town and got bit of info. It was then back to the site for a lazy day at the camp. We had a walk along the lakeside and late afternoon moved pitch a bit further from the road as the traffic noise is not good. It was also a windy night previously so that didn’t help either. While we are on the moaning front, we also had cockroaches charging about all over the last pitch and the showers are cold and not been cleaned for a while – end of rant. New pitch has less roaches but didn’t change the shower temperature. An earlier dinner and drinks before an early night.
Saturday 16th June – Down to post office 1st job, closed – good start. We then drove up valley to check out another campsite at Kernville. Twas too expensive and too busy for us so it looked like another night with bugs and squirrels. Anyway, moving on we had a coffee in Kernville which was a very twee touristy place with a real saloon. After coffee we headed out to a trail head called the whiskey flat trail. Described as a riverside trail heading up stream 14 miles but obviously you walk as far as you want. Point 1, as said before when it says flat here it isn’t. Point 2, as for a riverside walk well it was if you had a pair of binos with you!! We walked a couple of miles upstream but it was over 100dgs and not much shade so we had to turn round and find the river to cool off. Called in for some grub at shops on way back before dinner at the tent.
Sunday 17th June – Today we are heading up north to look at some more trees. Ahh, not just any old trees but giant sequioas. A hundred of them apparently as it’s the trail of a 100 giants. Education time again chaps…..Sequioas are actually redwood trees. The inland broad bottom type are the sequioas and the tall coastal types are the redwoods. One is taller – the coastal and the other is wider generally the inland ones. Now having seen pictures and video of these giants, it doesn’t really prepare for just how big they really are and wow are they big!! Pictures don’t really do them justice you have to see them. We walked round the grove in awe at these huge trees some of them over a 1000 years old. There’s something about walking amongst trees, it’s almost a calming, relaxing feeling. Can’t really explain so I’ll give up. Anyway we got round the grove and were wondering why these giants need fire to breed (that’s what it said on the sheet but didn’t tell you why.) Will find out and report back later, if you’re still awake. After a picnic we headed back down the Kern river gorge which was stunning. We managed to find a quiet spot by the river for an hour before we got to Kern and had an entertaining hour in the local saloon. Back at the camp we had a chat with the camp hosts who spend their time travelling around different state parks every year looking after the site for the summer and ‘holidaying in the winter.’ very nice. After such an exciting day we headed back to the tent, tired, weary but pleased with the day.
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| Giant Sequoia & small D |
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| Lake Isabella |
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| Whiskey flat trail |
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| Vegas |
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| Vegas |
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| A higher lake |
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| El Capitan |
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| A mirror lake |
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| Yosemite Valley |
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| Yosemite Valley |
After this episode we drove up to Glacier Point which is an elevated position above the Yosemite Valley. What a place and what superb views. We could see the waterfalls walk we had done the day before, all the famous ‘domes’ and the Yosemite Falls. It was well worth the drive up as the vistas were the best we’d ever seen!! After the excitement of the day we drove back down to the yosemite valley for the last time and had a beer and cooked dinner by the river. What a wonderful, unforgettable place.
Tuesday 12th June – Up and off early today as we have a long drive to the other extreme from natural history to the man made excesses of Las Vegas. Vegas was not on the schedule and lets face it it’s 300 miles in the wrong direction. We love it having been before and we were enjoying the great weather after our damp and dismal start. The weather in Yosemite was in the mid 90’s every day and it is expected to be at least 100dgs in Vegas. We drove out of Yosemite via the Tioga Pass which climbs to 9500 feet and goes through some stunning scenery. The journey once we were over the Sierra Mountain range was pretty desert like all the way down to Vegas past Death Valley. The temperature outside was 105 and it was not good in the car so we had to get the air con fired up!!
We arrived in Vegas 5ish and were booked into a motel just off the strip for two nights, opposite the MGM Grand (hows that for name dropping.) We ate locally and had a stroll down the strip to see the hotel sights which just seem to get better and bigger. Finally a good nights sleep in a room we didn’t have to erect before we could sleep in it – super……
Wednesday 13th June – After another laundry morning, bit of internet stuff (booking the next few nights accommodation and catching up wth the world) we had a walk out into the heat and had some lunch and a look round the MGM Grand. In the afternoon we had a swim in the motel pool then headed out onto the strip a bit earlier via the monorail system this time. We headed to the end of the strip and the tallest hotel the Stratosphere. A giant sized hotel with a theme park and restaurant etc built on the very top of it. It was quite a site to see but the area it was in was a bit dodgy so we hurried back to the monorail and back up to the centre of the strip. We wandered some more, had a beer and sat and people watched, did a bit of shopping then got back in just after midnight. The slots in the casinos now take plastic, how quick is that to run up a big bill!!!!
The strip is a fascinating place, an area of vulgar excess in every sense of the word but at the same time there is something about it that makes it and gives it that attraction that it has. A super couple of days, thoroughly enjoyed it and were clean and recharged for some more camping at Lake Isabella.
Thursday 14th June – Today we are ‘leavin Las Vegas’ via H&M so Mrs D can get some retail therapy before we head to the sticks for a few nights. Armed with a bag full of goodies and a smile she returned. In actual fact H&M was not too good and the bargains were found in the Old Navy store. Enough of this, off we go again. Heading in the wrong direction again, as according to our plans we should be heading north by now and we are in fact heading south west towards Los Angeles!! A lovely steady drive through desert lands and we lunched at ‘the Mad Greek!’ An American chain with all the Greek goodies like gyros and souvlaki but as you can imagine the portions are three times bigger but no where near as tasty.
We are on the lookout for a Walmart as our inflatable camp bed has developed a huge lump in the middle as the 2 sides separate. Most inconvenient as it was like sleeping on a hill and I ended up pushing Mrs D out of bed or falling out myself. Anyway, we found a Walmart and a new bed so all was well!!
We arrived at Lake Isabella late afternoon and it was a lovely setting overlooking the lake. The trouble was it was 105 degrees and not good for sleeping or storing food. We also had ground squirrels and chipmunks to contend with so we couldn’t leave anything out. It was midweek so the site was quiet. It was a popular fishing and water sports lake with many camps dotted around its shores.
Friday 15th June – We drove to the visitor centre in town and got bit of info. It was then back to the site for a lazy day at the camp. We had a walk along the lakeside and late afternoon moved pitch a bit further from the road as the traffic noise is not good. It was also a windy night previously so that didn’t help either. While we are on the moaning front, we also had cockroaches charging about all over the last pitch and the showers are cold and not been cleaned for a while – end of rant. New pitch has less roaches but didn’t change the shower temperature. An earlier dinner and drinks before an early night.
Saturday 16th June – Down to post office 1st job, closed – good start. We then drove up valley to check out another campsite at Kernville. Twas too expensive and too busy for us so it looked like another night with bugs and squirrels. Anyway, moving on we had a coffee in Kernville which was a very twee touristy place with a real saloon. After coffee we headed out to a trail head called the whiskey flat trail. Described as a riverside trail heading up stream 14 miles but obviously you walk as far as you want. Point 1, as said before when it says flat here it isn’t. Point 2, as for a riverside walk well it was if you had a pair of binos with you!! We walked a couple of miles upstream but it was over 100dgs and not much shade so we had to turn round and find the river to cool off. Called in for some grub at shops on way back before dinner at the tent.
Sunday 17th June – Today we are heading up north to look at some more trees. Ahh, not just any old trees but giant sequioas. A hundred of them apparently as it’s the trail of a 100 giants. Education time again chaps…..Sequioas are actually redwood trees. The inland broad bottom type are the sequioas and the tall coastal types are the redwoods. One is taller – the coastal and the other is wider generally the inland ones. Now having seen pictures and video of these giants, it doesn’t really prepare for just how big they really are and wow are they big!! Pictures don’t really do them justice you have to see them. We walked round the grove in awe at these huge trees some of them over a 1000 years old. There’s something about walking amongst trees, it’s almost a calming, relaxing feeling. Can’t really explain so I’ll give up. Anyway we got round the grove and were wondering why these giants need fire to breed (that’s what it said on the sheet but didn’t tell you why.) Will find out and report back later, if you’re still awake. After a picnic we headed back down the Kern river gorge which was stunning. We managed to find a quiet spot by the river for an hour before we got to Kern and had an entertaining hour in the local saloon. Back at the camp we had a chat with the camp hosts who spend their time travelling around different state parks every year looking after the site for the summer and ‘holidaying in the winter.’ very nice. After such an exciting day we headed back to the tent, tired, weary but pleased with the day.
USA – Week 3 - San Francisco to Yosemite.
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| Yosemite Falls |
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| Bob Bear Grub Store |
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| The stars of pier 39 |
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| Famous bends on Lombard Street |
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| Cell Block |
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| Locked up!! |
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| California Street Cable Car |
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| Alcatraz |
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| Alcatraz |
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| The Bridge |
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| Downtown skyline |
We seemed to walk miles, down to the harbour building, around the business district, up to California Street where they hang on the cable cars we were goosed. We eventually found a bar – like you do – and sat and had a couple of drinks and some food. Very nice but the tipping lark is so complicated you end up tipping everyone who goes by just to make sure you haven’t missed anyone!! We then headed back to the digs via the good old BART.
Tuesday 5/6 – BART to town again, the a tram to Pier 39. Listen up – Pier 39 is the 2nd most visited place in California after Disneyworld!! What a joke it’s like Blackpool with sunshine set in a strange place full of weird accents (sounds familiar actually.) Well we weren’t impressed, it was full of tacky shops with same old sh**t* in every other shop. All the usual suspect food chains including the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Can’t imagine it in August!! I’m sure lots of people love it as it’s obviously popular but it wasn’t for us miserable old gits….The best thing about it was the seals which live there undisturbed and unknowingly entertaining the crowds with their antics.
We managed to get a tram out of the place back to the pier we we wandered some more through the streets and saw the shoe shine guys, lots of trams and other modes of trqnsport. The thing that hit us the most is the homeless problem there. We were both shocked at how many people were living on the streets and how widespread it was. Apparently the city throws lots of money at it building shelters etc but the problem seems to get worse not better. Very difficult to understand. I guess there is a lot more to it than the small snippet we read, it was very sad. We BARTed ut of town back to the Mission Inn. We stopped off for Burritos on the way back, very nice.
Wednesday 6/6 – Now today is Alcatraz day, we booked our trip back in May in the UK. We BARTed into town, tried to use our city tour bus ticket to get across town but failled so we had to get a tram to the Alcatraz ferry pier. Very well organised, very well done and a fantastic day out. The prison is as it was. Looks overbearing and not like somewhere you want to be for a long time. Apparently it was the only Californian prison with hot showers. Why I hear you ask, it was so the inmates didn’t get used to cold water and try to get out for a swim across the bay to freedom. It was an audio tour read by former guards and covered all the things you wanted to see. Al Capone, the Birdman, the attempted escapes and its subsequent closure. An excellent tour if you ever manage to get out there.
We then had to get the bus back to town because some fool had cut a power cable and the trams were off. After a bit more wandering we found a 50’s style diner where we ate and drank before BARTing back home.
Thursday 7/6 – Today is our hop on hop off bus tour off the city. Well we did the city tour on open top us and hopped off and on all over the place. We saw Pier 39 again – no escaping the place. We then hopped off at Lombard Street – the steep windy one in the movies. We then walked to Coits tower for an elevated view over the city. We then hopped on the bus to be dumped off again at Pier 39, aahhh!!!! We had to get a tram and a train back to base for the last night. We were lucky with the weather in San Fran as the famous fog often rolls in. We didn’t see any ‘til today and when we got back to our digs we couldn’t see anything!! Other weather news, the Oregon coast, beautiful as it is was cool, cloudy and damp in the main. Tomorrow we are heading inland where temps are set to climb.
Friday 8/6 – Drive to Yosemite today, super drive arriving at our campsite in Crane Falt – which was far from flat around 4.30ish. Our campsite was at 6000 feet so it was cool nights surrounded by more trees. We were camped 17 miles from the famous Yosemite Valley which I was looking forward to seeing tomorrow. We are now in Bear country so we have to lock all our food and cosmetics and pretty much anything that has a scent in a huge steel bear proof box. We had to sign to say we would and the fines as well as the bear problems for non-compliance were huge. We were also in mountain lion country and more info and rules. The main advice that caught my eye was that if we were attacked by a mountain lion we had to fight backl!! Just call me Tarzan!! After a quick scout round for Bob Bear and Leo Lion we finished the night with a wee dram of malt and a camp fire – we know how to live!!
Saturday 9/6 – After a good nights sleep with no wildlife activity to report we headed down to the valley. A mega WOW day, El Capitan, Half Dome, Yosemite Falls, Centinnel Dome. The list goes on and on. The park offers a free shuttle service around the various sights and to the trail heads (walk starts to you and me.) We sat and watched some guys climbing on El Capitans vertical face. A local guide was telling us that they take from two to five days to make the climb and the record stands at just over 2 hours and this is free climbing!! They actually sleep on the face, how does that work?? After so much jaw dropping we headed back up to base for some more grub n camp fires. The facilities were a bit grim on this site with no showers and only cold water. However you have to take what you can here because they are booking now for October camping!! We should have been booking for sites here back in January as they fill so quickly. No sign of Bob Bear or his lion associates again.
Sunday 11/6 – Today was our ‘big walk day’ in Yosemite. We were heading up to Nevade Falls via Vernal Falls. It was a superb walk with a steep climb and rewarding views of the area throughout. We stopped for lunch at a superb vista to find our butties contaminated with stove fuel and uneatable. Even Bob Bear wouldn’t have them! We struggled on after coffee and biscuits, awfully filling you know and finished the walk hungry and weary. We showered in the valley facilities, got a few beers and headed back to camp for some food and another fire. What a place, a very close second to what our favourite New Zealand has to offer on the scenery front.
Sunday, June 24, 2012
USA – Week 2 - Coos Bay to San Francisco.
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| The Golden Gate Bridge |
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| An ex giant redwood |
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| Oregon Coast |
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| Happy camper |
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| Otter Point |
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| Little Myrtle |
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| The Oregon Dunes |
Tuesday 29/5 – With the gun seige over at Fred Meyers, we headed on in for some shopping. Then it was off down the coast towards a place called Golden Beach. En route today we called in at an ‘aminal park’ a mini zoo to you and me. We were petting a 6 month old lion cub, a 5 month old black leopard cub and a 3 month old black bear. There were all sorts of things wandering around from llamas to deer and goats. All good fun but the big cat enclosures were a little on the small side for our liking. Lunch time looming, we stopped on the coast at Port Orford before arriving at ‘the secret camp’ in Golden Beach. Superb little site with a character owner – Donna who appeared a little on the fresh side when we were checking in. Camping among more trees but lovely facilities. Super…..
Wednesday 30/5 – A morning stroll around giant Oregon Douglas Firs and Port Orford Cedars. A lovely wee trail dedicated to a former conservationist warden Frances Shrader. After this we headed off to see what was allegedly the biggest known Myrtle Tree on earth. A staggering 88 feet tall and 42 feet round the base with a 70 foot canopy spread. What a whopper. Late afternoon we headed for a spot on the coast known as Otter Point for another stretch before dinner at site. Now you know all about Slim in Corfu, now we have Myrtle the moggy, who sat with us all evening. A very pleasant litle thing apparently abondoned there by her owners, how could they!! Anyway we fussed and fed her before heading off to bed. What is it with cats and us?
Thursady 31/5 – “ Bye bye, going to California, bye bye.” Off to California today and the Giant Redwood area on the north coast. The tallest trees on earth. Obviously a trip all about trees of varying sizes so far!! We stopped off at a couple of good view points along the way and arrived at Hiouchi mid afternoon. Ace place, a campsite free of trees!! At last we could see the sky and the sun!! Lovely big site, good facilities and the use of an indoor area in the evenings. We had a local stroll though a grove of massive trees before a beer and grub in our huge plot.
Friday 1/6 – A day out of the car today with a reasonable hike planned. We were heading on the Hiochi trail then a loop on the Mill Creek Trail and back via Hiochi. Keep up please. Trails superb, trees jaw droppers and we had an unplanned fording of a river to deal with. There was no mention of this in the local guide!! However Mrs D took it well and quite enjoyed the challenge. Sadly the trail was a little longer than anticipated so a quiet evening followed with tired and weary feet.
Saturday 2/6 – The plan today was to leave highway 101 for highway 1 on the last coastal stretch down to San Francisco. Pick up a campsite en route and ease on down into San Fran the following day. Big mistake, the road was windy, narrow, the famous fog was rolling in and every man and his dog in California was out camping as every site was full!! After many hours of coastal road we decided to head inland away from the fog. Still no empty campsites. We ended up back on the 101 in a posy little town in a motel we both had to go out selling our bodies to pay for it!! What a chore………………Not the best of days. Missed out on the sausages we’d bought for camp dinner too.
Sunday 3/6 – We checked out of our Travelodge and were away fairly early. As we were only 60 miles from San Fran it didn’t take us long to get there. We arrived via the famous Golden Gate bridge where we stopped for a while, had a walk to the end of the bridge, took far too many pictures and cooked the sausages, they were great!! It was then a short drive to our digs for the 1st night. Nice tidy spot next to the railway into town and across from the mighty Pacific Ocean. More TV fix for Mrs D and more internet catch up for me. We did manage a walk along the beach before we beers n bed. The San Francisco adventure begins……………………..
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