America - Part 2 (Bryce to San Francisco)

 America – Part 2: (Bryce Canyon National Park – San Francisco)

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Tuba City: Even though it is called a city it was far from it and reminded me more of a derelict cowboy town. We stayed in a motel called The Dine Inn which was just like the ones you see on the movies where you can park your car outside the room. Tuba City was only a one night stop for us on our way north. We went out for a burger at one of the local restaurants and learnt that it was a dry community which meant no beer for me – doh! Although I couldn’t quench my thirst, I did at least stave off my hunger with a nice burger and fries. We found the people very friendly, especially our waiter who was very polite and couldn’t have been more helpful (except for getting me a beer of course).

The next day we set off north and took the scenic route 89A which runs parallel with the north rim of the Grand Canyon, although a little further up. The drive was indeed scenic and caused us to stop many times to take pictures of the ever changing arid landscape. The Navajo Bridge which crosses the Colorado River was especially nice and also a spot where the Navaho Indian women sold handmade jewelry and other souvenirs. I felt bad not supporting them but as I’ve already got too much luggage to haul around the world, I could only look and appreciate. Apparently there were a few condors flying around although they went into stealth mode when we turned up with our large camera and zoom lens.

Bryce Canyon National Park: We were excited to try rattlesnake and rabbit sausages at the Buffalo Bistro in a small town called Glendale, but they were unfortunately closed so we had to push on to Bryce. Along the way we passed the Red Canyon which had large red hoodoos and gave us our first sample of what Bryce Canyon is all about.  Camping was yet again ruled out when we discovered that the temperature was forecast to plummet to -10C at night. Our cheapest option was a few miles away from the park at a place called The Pines, also known for their award winning pies. We of course had to sample one of each type (cream and fruit) and have to admit that they were worthy of their status.

One of the highlights at Bryce is seeing the sunrise over the amphitheatre, which was at 7am according to one of the rangers. We made an effort to get up early to see it but we’d been told the wrong time as the sun was already up!  As we were up anyway, we drove over to see the Amphitheatre but as it was overcast and bitterly cold we wouldn’t have got the red glow from the rising sun had we been there in time. Our view over the “hoodoos” was however breathtaking and very much worth the trip. Bryce is all about the hoodoos which are spires of eroded red rock jutting out from the canyon floor. The hoodoos stood like armies of terracotta warriors dressed in layers of candy coloured clothing - a sprinkle of snow made them all the prettier for the photos! 

To warm our bones we decided to do a hike but we could only do certain sections due to the risk of falling rocks caused by the melting snow. We opted to hike the Queens Garden where we said hello to Queen Victoria, as well as the Navajo loop where we saw the iconic hoodoos silhouetted against the sky - very impressive. The cheeky squirrels and chipmunks also made for a memorable visit although the prairie dogs never came out to play. They must have been all snuggled up inside their dens waiting for the weather to warm up. I really liked Bryce National Park as although it is smaller than the Grand Canyon, it was much more detailed, colorful and delicate. I can highly recommend a visit to the park for anyone travelling through the USA.  

On our 2^nd morning, we awoke to find our jeep covered in snow as it had snowed overnight and was in fact still snowing a bit!  As travelling through America is such an expensive business we tried to save money by cooking our own meals a lot of the time. Due to it being freezing outside, we decided to toast our bagels inside our room on our small gas stoves and in doing so managed to set off the smoke alarm! We quickly had to open the door and franticly wave a cloth to quiet it down. Luckily no one noticed although we had to finish off the bagels standing outside in the cold.

Zion National Park: The drive from Bryce to Zion was a relatively short one so we decided to take a detour via the Dixie Forest as a scenic alternative. We drove past a recommended campsite which we couldn’t actually see as it was complete covered in snow and the lake was frozen – I’m glad we hadn’t decide to camp there! Along the way we saw many signs of landslides and there was a construction vehicle busy clearing up debris. Our drive through the forest was really cool (literally) and yet again we stopped to take a few pictures of the frozen landscape. Once through the forest we headed due south down highway 15 where we stretched our legs by doing a short hike to a view point overlooking Kolob Canyon. Everything had a red tinge including the tar on the road which was bright red! It was also a nice place for a picnic stop and we enjoyed our food with a beautiful view.

Zion National Park has two campsites and we were lucky to find a space in the Watchman one as it was the school holidays and a free entry week for the National Parks and the place was heaving with people. Watchman only allows visitors to stay for one night which meant we had to get up early the next morning to try our luck at the other campsite, South. Our Watchman campsite was lovely as it had a great view of the towering mountains right next to us.

We shared a site with three other groups: a bunch of friendly Koreans, a friendly American couple and a large friendly Mormon family. I tasted my very first “smores” which was toasted over the fire by the young boy from the family next to us – nice! The Americans have definitely got one up on us as they roast their marshmallows and squash them between two biscuits with a piece of chocolate – delicious! Our other neighbors, the Koreans, gave us some fire water to try which is a clear alcoholic concoction made from rice which packs a big punch – it helped to ward off the cold weather.

During the night one of the kids kept crying and we woke to see an empty spot where the family had been camping. We quickly broke camp and were lucky to find a place in the other campsite next to some new neighbors, Bruce and Vivian from Seattle. Bruce became my early morning coffee buddy and invited us over to visit them in Seattle which we intended to do.  Zion has massive mountains with strenuous hikes – we hiked up the scary Angel’s Landing trail and the high Observation Point one. I really liked Angel’s Landing as it had some very steep places and a spot known as “chicken-out point” where the whole mountain narrows into a precipitous ridge with sheer drops on either side. We saw many people along the way who had either turned back or who should have turned back as they were really struggling with the heights. When we reached to summit though we were rewarded with a breathtaking view over the valley which made for a nice picnic spot.  Observation Point was next on our list and although it is higher than Angel’s Landing, it didn’t have the dangerous steep edges. 

Our legs were burning by the time we finally reached the top having hiked along the seemingly endless switchbacks, but looking down on Angel’s Landing and the valley below was a view to remember! Yet again we shared a memorable picnic spot with cheeky chipmunks and other tired but content hikers.  To add to a memorable hike, the sun was shining and the weather was nice and warm. On our journey back to camp on the shuttle bus we met a friendly Mormon couple with their 6 children. We saw many large families which is the norm in the Mormon religion. Many couples start having children at an early age and families of up to 12 are not uncommon! Earlier that morning we invited a young couple to share our campsite as they couldn’t find a spot due to it being so busy. We met up with them again after our hike and it was nice to have a chat with them around our campfire. We left the next day for Las Vegas but couldn’t resist doing the tourist thing and stopping at a rock shop and in a small town called Virgin which had a replica Wild West village, complete with small houses and a saloon called “Ragged Ass Saloon”.

Las Vegas: I don’t even know where to begin with Las Vegas other than WOW! It was exactly what I expected and more, being so OTT it was actually very cool! The gambling hordes were drawn like moths to the ever hungry flashing machines and I was dumbstruck looking at all the themed casinos, neon flashing lights - Vegas is the ultimate "f**k you" to anyone trying to be green!  We found a deal online and booked into the Flamingo which is right in the middle of the “strip”. Outside, they had a water garden with flamingos, koi carp, ducks, geese and swans while the outside pool was teeming with people sunbathing, all having a good time and some very drunk! During the night time the whole of Las Vegas lit up and we couldn’t resist a drive down the strip with Gillian doing drive-by photography, trying to get all the large funky neon signs in. We saw many impressive things but our favorites included the view from the Eiffel Tower, Ceasar’s Palace, the Bellagio fountains and all the noisy flashing casino floors.

I’ve never been a gambling man although I did set aside $100 dollars to experience Vegas by playing roulette, black jack and the slots – my favorite slot machine was called Reel ‘Em In!  Every time I won a hillbilly fisherman would go fishing while dueling banjo music played in the background. It was lots of fun and very entertaining and I literally had to drag myself away to stop myself from losing any more money! I can see why so many people get hooked on gambling. We didn’t do well on the black jack tables either as the minimum bet was $10 and our money was quickly gone. Another must do thing was to see a show and we went to see a show called X Burlesque which comprised of a lot of girls with very little clothing on. It was a very energetic show with hot girls dancing to hard rock music – they sure had my attention! Outside, sad but also entertaining, were the homeless beggars displaying signs like “Why lie, I need a whore” and “Too dumb to work and too ugly to prostitute”.    

With so many things to do we unfortunately missed out on seeing the Mirage volcano and the Treasure Island boat show. We had a really good time in Vegas and loved all of the OTT themed casinos although after a two days I just felt like getting out. Even while driving out of Vegas I could still hear the clinging, pinging and beeping slot machines echoing in my head! It was definitely time to move on for some peace and quiet. The flashing lights made way for funny yellow egg-yolk bushes and open desert where I glimpsed a road runner.  Meep-meep!

Death Valley: Death Valley is a very dry and barren area sunken between mountains with mysterious moving rocks found in an area called the Racetrack. However, seeing the moving rocks requires a 4x4 with lots of spare tires which we didn’t have unfortunately. Our first stop in Death Valley was at Bad Water Basin which reminded me of the Bolivian salt flats although on a much smaller scale - it is America’s lowest point at 292ft below sea level!  Further along we drove through a scenic section called the Artist’s Palette. The whole side of the mountain looked like a patchwork blanket with many hues caused by the different minerals in the area. I love the way that all the National Parks in America are so different. As it was late we had to rush to find a campsite, but luckily we found one called Sunset near a very small town of Furnace Creek. The campsite didn’t have any showers although it did have toilets so we settled in there for the night. 

The next morning we drove north and our first stop was at a sight called - Zabriskie Point which was again multi-coloured mountains with deep valleys. Old miners used to mine for borax and used a 12 wagon mule team to haul the ore out from the valley - it took them weeks to complete the trip! Next up was Dantes View overlooking Death Valley from above. From where we stood we could see the salt flats, snow covered mountains and the whole valley displayed in front of us – beautiful! Driving back down our next stop was at Ubehebe Crater (it means big basket in the rock) which was created when lava and water collided underneath the earth’s crust and exploded creating a 237m deep crater.

For lunch we stopped off at Scotty’s Castle which had a funny story attached to it. Scotty was a renowned storyteller and he somehow managed to convince a wealthy banker that he had gold on his property. The banker funded the building of his castle in Death Valley and even though he suspected Scotty might be lying, they became good friends. We had our picnic on a well kept lawn while looking out for coyotes which we had been warned about. Fortunately they didn’t bother us and we enjoyed the warm sunshine while tucking into our food.

Next up was short hike up Mosaic Canyon, but we skipped the sand dunes as they would have been dwarfed by the ones we saw in Huacachina, Peru. We headed on and found a free campsite where we set up camp for night. All of a sudden, it was almost like someone flicked on a switch as the wind started and intensified until it was howling over the open unsheltered terrain. We just sat down for dinner when the wind blew Gillian’s glass of wine all over her. Needless to say she wasn’t very happy especially as our tent shook all night long which resulted in a bad night’s rest as well. I needed a strong coffee the next morning to wake me and clear the cobwebs which we had with our favorite maple syrup oats for breakfast. That was the end of our time in stay in Death Valley and from there we headed off to Yosemite National Park.

Yosemite: Getting to the park was a big pain in the ass because instead of being able to take a direct route 70 miles over the mountains, we had to cover an additional 200 miles around the top of the Sierra Nevada Mountains due to heavy snow. We had not realized that winter in the USA sometimes extend until July in some parts! The range in temperatures that day was massive as one moment we were standing in Death Valley dressed in shorts and t-shirts and the next we were shivering in a ski resort just an hour away! Spending the whole day driving, we reached the small town of Sonora where we found a room for the night. Because we had originally planned on camping we had bought fresh food for dinner that evening. As I went to do the laundry, Gillian was in charge of dinner which she made while sitting on the carpet in our motel room.

After setting off the smoke alarm in Bryce we were slightly nervous about doing the same in Sonora although luckily nothing happened and we managed to have a quiet dinner of pesto pasta. From there we finally made our way over to Yosemite the next morning. We expected it to be busy as it is the USA’s most popular park but what we didn’t know was that it was also Easter Weekend. Needless to say there were many people and we feared not getting a camping spot in the park. We were however, very lucky and managed to find a spot due to heavy rains during the week which caused a few people to leave early. For once camping in the rain was a good thing!

We stayed in camp 4 which was right in the middle of the valley and also home to many hardcore rock climbers. National Geographic actually ran an article about the rock climbers in Yosemite that same month. Many of them walked around with white hands and large mats strapped to their backs – some were practicing on a large granite boulder in the campsite which was fun to watch. We were looking forward to doing lots of hiking but due to the heavy rains our plans were slightly thwarted. Yosemite is a truly beautiful park with sheer granite cliffs and it is home to the iconic Half Dome which we wanted to take many photos of but couldn’t because of the damn rain. We did however brave the rain and cold and hiked two trails: Yosemite Falls and the Vernal & Nevada Falls Loops. The first didn’t take us too long as we didn’t hike the entire trail but went as far as a good view point so we could see the falls. Doing the 2^nd hike took us much longer and resulted in some amazing views over the falls and the valley.

I was amazed by the size of the squirrels in the park as some were as round as they were long. Feeding them is prohibited although most people fall victim to their hypnotic squirrel stares resulting in very obese fur balls. They tried their luck with us but to no avail as we enjoyed our picnic with a gorgeous view over the park. Back in camp we found that we had new neighbors – a Hispanic family with three energetic young boys. It was really funny watching them trying to roast their marshmallows in the campfire as they mostly ended up with charcoal cubes. As it was so cold we decided to go for a drink in the lodge to try and defrost our feet. The bar was cozy and warm but that came at a price as two drinks cost us around $17! Needless to say we only had the one while playing cards. A cool thing about the bar was the fire in the middle where people roasted their marshmallows and made smores. Very few things beat a nice drink in a warm pub on a cold day after a long hike.

Yosemite is bear country and we had to store all of our food in large metal bear lockers. Storing food in the car is prohibited as bears can easily rip a car apart to get inside. The park rangers displayed a few photos of bears breaking into cars and one was especially funny as the bear was sitting in the driver’s seat making it look like he was driving! I couldn’t help but laugh. Our time in Yosemite was nice although somewhat spoilt by the rain and the hords of people - I can only imagine what it must look like in summer! It was time to pack up and make our way back to San Francisco for warmer weather.  

San Francisco: Back in San Francisco it was time to say good bye to our trusty black Jeep Liberty and we were lucky to have it upgraded to a very flash new Jeep Grand Cherokee! To make the swap was a bit of a pain as we had to drop all our gear at the hostel late in the afternoon, store it overnight and then load it all back up again the next morning. As the Jeep Grand Cherokee was so big we dubbed it the “tank” and felt very posh driving it. Simon, a friend of Gillian’s, very kindly invited us to stay with them and we gladly accepted their offer. They have a really nice house in a quiet area on the outskirts of San Francisco, in La Fayette. We even saw a deer grazing on their front lawn and heard wild turkeys gobbling in the background – what a great place!

Simon and his wife Colette were great hosts and it was nice being able to stay with them. We still had a few boxes to tick doing the touristy stuff in San Francisco – no rest for the wicked! From La Fayette we boarded a train into the city in order to pick up some rental bicycles. Before doing so we couldn’t resist stopping by the local farmers market. There was lots of fresh produce to pick from and we opted for falafels and a tub of aubergine garlic dip for later. Cycling over the Golden Gate bridge is one of the must do things and with good reason. Not only was it nice to get some exercise after lots of driving, seeing the bridge from many angles and finally cycling over it was a brilliant experience and one I can highly recommend! We couldn’t have asked for better weather either while we sat down for a picnic of falafels and dip overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge from a viewpoint on the opposite side of the bay. Unfortunately we didn’t get to see the Golden Gate Park as we ran out of time having struggled to find parking in La Fayette and our Alcatraz tour started 15:30.

The Alcatraz tour involved a ferry to and from the island as well as an audio tour. We found it very interesting learning about life in the prison as well as all the escape attempts. A few people DID manage to escape although nobody knows if they survived the cold water and strong currents of the sea - most were either recaptured or died. Although the prisoners kept a pretty garden, Alcatraz (aka The Rock) was definitely not a place I would like to spend any time at as it was very cold and windy. Because of the close proximity to the mainland the prisoners could hear the sound of free people having fun, especially on New Year’s Eve when the fireworks went off, which added to their misery. Alcatraz was the last activity we did while in San Francisco and also marked the end of the San Fran driving loop. Both Gillian and I were eager to get on with the next leg of our trip which was touring up the Oregon Coast and working our way north to Seattle.

Part 3 to follow...