Balloons, Snow and the Canyon

Unfortunately, I (Mark) had a terrible night last night. I was violently ill and won’t be able to look at Taco Bell again for awhile. We had wanted a proper restaurant last night in Phoenix, but there was nothing but fast food for blocks and blocks.

This morning, we were surprised to find ourselves roused by the sound of many roosters crowing, near and far. Not what we expected in the city of Phoenix. We left early and drove across town to the highway. Last night, while looking for some dinner, we got a fairly poor impression of Phoenix. It seemed all fast food, industrial lots and all very down-at-the-heel. This morning, however, we drove clean across the downtown and the outer commercial districts and in the cold, hard light of day it seemed a neat, clean and pleasant city. The neighbourhood where we stayed was simply like Glenorchy on a bad day.

We left town on the I 17, northbound (Dale wins the prize), destination: Flagstaff, Arizona. About 50 miles north of Phoenix we pulled over to watch a bunch of hot air balloons take off nearby, then shot straight up to Flagstaff, about 140 miles away.

Flagstaff held 3 attractions for us:
1) It is a historic and very pretty town, that had been recommended to us by some fellow Aussie travellers;
2) It’s main street is part of the famous old Route 66, and;
3) It is about 90 miles south of the Grand Canyon.

We got to Flagstaff in the late morning, having ascended to almost 7000 feet of altitude, and had a bit of a look around at the town. Because night-time temperatures are still getting below freezing, we decided to check into a motel. A couple of walk-ins and we were set. Time for the Canyon.

The drive out to the Grand Canyon was beautiful. It is not desert here, it is aspen country. We drove over 8000 feet. Rolling hills, jagged mountain peaks all around, pine trees everywhere and still a lot of winter snow laying around, even though the day was warm. It was an unexpected pleasure of a drive. At one point, I walked out over a snowy field for Pia to photograph me. The snow was solid and my shoes only sank about a centimetre. When Pia walked out to the same spot, I took her picture and on the way back she stepped on a soft spot and sank to her ankles. She was wearing sandles, of course and the look on her face was priceless. Wish I’d got a picture of that.

The Grand Canyon: You know it’s big, right? You’ve grown up hearing about it. You’ve seen it on TV documentaries. You’ve heard some facts and figures. You understand that it is very, very big. What you can’t imagine, until you see it, is how MASSIVE it is. Firstly, although there is a Ranger station and a Visitor Centre, there are almost no guardrails on the Canyon rim. You can just walk right up to the edge of overhanging rocks and look over. It’s a drop of almost 7000 feet to the bottom, but that’s only part of it’s size. It covers the entire landscape from horizon to horizon in every direction. It is difficult to get your mind around the scale of it. It defies belief. And the rock formations are just beautiful. It is not something you can begin to understand until you see it for yourself, and maybe not even then. We spent a few hours there, and the squirrels played fearlessly among the tourists as the ravens wheeled above and below us.

On the return to Flagstaff, we saw one of those cheap, tacky roadside attractions that thrive in the deserts here. It was an old, Flintstones theme park and Campground. We also stopped to look around in an old Trading Post, now mainly local crafts and souvenirs. Back in Flagstaff, we walked around town for awhile and ended up having a lovely “anniversary” dinner in a cute little Mexican restaurant with good food, a nice wine, a lovely atmosphere and good live music. It was very cool. Then we walked back through town, along Route 66 to our 1950’s era, western-themed motel.

Funny Fact: Some funny names we have found today – Horsethief Basin Rd and Bloody Basin Rd. Some of the desert landscapes look very Australian and some look utterly alien.

Cowboy Wisdom

The Canyon

Snowfield Pasture at 8000ft

Marks feet and 7000ft drop

The 'honeymooners' at the Grand Canyon

Flagstaff, Arizona
Note the street name next to the red light

Across the Desert

We left Santa Maria this morning and drove back down south to Santa Monica where we joined Interstate 10. We used I10 to cross LA and stayed on it across the desert over the Arizona state line and all the way to Phoenix. So from LA to Phoenix it was a total of about 370 miles.

The desert landscape is very beautiful in its own way. Broad flat plains between mountain ranges. Sage brush, Joshua trees and the famous Western Cactus. Along the way we saw some scary turnpikes (Pia still doesn’t like them), beautiful snow capped mountains and just east of Palm Springs we saw miles of Wind Turbines, there must have been thousands, lining hills and valleys.

We arrived in Phoenix late and am afraid that the anniversary dinner was takeout. Will make up for it later.

Wind Farms east of Palm Springs

Scary Turnpike

Snow capped mountains

Steinbeck and Janis Joplin

Waking up in Big Sur State Park was breathtakingly beautiful. And breathtakingly cold. We realised we are not equipped to camp in temperatures below freezing and we are here too soon in the year. So we decided to head back south then east toward Florida (eventually) and we will see northern California at the end of the trip, in Summer.

After yoghurt and hot chocolate for breakfast, and a walk around the area, we hit the road. From Big Sur we had to continue north up the coast before we could turn around, southward onto US 101. The coast highway north through the town of Carmel (which amazingly looked like a story book town) and into the larger town of Monterey, where we had business to attend to.

We had to re-register our car and change the pink slip to our name. We also had to pass a smog check for this. We were worried that it may fail the smog test or that the DMV may take issue with Mark's foreign licence and lack of permanent Californian address (we used our hotel in LA – where they are holding our mail for us, until our return in three months). This bureaucracy had the potential to stop our trip dead. It was a huge relief when all went well.
Point of Interest: change of ownership plus 12 months registration cost $135.

From Monterey we headed inland, and passed through the agriculture town of Salinas. This is the hometown of John Steinbeck (whom Mark is reading at the moment).

From Salinas we got onto US 101 and headed south. We had a smooth and pleasant journey through 100 miles of farm land. It is very green here with tall rolling hills and wide flat valleys.

We have stopped for the night in a cheap motel in the town of Santa Maria (about 130 miles north-west of LA) and will tomorrow we will start the journey East.

For dinner we had three pieces of pizza. But they were big pieces.

Funny Fact: The town of Salinas has been made famous by Janis Joplin as the place where she lost "Bobby McGee". Also, the town of Carmel is the hometown of Clint Eastwood. He spent several years as the Mayor there.

Sacky the Van

30-inch pizza!

Point Sur

Big cloverleafs. There was a whole hillside of them.

Big Sur

It could be the drive of a lifetime!!

We left the motel in Downey at 7.15am and crossed LA and Santa Monica in rush hour – about 45mins. Honestly, Brisbane rush hour is worse. We headed north on the Pacific Coast Highway through Malibu where we had fruit salad for breakfast. We’d heard it said that this highway is one of America’s most breathtaking drives and it didn’t disappoint.

The road loops inland for several miles and we drove across thousands of acres of Strawberry farms. Then rejoining the Coast, we passed through Santa Barbara and stopped in the town of San Luis Obisbo. Named for the Mission there. The town is very pretty with handsome old buildings and tree lined streets. It looks like a picture from a story book. We would later learn that all of the towns along this road look like this. We had read about the 250 year old Mission in a book and wanted to visit it. It lived up to the expectations.

A few miles further north we stopped and looked at the Hearst Castle, from a distance. It sits alone on a misty hilltop, about a mile from the road. We viewed from the observation deck, because tours were too expensive (try $50 for two). And we didn’t want to spend the rest of the day there anyway.

We walked across the road to San Simeon Pier and walked out the 100 year old quarter mile wooden jetty and watched sea otters in the distance.

By this time the sky was grey and it had started to spit.

Fifteen minutes further north we abruptly stopped on a piece of road alongside the beach, where there was an entire colony of elephant seals resting. We walked right up to them and they seemed unfazed. Never seen them in the wild before.

Continuing north the road climbed the cliff-face. For 100 miles the road is a narrow two lane blacktop, cut into almost vertical cliffs. In a rare flattish spot we saw a coyote stalking prey on grass, 20 feet from the side of the road. The road became treacherous. There are frequent 10 mph hairpins that even Tasmania can’t equal. Steep grades, bad cambers and frequent rubble from avalanches, also frequent road works to clear avalanche rubble (this seems to be a frequent occurrence).

It was on this treacherous road that the rain started to fall and we discovered that our windshield wipers don’t work. After an hour of peering through a rain covered windshield, at one of the most treacherous roads we have ever travelled, we have delighted when the wipers started to work (this issue still to be resolved).

Soon after we stopped in a small town called Gorda, with a very quaint wooden general store - gas station/ lodging and restaurant. Out the front a colourful fellow whistling beautifully in time with his banjo, with a cat sitting by his side. We topped up oil here and continued up the road.

Shortly after we stopped in a turnout to take some pictures of the amazing view and had a chat with two Aussie women in a rental van (somewhat like a Wicked Van but better). They were on their way back to LA having spent the last month touring the US West. They told us that Yosemite and other areas that we wanted to visit were still closed to the public from heavy snow. One of the girls handfed a squirrel and we took his picture. Very obliging fellow.

Daylight was running out and we decided to stop in the Big Sur State Park. This must be one of the loveliest places on earth. We parked in a camp site, among the Sequoia’s and walked to the Lodge, where we had a lovely restaurant dinner. Then returned to Sacky to …errr… Hit the Sack.

It is very cold here. Tonight we are sleeping in long-johns, in sleeping bags in the van. Today has been majestic and breathtaking all the way.

Funny Fact: this morning we passed Malibu Creek State Park where much of MASH was filled in the seventies and eighties. And also, we just realised Sacky is the first vehicle we’ve outright owned. Feels quite nice.

The Van

Well as you can guess from the heading, we have found our transport for the next couple of months.

She is (and yes it is a female) a 1993 Ford Aerostar, dark metallic blue and just what we need. We have taken the back seat out and have acquired a mattress. She is a little ruff around the edges (but that is what we want) but runs good (touch wood) and for what we paid we are ecstatic! Let's put it this way, pretty much within our original budget. Will send photos from the road.

We are departing LA dark and sparkly (and yes from where we are we can actually see the stars).

Will blog over the next couple of days from the north of the state.

LA-LA-Land

Well, sorry for the delay in this entry. It's been a very busy four days.
Wednesday. We landed early morning after a torturous flight. V Australia was very good and the seat back TVs and hard drives are excellent. TV shows, video gamees and movies all at the touch of a button. But when the guy in front reclined his seat five minutes into the flight, I spent 13 hours sitting with six inches between my face and the TV in his seatback. Also trapped my legs. Pia and I were both sore and miserable by halfway.
The customs and immigration people were super-friendly and helpful, though. We cleared the airport in about 45 minutes and it took us about the same to reach our motel. No worries. We spent the rest of the day just exploring the local area and succumbing to jet-lag. Had an awesome dinner at a local Mexican restaraunt. Great value and I forgot how BIG some of the portions are here. The beer came in a 22-ounce glass!!! Funny fact: The drivers in LA are by far the most polite, patient and courteous drivers that I have ever seen anywhere in my life. Thursday. We did the tourist thing. I've always wanted to see the La Brea Tar Pits. Dad told me about them years ago and they are utterly unique. Nowhere else in the whole world has the right blend of geological circumstances led to lakes and pools with naturally-occurring asphalt over them. Of course over the millennia they have trapped and killed millions of animals, from birds to saber-tooth cats (they're not really called saber-toothed tigers, it's a common mistake) to mastodon and mammoth. And the tar preserves the bones beatifully. The lake and pits are still there to observe (and they stink) and there is an amazing museum there.
After thet we walked up to Hollywood and strolled down the Walk of Fame, treading on stars and people-watching. They don't call it 'HollyWierd' for nothing. Whilst there, we saw the Kodak Theater where the Oscars are held and Grauman's Chinese Theater with all of the cement autographs and handprints and footprints in the huge flagstone courtyard out front. We stood in the footsteps of entertainment giants. I saw Steven Spielberg, Harrison Ford and Steve McQueen there, some of my favorites. We also took a look at the famous Hollywood sign, which overlooks Hollywood from the hills of Griffith Park.
Funny fact: We ran into two other Australian couples and an American preacher who spent a couple of years in Adelaide. Also, as we were walking through the Downtown today, we saw some streets closed and traffic changed, while a scene for a movie was being filmed. There were service trucks and vans and power cables everywhere.
Friday. This was a fairly crappy day for us I'm afraid. We had a promising lead on a good van, and we were on our way to see it when the owner called and said that he'd changed his mind and wouldn't sell it. We were very let down. After this we bagan walking from car yard to car yard in what turned out to be a 10-mile wild goose chase on foot through the outer suburbs. We eventually caught a bus back and were a bit sunburned and felt a bit nauseous from it. We've discovered that our budget is just too low for a car yard sale. Period. And it's even a bit too low for a private sale for a vehicle that's registered and in good enough condition for what we plan.
We felt better later in the evening and watched a movie on TV before going to bed.
Funny fact: We walked over a bridge crossing the famous LA River Aquaduct, which has featured in car chases in movies such as Grease, Gumball Rally, Gone in 60 Seconds, Terminator 2 and many more.
Saturday. Much better today. Have spoken to a guy with a Ford Aerostar van for sale. He and I have agreed to meet nearby tomorrow morning for a test drive. It sounds promising. It is a bit smaller than the Chevy vans I was looking at but it's a V6 and I'd probably be glad every time I filled the tank.
We have been realizing the potential of LA's excellent (and cheap) public transport system. Today, we went through Downtown and out to Santa Monica, then up into the Santa Monica hills to visit the Getty Center. It sits alone on a hilltop with commanding views of all of LA. It is a collection of modernist buildings, about the size of a university campus, all linked by acres of couryards with fountains, walkways, balconys that could seat a hundred and beautiful gardens. And Everything is made of white marble. Every wall and paving stone. The carpark and bus stop are about a kilometer away at the bottom of the hill and you get up to the Center by riding on a monorail that looks like something from a 1960's James Bond film. It is one of the most idyllic and beautiful places I've ever seen (and I think it's fair to say I've been around). We spent all day there. We saw a photographic exhibition and a huge collection of sculptures and paintings, many by old masters. I was surprised to see very little roped off, so you could get within an inch of an original Rembrandt. It's humbling, in a day to study, close-up original paintings and sculptures by Munch, Pisarro, Degas, Monet, Manet, Renoir, Rembrandt, Donatello and an entire exhibition of Leonardo Da Vinci. It was awesome.
Funny Fact: It's funny the 'accidental sightseeing' you can do. In our travels today, we passed through parts of Beverly Hills and Bel-Air. We saw squillion-dollar mansions, Rodeo Drive and some of Santa Monica. Also, we saw the city park featured in the film, Volcano.

Pia at Getty Centre

Mark at Getty Centre

Getty Centre Garden (this doesn't do it justice)

Getty Centre (not all of it I might add)

Aussie Couple we met in front of Grauman's Chinese Theatre

'Hollywood' Sign - 'nuff said!

La Brea Tar Lake - Mammoth models to scale

Colombian Mammoth Skeleton

5pm Australian Time - Sunset at 37,000 feet

05/04/2010

Well, time has nearly caught us. After years of planning, we are nearly away and it seemed about time that we posted something informative on here.

We are landing in LA on the morning of the 7th of April, after a 13 hour flight, passing backwards over the International Date Line. When people say they're going to have a long day, this is the type of day they mean. From midnight to midnight, our day will be 41 hours.

We will be spendinga few days in LA-la-land for two reasons: 1) There are some landmarks and local attactions worth seeing here and; 2) We need to find a cheap, reliable car (preferably a van). Once this is done, we will be striking out Northward, following the coast through Malibu and towards San Francisco.

On the map above, we have marked our tentatively-planned route in a blue line, running clockwise (because it's the Northern Hemisphere-lol). This route should see us pass through many of California's historic locations and National and State Parks.

We'll keep you updated day-by-day.