Home » USA Tour Pt 2 |
North across the southern tip of Nevada to Barstow California where, as there was not a campsite we stayed overnight in company with several other motor caravans at a truck park (no facilities).
Opposite was a tall thermometer labelled "The tallest thermometer in the world" at 373ft high who would argue? On the way to Death Valley through endless miles of desert we were intrigued by and followed signs to Tecopa Hot Springs.
On arrival there was not a lot to see, on one side of the road was a campsite - no greenery or fences just pitches marked out in the mud coloured sand, and on the other side of the road were two brick buildings one marked "men" and the other "women- no mixed bathing" Inside each building were free hot spring baths..
We indulged. I shared the 12ft by 12ft bath with a rather large lady who assured me the water was good for arthritis and cataracts but not to drink the water as it contained arsenic.
She also told me that the Queen of England drinks a teaspoonful of arsenic from a silver spoon every morning. I said I did not know that! The history of the baths is complicated involving Indians and a chemical company and if a charge is ever levied the baths will be closed.
The modest fees from the campsite cover the cleaning costs.
Death Valley is starkly beautiful with side cliffs of different coloured sands and with the sun making the miles and miles of salt flats sparkle.
We walked the side canyon before 10am in the morning when it was cooler (70's) as by afternoon the temperature was in the hundreds and once away from the village the only shade we had was from our own vehicle.
In our campsite there was a huge rally of motor caravanners called "The 49ers" and our English vehicle caused quite a stir resulting in an endless stream of curious visitors - a "neat little rig" seemed to be the general opinion.
The two campsites in the valley are both $10 - Furnace Creek is a no facility site, Stovepipe Wells has toilets, water and dump station. Leaving Death Valley it was a wonderful drive across the Panamint Mountains..
If anyone mentions mountains I think of green tree covered hills with perhaps snow above - these mountains were something else - stark treeless hillsides baking in the sunshine stretching as far as the eye could see.
Once over the Panamints we had to drive quite a way south before finding a good road over the Sierra Mountain Range before turning north to Sequoia National park.
The day before we arrived had been the finish of their season and the showers, shop and launderette were all closed down but to compensate the campsite was free.
During our first night there we had quite a scare when we were rocked by a large brown bear - next morning we found paw marks all down the sides of the Motor caravan!
Apart from that we had a very pleasant few days walking amongst the 'big trees' the coolness very welcome after the heat we had been experiencing. Kings Canyon NP ($15) where we spent one night was marred by a nearby 'controlled burn' which blotted out all the views Next , to Yosemite where we spent days cycling the attractively routed bike paths.- (new since my last visit) - and hiking to the mostly dry waterfalls.
Evenings were spent attending Ranger talks held in the hall of the Yosemite Lodge Hotel. easy to reach after dark using the free shuttle buses. On to Route 49 and a taste of the old Gold Rush days.
Lovely little old wood built towns mostly done up for the tourists but some genuine ghost towns to explore.
Staying on the east side of California we continued north to Lassen Volcanic NP where the campsite was closed but overnight parking space was provided at the Park entrance.
Next day we drove through the park in driving snow but were unable to find any of the major volcanic sites as the direction signs had been removed.
This latter fact was explained when halfway through the park we were stopped by a Ranger who said the Park was being closed for the winter and would we please leave! There was just one site right by the road where we had spectacular views of geysers, boiling mud and clouds of yellow sulphurous smoke, then as we drove out of the Park the road was closed behind us.
North to Lava Beds NP which stays open all year and has a basic campsite (pit toilets) ($16) We spent a fun day in Lava Tubes - formed when lava from surrounding volcanoes flowed underground in horizontal runways.
There are about 300 of these tubes in the park and one is free to explore a good number of them. The 'explorable' ones have a metal staircase at the entrance and after that nothing but dark.
To explore entails a call at the Ranger Station to sign in and collect torches (free) which must be returned by 4pm -( I guess that gives them time to find you before the station closes at 5pm! ) The tubes are mostly about half a mile long twist and turn and are very uneven underfoot, the dark is intense and without a torch one is blind.
It would have been nice to see the tubes in a bright light for what little our torches revealed showed wonderful colours - lots of milk chocolate brown with flashes of yellow, red and green.
Whilst on Route 49 Michael went to a supermarket and because he spent over $100 was presented with a 14lb frozen turkey - we will gloss over my comments when he arrived back with it! It wouldn't fit in the fridge so we put it in the oven and tried to ignore it, but after three days it was a case of cook it or dump it I can now state with accuracy that the EY 170 oven will, with a little persuasion take a 14lb turkey. Timings as follows - ¢ hour to heat oven - 5 hours to cook turkey - 2 days to get rid of the smell.
Having made a promise to spend Thanksgiving with relatives in northern Washington State and running out of time we had to hurry through Oregon.
We only made one stop in that state and that was at Oregon City where the very pleasant campsite is on the banks of the Columbia River. Whilst Michael was having a haircut the barber said we should not leave until we had visited the 'End of the Oregon Trail Museum' which we did.
The museum is built in the shape of three huge covered wagons and inside you are guided through as if you are one of the hundreds of mid-western pioneers who used the trail to reach the Golden West
In the museum visitors are told of the six months of supplies needed for the journey and of the trauma of people dying on the way from disease and lack of water - information taken from diaries kept by the early settlers .
Definitely a recommended place to visit.
North to Bellingham and a wonderful three weeks getting to know relatives who until now had been mile-wise truly distant. We talked a lot, learnt about their lives and even helped them move house.
Northern Washington State is very beautiful with snow covered mountains, lush green valleys and lots and lots of trees.
Outings included a drive up Mount Baker to see the snow - actually there was so much snow we could only get part way up but the drive was very scenic with all the surrounding peaks bathed in sunlight.
At the Canadian border we saw the Peace Arch, a lovely white stone arch built as a symbol of the friendship between the two countries.
I was amazed at the mileage involved in the statement "We'll just take a little trip". A weekend trip to the San Juan Islands - just off the coast of Washington - took us to Friday Harbor Island. Stunningly beautiful trip as the ferry weaves it way through numerous tree covered islands. Friday Harbor is a very pretty island, small enough to explore in a day.
We climbed Mt Young (800ft) for fantastic views of the surrounding archipelago, visited an alpaca farm and learnt about the last 'nearly battle' between America and England over a shot pig .
The latter story recorded at the English Camp Historical site. Also on the island we visited a very strange burial site belonging to one family- it is a large stone table surrounded by seven stone chairs, each chair being a grave with the name of the dead person engraved on the back of it - rather spooky..
The weather was turnig nasty and cold and wet we once again found ourselves speeding through Oregon (Ah well next time perhaps) and heading very quickly south for the sunshine.
At the California State border we had to hand over all our citrus fruit - actually we could have kept it if we handed over just the peel, we declined.
On the radio we heard that from Crescent City sea front one could see whales, we parked there and watched, but saw nothing.
Moving to the town centre and when trying to decide whether to go and eat out or find a campsite, the town was hit by a tremendous rain storm. It was impossible to get out of the van let alone drive so we had to stay put for the night, no one could accuse us of sleeping in the car park as the noise of the rain on the roof made sleep impossible.
Next morning we drove on south through Orick where we had been told there was free parking for motor caravans. The parking area is about 2 miles outside the small one street town on a mile long deserted looking beach.
There were quite a few R.V.'s there but the area is so large it did not seem crowded.
There is a toilet but no drinking water and a dump station about two miles away. Lovely drive down the coast to Eureka as the road weaves its way through the Redwoods At Eureka we opted to take an inland route to San Francisco, a quite spectacular drive through the coastal mountain range.
At Corte Madera (about three miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge) we booked in for a week at the Golden Gate RV Park - ($115..50 - less than ú70). Aesthetically the Park left a lot to be desired. It was like a car park with vans parked very close together.
The shower block was clean but spartan with metal mirrors and grey painted breeze block walls. From the park it is just a five minute walk to the bus stop for the city. This part of our tour was very much a nostalgia trip for me as I lived in San Francisco for a year in the 70's under the teacher exchange scheme.
Very little had changed though one square has been turned into an ice rink and one of the piers into a shopping and eating complex. After a very pleasant week spent wandering, cable car riding and overeating at Fisherman's Wharf, we once again moved on.
From San Francisco we took the coastal route - Highway 1 - towards Los Angeles. It is impossible to fully describe this route - the road hugs the coastline sweeping in and out of breaks in the cliffs and steeply up and down, with no barrier between the road and the sheer drop to the Pacific.
Not a road for the fainthearted driver! Monterey was our first stop on the route and we camped at Veterans Park high in the hills above the town. A short drive took us to Pacific Grove to see over- wintering Monarch Butterflies festooning a small grove of trees - all 45,000 of them.
Nearby Carmel is a charming little town unique amongst American towns as there are no advertising hoardings, no neon signs - (not even shop ones) - no fast food outlets and no supermarkets. We were told that even mail boxes are banned and all mail has to be collected from the Post Office.
It all makes for a pleasant town to wander in but with such exclusiveness very expensive. On south to Big Sur and a nights stay at Pfeiffer state park, ($12) a lovely campsite set amongst a grove of Redwood trees.
The site was narrow and about three miles long and walking the length of the campsite we saw only two other units camped there - we reckoned that gave us the choice of about 8 shower blocks each.
Next day with so many stops to photograph the stunning views we only progressed 30 miles.
Towards the end of the day (it was dark by 5pm) we reached a point where the road descended to sea level and on a narrow sandy beach we saw and photographed elephant seals. Most of them were sleeping so we could approach quite near.
Others were splashing about in a small stream that crossed the beach. A magical moment.
We should have realised that things were going just that little bit too well and that something had to go wrong. It did, Michael drove over a large kerb in garage forecourt which caught and broke off the shower waste tank tap, ( There was one ghastly moment when we thought it was the toilet tank!) With nothing to effect a repair we had to carry on but as all State Parks have good shower facilities it was not too much of a disaster.
Lunch on the beach at Cambria where I spent a very pleasant hour in the sun watching surfers ride the huge incoming rollers whilst Michael went shopping for epoxy resin.
On to San Luis Obispo and a stop to see the Spanish Mission built in 1722. It was a very fraught drive through busy narrow streets trying to find a parking spot but worth the effort to view a lovely old building.
On south to Pismo Beach State Park to book in for the weekend at another almost deserted campsite. It is a very pleasant large open site in the lee of sand dunes.
It is possible to camp right on the beach but to do so entails a two mile drive along wet sands to reach a no facility site.
Next morning Michael worked on the waste tank. I had thought that the days of seeing him with only his legs sticking out from under the van were over with the purchase of a new van - he was not feeling nostalgic.
In the afternoon we walked for miles along the beach collecting sand dollars - flat shells with a pretty leaf pattern on them.
In the camp grounds 65,000 Monarch butterflies were over-wintering in a grove of Eucalyptus trees, (no we didn't count them a Ranger gave us the figure).
It was a far better viewing of the butterflies than at Pacific Grove and also with the sun on the trees more of them had their wings open, making the trees look as if they were covered in large orange flowers.
The road south though still next to the ocean was now straighter and the hills lower making for much easier driving. Refugio State Beach and a campsite palm shaded with its own little rocky beach.
The tank mend only being 90% successful Mike spent most of the morning under the van. Not much walking area around the camp so after a lazy afternoon on the beach we drove on to Oxnard where we arrived very late so headed for Wal-Mart.
More epoxy resin bought and after a quick mend in the car park decided to head for the beach. This turned out not to be a good idea as we must have driven 10 miles through the very sprawling town before we found a car park with access to the beach (very expensive meters). The beach was smooth, wide and deserted, although we walked for about 3 miles we still couldn't see the end of it.
Having planned to spend Christmas day at Disneyland (well you have to think of something different to do when you are so far from home) we headed for Los Angeles.
Whilst in Bryce Canyon in October we had met a man who was very interested in the Mobilvetta, and when he learnt we were hoping to spend time in Los Angeles he offered us parking at his home which is about 5 miles from Disneyland.
The real bonus of this visit was that at his home the man (also called Mike) had very well equipped workshops and between them Mike and Mike managed to remove the damaged waste tank and effect a proper repair.
Christmas
December 23rd we spent at Universal Studios - difficult to believe we were so close to Christmas with the temperature in the 70's.
The Back Lot tour has definitely become more scary with the train passing through an underground station during an earthquake and through a factory on fire - all very realistic There were a couple of rides that too late I regretted going on but all in all it was a good day.
Christmas Eve, to have some calm between Universal and Disney, we drove to Newport Beach where we spent the afternoon cycling along the edge of the beach on the wide bike path, a ride we shared with other cyclists , skateboarders and roller-bladers - all very social. Christmas day at Disney turned out not to have been a good idea.
The park was packed solid with people and there were two hour waits for each ride. It was 10am when we arrived at Disney and just before midnight when we got on the last ride!
From Los Angeles we turned east and drove 120 miles through desert country to reach the Joshua Tree National Park.
On the way the bare hills we passed through were covered in hundreds and hundreds of wind generators which from a distance looked like trees.
We had presumed that as the Park we were heading for was near Palm Springs and Desert Hot Springs that it would be hot there, and it was a bit of a shock to find the ground covered in snow.
Joshua trees look like a cross between a cactus and a tree, grow to about 40 ft high and are, surprisingly, a member of the lily family. When the trees die they just keel over - a very strange plant..
The area is a mixture of flat desert, quite thickly covered in Joshua trees and low hills formed of huge boulders 50 to 60ft high piled one on top of the other Camping in the Park is free and we were lucky to find a space in one of the four very crowded campsites - we stayed at a very appropriately named site - Jumbo Rocks.
Into Nevada and to Las Vegas where we had planned to spend two days but with so much to see and do it became a ten day stay.
Las Vegas is out of this world literally, as it bears no relation to real life.
The main street, called 'The Strip', has hotels along it with 3,000 to 4,000 rooms and each hotel is built to a theme.
Circus Circus Hotel looks like a big top - New York New York Hotel is built to look like the New York Skyline complete with the Statue of Liberty in front, Treasure Island Hotel is a pirates lair and looks like a cliff surrounding a tropical bay - the cliff having huts and palm trees on it.
In the bay a pirate ship and English frigate (both full size) have a battle every hour. (I hate to mention it but the British ship gets sunk every time) Then there is The Luxor Hotel built in the shape of a pyramid, Caesar's Palace like a Roman forum and Excalibur Hotel is Camelot.
The Mirage Hotel looks normal until the 30ft waterfall outside turns into a volcano after dark. The ground floors of the hotels are vast Casinos maybe three to four football pitches in size.
In one Casino there is a Mardi Gras every two hours when huge lighted floats glide around the ceiling, in another stone statues come to life and tell stories, in another there are high wire acts high above the Casino floor - most of the gamblers don't even bother to look up! There is no need to gamble, entrance to casinos is free and well worth visits to see the 'shows'
New Years eve we wandered along the 'closed to traffic' Strip - magical at night with all the lights - in company with a few thousand other people all very good-natured if rather noisy. There are no visible clocks in Las Vegas so we were not sure exactly when it was midnight but think it was when a man on top of a statue did a moony and everyone cheered!
Surprisingly our stay in Las Vegas turned out to be well below budget - four course dinners in the Casinos was about ú4 (they hope top get your money in other ways) we parked at our new friends from Iowa's winter apartment and our entertainment was free.
Three outings from Las Vegas were to The Valley of Fire a wide flat valley with a ridge of bright red rock running through it, The Hoover Dam where we took a guided tour of the innards of the dam with a very amusing dead pan comedian of a guide and to the lovely Red Rock Canyon where we visited Howard Hughes Hideaway ranch.
Once more into Arizona and a stay by the newly constructed Waddell Dam. The pitches at the new campsite there are small and set high on mounds - difficult to get into but the views are superb.
South to Phoenix and a two day stay with a relative of friends back home. It was strange talking to this lady, who had come to America as a GI bride, as the only England she knows is from the forties.
At Apache Junction the road rises slightly and to our surprise there were R.V's parked as far as the eye could see. This is one of the destinations for 'Snowbirds' - people who travel south to avoid the winter.
Tucson and Saguaro NP was our next stop for three days. This area of Arizona is home to the giant Saguaro cactus. Some are as tall as 40ft and do not branch until they are at least 75 years old. It was fascinating being camped amongst them.
Two miles from the campsite is the Sonora Desert Museum and Zoo, a wonderful place to visit where all the animals can be seen in their natural settings.
It is also possible to go underground and view nocturnal animals asleep in their burrows and to see beavers and otters from under water.
Also near the campsite is a rather expensive to enter tourist attraction. This is Old Tucson, a film set built in the thirties and used many times for western films. I am no film buff but even I recognised some of the buildings!
From Tucson we took what was billed as the scenic route to Tombstone, this turned out to be 80 miles of flat scrubby desert with isolated areas of very green low bushy cacti.
Tombstone, famous for the OK Corral shootout, is my idea of how an old frontier town should look (Hollywood version) Down the main street there are wooden sidewalks, dark smoky saloons and the road surface rutted by the many horse and carriages passing over it (tourist rides) To add to the atmosphere the shopkeepers, barmen, saloon girls and most of the inhabitants are dressed in western costume.
The whole effect was spoilt by the trucks and cars parked nose to tail down each side of the street making it impossible to take photographs.
We went to the cemetery where the famous four are buried and were slightly put off by the canned music coming out of an adjacent grave.
The KOA campsite, just south of Tombstone, numbers its pitches with RIP in front of them.
Out into the wilds again and to the Chiricahua National Monument which at 5,000ft was partly covered in snow. It is an area of deep cut canyons, the walls of which have eroded into fantastic shapes, the lower rocks being softer were more eroded leaving vast areas of top heavy pinnacles.
There is a pleasant campsite below the snowline amongst the trees and several well marked trails, some rather steep.
Please continue too part three
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USA Tour Pt 2
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