On Tour in the USA

[xoxoxoBruce]

You'll like Bryce, unless it's too crowded. The terrain is spectacular in any weather, and unlike the Grand Canyon, on a less mind boggling scale. Bryce is like the top third of the Grand Canyon and Zion like the middle third. I'm talking depth not length.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by diminished

Well,Las Vegas has come and gone.

We were very much less than impressed with the place, cutting our 2-3 day planned stay to less than 24 hours.

For at street level it has to be one of the dirtiest,greasiest and sleaziest places I've ever been.

I can't agree more.

[diminished]

Bryce was as excellent as Zion was disappointing.

Not that I really think Zion is a bad NP,it was just badly overcrowded.Also, save yourself a couple of hours if you go there by missing out the 'Emerald Pools' hiking trail.

Persistence and I slogged up and down hills to see 3 pools, of which we could easily find a dozen as good/better at home.

Bryce more than made up for it.It delivered jaw-dropping scenery by the truckload.

We spent our last night in Utah at Kanab, having spent a couple of nights there a couple of days previous.Last night was by far the best tho.

We found a terrific hidden gem of a motel, the Sun-N-Sand, which from the outside looks like Norman Bates' dream home.Inside, its a bit worn, but very clean.

The owner, Wayne, although he looks like an extra from a Pirate movie, is an absolute hero.We mentioned we preferred beer to tea, and he suddenly said 'Dont drink any beer you've bought in Utah, its swill.'.

He explained that they have under-strength beer for Utah, and that suddenly cleared up a problem I'd had the night before.No matter how many cans I drank, I couldn't seem to get drunk.

'Yep,it'll just give you a headache and make you need to pee.'

We went and settled into our room, and 20 mins later,there's a knock on the door.Persistence opened it to find Wayne holding a couple of cold bottles of Bud which someone had sneaked over the border for him

We sat out on the doorstep, journalising and emailing the folks back home, and he trotted up with another couple.We retired to bed quite happily.

The breakfast he laid on was similarly heroic, ranging from fresh water-melon to a beautiful carrot-cake an admirer had brought him, and had the most excellent coffee I've had over here.(And in proper mugs too, none of yer plastic cup rubbish).

I've never seen anyone work as hard and as cheerfully for our cash,$45 had us covered for the night.He has single-handedly put almost all other motels we've stayed at to shame.

Before we left, we gave him a pack of Tetly Tea-Bags, explaining that that is what British people call 'Tea', and it is what empires are built upon , and instructed him in proper tea-making procedures.

The guy is an absolute gem, and if you're ever in need of somewhere to stay in southern Utah, I commend him unto all Cellarites.

Today has been a long drive, down from Kanab to Tucson, where we'll be visiting 'The Boneyard' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerospa...neration_Group

- the USAF's storage facility for aircraft they're not currently using.

On the way into Tucson, we happened to pass Pinal Airpark, a similar facility for commercial airlines.

We're down to around 16 days left over here, and we're starting to face some hard choices about what we can do versus what we want to do, with the time remaining.

PS: Must mention, we hit a new high temp. for us today.As we passed through Phoenix, the car thermometer hit 115.

[xoxoxoBruce]

I just read, in July Death Valley had 20 days over 120 degrees F.

[glatt]

Originally Posted by diminished

Today has been a long drive, down from Kanab to Tucson, where we'll be visiting 'The Boneyard' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerospa...neration_Group

- the USAF's storage facility for aircraft they're not currently using.

If you find yourself with extra time in Tuscon, Sabino Canyon is pretty. It's a narrow canyon in the foothills of the Catalinas and a stream (which is probably a trickle or dry now in August) winds its way from pool to pool in the canyon with nice views of saguaro cacti all around. Probably my favorite place in Tucson.

Also, a drive up to the top of Mount Lemmon might cool you off by about 10 degrees. You'd be at 105 instead of 115. There are some decent views from up there.

The old historic mission San Xavier will take you back in time.

The Desert Museum is a zoo that contains desert animals. When I was a kid we used to get the coyotes going absolutely bananas by howling in front of their cage. That would stir up the whole zoo. Good times. But it's just a zoo.

If you like astronomy at all, you have to take a trip to nearby Kitt Peak and get a tour of some of the huge telescopes there.

[diminished]

I wish I hadn't got myself banned from the motel's network last night.

Then I might have seen glatt's post this morning...I'm a closet astronomy enthusiast...it never occurred to me that I might be near the Mt.Lemmon observatories.

All that needs to happen to make that mistake complete is to check the BAA website in a couple of days and find they discovered a comet there today.

We're now moving in completely the wrong direction to visit those, and after dragging Persistence around 'another' Air Museum all day, in the scorching sun, she's not in a mood to turn back.

Oh well.

The PIMA air museum was interesting, and for once, since most of the aircraft are stored outdoors, I didn't have much bother taking photos.

The Boneyard tour was pretty good too, although I was so intent on looking out of the bus windows (we weren't allowed to stop or get off, the AMARG facility is still an operational base) I failed to notice the aircon had broken down.More heat for poor Persistence to endure!

Unfortunately,it was well towards museum closing time before she was able to drag me towards any kind of exit, and we had to set off again.

West again, back into southern California next.We'll try not to smuggle fruit.

[diminished]

Time for an update.

We entered California after ditching our stash of bananas, that we might not attract attention to ourselves.

Initially, we made for L.A, after a little visit to the town of Joshua Tree, to have a quick look at Myrtle the Turtle (roadside statue of a turtle).Persistence called a halt around Perris (site of some smashing boulders painted up as apples), as she was finding the traffic more than a little intimidating.

We bounced back, towards Death Valley, overnighting in Barstow.Whilst there, we read a few things online about the town, which had us more than a little worried to step outside.Especially as the bolt on our motel room door had been torn off at some stage.

Next day, we headed for Death Valley, where things began to go wrong.

I take this opportunity to remind myself, that it is not an especially good idea to run off into the desert when the temperature is 122f, even when you have water stashed about your person.And that water is all well and good, but only tends to be useful when it is drank.

The Mesquite Dunes did look very photographically appealing however.And it did seem like a good idea at the time.

I began to have a little trouble keeping co-ordinated about halfway back to the car, I'd been feeling quite smug about some of the photos I'd got.Things got progressively more difficult the closer I got to the car.I just about crawled up onto the roadway.

Persistence had spotted me stumbling about, and brought the car alongside and helped me in.

It was probably less dramatic than it sounds, and I felt (slightly) better after the application of a couple of litres of water, which I promptly sweated back out.

I dozed for the next hour or so, as we headed towards Stovepipe Wells, with the intention of heading up to The Racetrack, to see Death Valley's mysterious moving stones.

I was required to make a navigational decision, which in my confused state, I really should have taken more time over.About an hour later, as we pulled up at the western entrance about 100 miles out from where we should have been, the error was realised.

We immediately set off back for The Racetrack, arriving at the entrance to the 31 miles of rough road about 6pm.

We should have known better than to set off down a very rough bladed earth track with around 90 minutes of daylight left.That road surely has to be the worst we've encountered in just shy of 24000 miles of motoring we've done over here.

We both called a halt an hour in, and around 9 miles short.There was a very real danger that our trusty vehicle was going to become crippled if we continued.Persistence gingerly backtracked along that crappy road in failing light, and we slowly realised that it would be at least 3 more hours before we got anywhere near a motel which would be of any use to us.That fuel would be marginal, and we didn't have much in any way to eat (although plenty of water).It also became apparent that our vehicle suffered from the little adventure.

The suspension is now considerably looser than it was before we set out there, and we get a much bouncier ride now.

We eventually made a motel, but if we'd continued on to our original goal, things could have been hairier.The deity that protects all naive fools pulled overtime that day.

Suitably self-chastised, we set out the next day on something of a curious mission.

We went to a forest in order to find a tree.

At once, a simple sounding thing, but when you're looking for one tree in particular, can also be a quite complicated thing.

We went to the Ancient Bristlecone Pine groves in Inyo National Forest, to search for the Oldest (non-clonal) living Thing on the Planet, the Methuselah Tree.

Methuselah is estimated, this year, to be 4500 years old.The problem searching for it, is that it's not marked on map, and Forest Rangers will not tell you where it is (with good reason.When they had a sign indicating which tree it was, it was vandalised) .Its also located between 10000 and 11000 ft above sea-level.

We went to the local ranger station, and found that there is a trail around the Methuselah Grove, and the Ranger informed us that the tree itself is between two of the numbered markers, but gave us no more information than that.

We'd done some research the previous night on the net, but that had just proved confusing.We'd turned up a set of GPS co-ordinates, and 4 different images purporting to show the tree itself.

The GPS co-ordinates we immediately discarded, on the grounds that they're in the wrong grove of Bristlecone Pines (Methuselah is reportedly in the Schulmann Grove, our co-ordinates indicated the Patriarch Grove), and when you're hiking at altitude and speed, one tree looks very much like another.

We did, however, find a group of big and old Bristlecones, in the area the Ranger had told us to look.Searching off the trail, I also found another very poorly defined and seldom used track that lead up to a group of 4-5 trees.These trees had metal tags attached to them, unlike the others we'd looked closely at, and we decided that if none of them were Methuselah itself, they were probably among the older ones of the grove.We left, breathless, hopeful, and reasonably satisfied that we probably have an image of the correct tree somewhere amongst our shots.

Bristlecone pines are quite interesting things, I think.I'd seen a documentary about them several years ago, and to refresh my knowlege, I bought a book when we got back to the ranger station (after crocking my ankle on the trail back).

I read that simply, these trees do not die of old age.They only die when something kills them.I also read that, to my chagrin, Methuselah is not the oldest amongst them.There is at least one older, known to a couple of researchers, who will not give out the location.

There was indeed, an older specimen, up until sometime in the 1960's called Prometheus, who was felled in an unfortunate incident by a scientist (he was taking core samples for dating, his coring-tool broke and he sought permission to cut this particular specimen down, which surprisingly the Forestry Service granted.They're apparently a lot more careful with their permissions now.).

Anyway, onward, and in conclusion.

Today, we set off with the intention of visiting Bodie, a ghost-town on the border between California and Nevada.To some extent, its not really a ghost town, in as much as that there are still a few residents, and that the town itself has been declared a State Park, and is held in its state of decay as a showpiece.

The last several miles to the town however, are across our old friend, bladed dirt road.After our previous experience, Persistence called a halt several hundred yards on from where we'd left the tarmac, and turned about.

As an alternative, we instead headed for Yosemite National Park, which we had intended to look at tomorrow.

I've got to say, Yosemite is quite spectacular, but very challenging to capture in photographs.More challenging yet to photograph in crappy weather.And by the time the weather clears, more challenging again becuase everything is smothered in people.

It was a shame to visit at the weekend.The sheer volume of people more or less ensured that the possibility of encountering large furry, or even medium-sized fluffy wild-lifes was at a minimum.

I think to get the best out of Yosemite, its more or less essential to go hiking out on the many trails around the place, which we weren't able to because of my crocked ankle (and today I seemed to be handling the altitude a lot less ably).

We left slightly disappointed, but at the same time frustrated, because we knew we hadn't been able to give ourselves the opportunity to experience the best that it could offer.

Time to sign off.My typing fingers are becoming tired, as are doubtless some of your eyes.I'm taking some Jack Daniels and shortbread cookies for my conditions.Find your own medecines

[xoxoxoBruce]

Now you know why they call it Death Valley.
At Yosemite in season, and on the weekend, it's tough to get away from the maddening crowds without mucho hiking. At least you got to see the scale of Half Dome and Yosemite Valley, which is all the majority of the tourists see.

[diminished]

Yeah, its a pretty good reminder that Death Valley is an extreme environment, and that most stories leading to stupid deaths there (and other extreme places) begin with a bad decision that leads to several more bad decisions.Its was better to realise that we'd made bad decisions, and to let it go.The charging off into the desert thing was abject stupidity on my own part, although there were other people about at the roadside, and Persistence had positioned herself to be able to see me.

We found it pretty hard to deal with the out and out damned rudeness of visitors to Yosemite.

At one point, on the way out of the place, you get the opportunity in a big turnout to take the 'money shot' photo down the best part of the valley.

Light conditions had been pretty rubbish all day, and I'd waited for a good spot to take photos from, to open up.

When I finally got my turn, I was taking multiple shots, and playing with filters and exposures to get the best snap I could, when some bird positioned herself right in front of me and her boyfriend behind me, and began complaining loudly about me.

I was able to feign foreign-ness and incomprehension, and refused to move, although I was tempted to take her photo and ask the guy for $10, or remark that she had 'beautiful t*ts'.

Half the battle getting a good photo in the Parks is managing not to get anyone else in the damned shot.

[ZenGum]

Originally Posted by diminishedSThompson

Time for an update.

We were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take hold.

The heat was brutal, and we had to stop for drinks. Finding the bar through the drug haze was an ordeal.

My persistent attorney and I got lost in a car park and went over the same set of speedhumps 37 times.

I had to get out to take a leak, and damned if I could find a tree big enough. I swear by the time I was done a thousand people were staring straight at me...

[diminished]

For ZenGum



Quick update: we've killed another rental car.Looks like the shocks are shot to bits on this one.Its a pity, because this car has been a real trooper, and deserves to make it to the end.

But going any speed over 55mph is now a hazardous experience.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Rentals, love 'em and leave 'em.

[diminished]

Yeah, we're now in possession of a bright blue PT Cruiser for the last week of our jaunt, after assuring the rental people that we had no idea at all how the fault had developed

It seemed to cause quite a stir, the appearance of a Mass. plate in their lot anyway, and most of their staff came for a rubbernecking session at the foreigners who had been mad enough to drive across the country.

We've been hanging out on the Monterey Peninsula last couple of days.Its a really nice place, seems to have a bit of something for everyone.

I've convinced Persistence to buy her sister a nice pair of earrings (and a Silver Dollar for myself), then convinced her to keep hold of said earrings and change them out for the cheaper pair she bought earlier in the trip.

We even managed a sunny day today, so I decided that we'd head for the beach.I had a fine day watching the wildlife, human and animal, and hunting sand-dollars.I'm now sporting a glowing red face and Persistence has been tanning nicely for the wedding we're going to when we get back home.

Home.Now there's a word that is starting to loom large in our reckonings.

I've been quite happy, many times, on this junket to forget all about the horrors of the 'summer season' on the northeast coast of England.At other times its often been to my great surprise that we aren't there as I've wandered out of our motel room for a smoke.I'm suffering from pretty mixed feelings about going back there.

The BBC news website has been outlining events for me during the course of our journey, although the damned thing seems to be written mainly by ex-Daily Mail journalists, and designed to arouse contempt in my heart for our funny little island.The only good thing that seems to have happened in my absence is that we won the Ashes (Cricket test-series, between England and Australia, for the non-comprehending).

The prospect of our return seems to have triggered a general malaise in us, and we dont seem to be making much forward progress.Its true, that we dont have much left to see on our lists of attractions, but its almost as if we can delay the inevitable by not moving onwards.

Meh.I'll busy myself tonight sorting through more photos, also something that I've been putting off doing.Although there may yet have to be alcohol involved.

[ZenGum]

Yeah, we're now in possession of a bright blue PT Cruiser for the last week of our jaunt, after assuring the rental people that we had no idea at all how the fault had developed

The kid was about fifteen, and none too bright.

"This is a terrible town for driving around in convertibles" I told him "They beat the shit out of it..."

Man, you ARE going all Hunter S Thompson. Awesome. Check the trunk. (You know, the boot.)

[diminished]

No Epic Suitcase.

Got some Adult Robitussin cough gels (tried them earlier in the trip, for the DXM content, didn't rate it very much), Equate sleep aid liquidcaps (diphenhydramine, intend to knock myself out for the flight home rather than endure nicotine withdrawl), still quite a bit of Citalopram (my AD meds), a nicorette inhalator (always have a backup plan, in case the diphenhydramine doesn't work) and an empty bottle of Jack Daniels.

I'll hopefully be turning that empty into a full, later on.

Judging by the shenanigans at last nights motel, and the interesting and familiar odour on the wind outside, I could have probably bolstered my substance count with something pleasantly herbal.

But its been almost 4 months with nothing other than tobacco to smoke, might as well wait until I get home now.