Sunday, 13th August, 2017

Another earlyish start winding our way through the hills and trees that make up the Sequoia National Park, our target being, you guessed it, the sequoias, the largest living things on the planet. The trees may not be the tallest (that distinction falls to the Giant Redwoods, found elsewhere in California), but the largest ones are not far off and are incredibly big. The two largest are named Generals Grant and Sherman and you would need 30 people holding hands to hug one of them. There is no way I could do them justice with the camera, they are that big. They are also ridiculously venerable, being some 2,000 years old. You can certainly feel small and very much aware that you are just a tiny cog in the overall plan. All very humbling.

We went for a walk first round a glade with some ‘young’ trees, positive saplings. Nick still needed to get into a suitable position to try to capture the full majesty..

Then it was on to the second biggest, General Sherman.

There are lots of opportunities for tree hugging….

I hope the photo of Val standing next to one of the trees (and not even the biggest, which are fenced off) as in the photo below will give you at least a sense of the scale of the trees.

 

 

 

Finally we came to the big daddy of them all, General Grant.

 

This was the last natural destination of our road trip and was a fitting end to the fantastic sights we had had the privilege to see from Glacier Park, the Craters of the Moon, the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone to the canyons, Bryce, Antelope and Grand and Death Valley.

Next stop was the now infamous Oakland, San Francisco and a bit of a mad dash to drop the car off at the airport without being charged for an extra day! We found our AirBnB, which lived up to the whacky line of accommodation we were becoming accustomed to, being a sort of loft studio, though actually one part of a converted one-storey garage complex. Nick and I dropped off Val and Caroline and then headed to the airport to drop off our trusty vehicle that had done such a good job of driving us a total of about 4,000 miles across just a smallish part of the US of A (bar one tyre problem). We got there in time and managed to find our way back to the Airbnb.

The neighbourhood was certainly interesting. We were definitely conspicuously white, but everyone seemed friendly enough and the rumours we had heard about it being the second worst murder capital in the USA thankfully passed us by. We were tired enough to order pizzas delivered to the studio, not least because our ‘hood’ was not exactly abounding with chic cafes and restaurants!
A great day with more excitement tomorrow.

 

Monday, 14th August, 2017

Our last full day, so we had to ‘do’ San Francisco at something of a rush. We made our way on the metro equivalent to the port buildings where we had a quick breakfast and then joined the hop-on-hop-off bus tour of the city. It was appreciably cooler here, especially after the soaring temperatures we had been used to up to now, but we were keen and made our way to the top, open deck so as better to see the sights.

We did get off for a walk through Chinatown and, yes, we did find a restaurant that was serving dim sum! Val was very happy!

We rejoined the tour and nearly froze as we crossed a very foggy Golden Gate Bridge and back again.

We ended up in the piers area, which are very touristy, but worth a visit. I like doing the idea of an Alcatraz Giftshop!

We still had one more appointment for the day and that was a baseball game at the Coliseum, the home of the Oakland Athletics. Nick and Caro went dressed in style, buying the shirt and hat of the team and even Val got the cap. As newbies to the game, we were welcomed in true American style and even received a badge and certificate. The game itself was largely fun, though the stadium was rather sparsely populated and the game was not exactly exciting with the home side losing, but it was certainly an experience.

We made our way back safely to our base for our last night on American soil.

Tuesday, 16th August, 2017

Not much to report here. We met up with Chris and Shivonne at the airport and boarded our Norwegian flight home. It had been a fabulous, if rather long trip, full of memories and lots of laughs, captured to some extent by this blog, which I hope you have enjoyed.

Next stop, the Caribbean!

Friday, 11th August, 2017

No driving today! Mind you, there was plenty of walking and, would you believe it, it actually rained in Las Vegas, though luckily for us, not enough to dampen our spirits and enthusiasm to see the sights. We had no specific plans as such, so decided to take the monorail to the other end of the Strip. As you can see, we started in perky style,

though this did not last the whole day…

We did manage to drop in to the canals of Venice (not literally) and the streets of Paris and, of course, a brief and naturally fruitless and profitless visit to one of the myriad casinos. We were very good and only bet a very small amount, but there was always the hope of the jackpot, if not the realisation. A few sights to give you and idea of what this crazy city is all about. Noteworthy was our bumping into the legend that is the ex-boxer Chris Eubanks, who very sportingly asked if we would like a photo. Stupidly I did not think to tell him my surname is Benn, though no relation to Nigel of that name (who was a great rival to Mr Eubanks).

My fascination with colour and shape has not abated you will be glad to read and LV supplied a few opportunities…

It is certainly fascinating as a window on the seedier side of life what with the gambling, endless eating, shopping and at times overtly sexual offerings on show. ‘Pleasure, Algernon,, pleasure’ as Oscar Wilde commented, is the order of the day. You do have to admire the lengths the hotel, shop and restaurant builders have gone to in order to outdo the last jaw-dropping monument to the god Mammon. Nothing is deemed impossible or over the top, all the more extraordinary considering you are in the middle of a desert. Val and I had enjoyed our first visit some years ago and rather vowed never to return – been there, done that, but here we were agin and I have to admit it still fascinated me on the level of a spectacle of what the human race is capable of. We ventured out again in the evening, this time to New York…

Saturday, 12th August, 2017

Off again, but not before a quick breakfast at the hotel. We were served by a nice, chatty lady who asked where we were heading for. On being told that we going to end up in Oakland, San Francisco, she looked very doubtful, but assured us it would be fine – which of course had the opposite effect!

We still had one more overnight stop before our final destination (that sounds a bit ominous!) and that was Lemon Cove, California, just short of the entrance to Sequoia National Park. However first we had an appointment with Death, more particularly Death Valley. This was something of a detour, but Val and I had missed it the last time we were in these parts and I was determined to see it this time.

It is a big park and we entered from the eastern end, stopping briefly at Zebriskie Point, largely because it was accessible from the road without too much hiking and also because I saw a film in the 1970s by the same name, so was interested to see what it was like for real.. Not too surprisingly Death Valley is pretty much desert throughout with distant mountains and straight roads shimmering in the heat. It is certainly worth a visit, though you might want to go in the winter when, presumably the heat is bearable.

And boy, was there heat! We descended to the bottom of the Valley, which is actually below sea level and the lowest point in North America. You descend from about 4,000 feet and the temperature gauge on the car kept climbing. At one point it registered 53 degrees centigrade, though the average was a steady 48 to 49 degrees! And to top it all, as you leave the Valley floor it is suggested that you turn off your air con to prevent the car from overheating. Bearing in mind that this is not a clever place to break down, we complied and drove the next 20 miles up hill in a moving sauna, with Nick’s spray bottle working overtime! It was actually just a bit scary. We did visit the shop at the valley floor, but not surprisingly we did not venture too far from the car.

Finally we arrived at Lemon Cove at another slightly unusual AirBnB, run by our host’s dad who was decidedly venerable, but very nice and who lived in one end of the property while we stayed in the other end in what can only described as 1970s plush! It was almost a struggle to make your way through the shag pile carpet!

There is not a lot to see at Lemon Cove (lemons?) with most properties being involved with agriculture or tourism as far as we could tell. We drove on a bit further past the local attraction, a local lake with lots of lake type activities, for supper and retired for the night.

A long day, but spectacular as ever.

 

Thursday, 10th August, 2017

It was off quite early the next morning and the one hour drive north to our second visit to the Grand Canyon. We headed for the middle section and parked up. The edge of the Canyon is close to the car parks though hidden from them and it is breathtaking when you first see it (the canyon, not the car park). There was even a tour party that were being led blindfolded with one hand on the person in front of them, (a bit like that photo from the First World War of victims of gas, though with a lot more merriment as you would imagine), towards one of the many viewpoints that sort of stick out over the depths no doubt for the big reveal once the blindfolds came off. At least no one got a closer, unscheduled view of the bottom of the Canyon one mile below.

We walked along the rim and even managed to lose Caroline and Nick for some time, which gave us lots of time for endless photos of yet another fabulous viewpoint, a short sample of which are below. Again, as with so much in the USA, the camera is really unequal to the task of capturing the sheer size of the views. You will just have to go and see it for yourself!

As ever with Benn Tours, there was not a moment to lose as we were next due in the complete contrast that is Las Vegas where we were booked in to the Desert Rose Spa Resort. We still had time though for one stop en route at the famous Hoover Dam. The temperature had risen appreciably, but we managed a quick walk from the car to a view of the dam and the very spectacular new bridge that arches over the Colorado River below.

Nick and I were undaunted and went out onto the top of the dam for more breathtaking views, not that one had much breath available in the temperature we were experiencing anyway.

And finally we drove into the lights and glitzy glitter that is Las Vegas. It truly is like no where else on the planet, though, somewhat ironically, it is like them as it has replicas of New York, Paris and Venice to name but a few. Our hotel room view was of the now-infamous Mandalay Bay Hotel.

We headed out for the Strip for something to eat and to soak up the atmosphere. We even managed to catch the lights, music and fountains display outside the Bellagio Hotel which Val and I managed to miss on our previous visit, though weirdly I didn’t seem to take any photos…

A very satisfying day, though we were suitably exhausted and ready for our rather excellent suite back at the hotel.

 

 

Wednesday, 9th August, 2017

Ok, one last attempt to finish one trip before the next. I am typing this aboard the P&O cruise ship, Adonia, just north of the Azores, on Thursday, 19th October, but you are going to have to wait for our tales of life in the high seas until I have finished our USA road trip. Hang in there, I will be with you as soon as possible. And I am hoping I will be publishing this today, Saturday 21st October……..

Well, we left Junction, Utah with clean laundry and eager expectations for the day ahead. I had reckoned that we might just have time to fit in a visit to Bryce Canyon on our way to the main event which was the fantastical Antelope Canyon and we were so glad that we did. The drive took us through Red Rock Canyon which was just a taster for the real thing, but spectacular nonetheless with strong red works of nature transformed by wind and weather.

 

 

On we drove, not really knowing what to expect at Bryce Canyon, which made the eventual vista all the more stunning. It is hard to describe and I hope the photos give you a reasonable sense of the scale and uniqueness of the landscape with its colours and pillars of stone all under a blue, blue sky and white fluffy clouds. Very photogenic and it was a shame we were on a bit of a schedule as it would have been great to have explored further, but time was of the essence having booked our place on the tour at Antelope.

Off we set, heading south until we reached the rather unprepossessing car park that was the venue for our tour of the unique Antelope Canyon – along with thousands of others it would seem. The temperature was rising into the high 30s and we were downing water and slapping on the sun cream, whilst Nick kept up a steady spray from the now venerated bottle. Luckily we were in time and although there was a delay before we were able to join the queue, we did at least know we were able to get in, not least as we were supposed to have confirmed our booking the day before. What was slightly odd was that there is absolutely no sign of the canyon from the car park, so we did wonder how the tour was going to work – and even where the canyon was! We enquirer and discovered that first we had to join the throng in the visitor centre where we waited before being allowed to join the throng again in the waiting area before our guides split us up into groups and, already a bit hot and harried, we walked to another waiting area at the entrance to the canyon. We were starting to see what was ahead – or more correctly – below us. Note the tiny people at the bottom of the first photo……

Now Antelope Canyon is not your average Canyon with wide views and deep drops. It is definitely below ground, but you walk or climb through narrow gaps with swirling walls of smooth rock rising above your head. Almost certainly one of the most photogenic places I have ever been to and I have tried to limit the photos below to the best, but there are lots, lots more if you are interested, believe me. Absolutely fascinating and stunning even with the crowds. And delightfully cooler!

We still had one last destination and one last canyon to add to our day and that was, of course, the one and only Grand one. Time was getting on now, but we did manage to get there in time for the sunset and to get a feel for its majesty and sheer scale. I had entertained a thought that we might be able to see enough for us to avoid the hour drive there and hour drive back the next day, but you don’t come all this way for a brief glimpse of something as huge as this. Val and I had seen it before, though not at sunset, so it was lovely to see the colours and light changing as the sun dropped below the plateau in the west. Indeed we only had time to see the eastern end, so we resolved to come back again the next day from our overnight stop in Williams and our distinctly utilitarian motel which I have to say was completely devoid of character, but affordable and did what it said on the tin. Views of the GC at sunset below…..

 

Now to post this before the internet runs out!

7th August, 2017

Yes, I know, I am typing this up some 2 months late, in OCTOBER!! Still, I am determined to finish this USA Road Trip, not least as Val and I are off on our travels again soon! So here we go, to the best of my memory…

Well, we left Cody early in the morning in order to make the long drive south and then west towards Salt Lake City in Utah. Our overnight was to be Evanston, still in Wyoming, just short of the Utah border and the journey there was meant to be pretty uneventful, not least as it is a good 6 hour drive. We travelled through towns such as Thermopolis, which claims to be the world’s largest mineral hot spring. Sadly we had no time to take the waters even though there is free bathing, but continued south to Shoshoni (pop 649) where we turned right. Not much to report – there is a mushroom processing plant, I believe, though we did not see it. It is pretty arid, but redolent with names that brought up images of the West – Shoshone, Arapahoe and even, decidedly incongruously, Atlantic City. Having read the guide book, I thought it would be interesting to take a detour down the Red Canyon Road, though it did not look too promising as it was only a dirt road and the SatNav kept pleading with us to turn around at the next opportunity. We persevered and although I did wonder a couple of times if we would be up to our axles in red sand and dust, we did make it and it was well worth it. Just a bit stressful!

That was enough excitement for us and we pulled up gratefully onto the forecourt of the Days Inn, Evanston and unloaded our bags. Nothing much to report on the hotel – clean and utilitarian. We had an interesting time finding somewhere to have dinner. Our first choice was closed, so we drove about trying to find something other than a McDonalds or Burger King and finally settled on a so so Mexican restaurant. We would probably have done better to have eaten at the restaurant next to the hotel!

8th August, 2017

This was to be our last day with Chris and Shivonne who were going to get a plane from Salt Lake City to Texas, but we had time to look at the heart of this famous Mormon city. The layout is pretty standard with the ubiquitous grid system, but the main buildings that make up the HQ of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints aka the Mormons are conveniently located in one area. Founded by Brigham Young, patriarch of the Mormons in 1847, the metropolitan area has over a million inhabitants and much of it is very typical of your average US city, though the backdrops of the mountains to the north (site of the 2002 Winter Olympics) and the Great Salt Lake to the west, do make it pretty spectacular.

We, as ever, were in a hurry, so we were only able to wander past the main monuments such as Young’s house, the wonderful gardens, the cathedral and the famous Tabernacle. The latter we did go into and listened for a while to a free concert on the enormous organ. Sadly there was no free rehearsal of the choir, but it is still spectacular (no photos, sorry). We did manage a visit to the museum where some very clean cut young men and women were keen to help us. No attempts at a conversion, though. Worth a visit if you are in the area.

We dropped Chris and Shivonne off at the airport and the four of us (Val, me, Caroline and Nick – the last two luxuriating in the extra legroom in our minivan) headed south through 210 miles of dry Utah scenery to our overnight stopover in Junction, Utah. This was an AirBNB in what was one of the smallest towns (villages? roadside cluster of buildings) you could imagine. Population 177 in 2000 and I think most of them were out of town! Still, the house we were in was comfortable enough and had a washing machine!

OK, that is two days done, more soon, I promise… Lots and lots of canyons!