The Long trek south

Left Diamond Springs around 10 am and headed to Sacramento and this shopping mall. Only took 1 hour that to GPS. Very large mall. But seen one you have seen them all. Found what was requested. Had a quick look in Macey's and Nordstrum before hitting the interstate again. About 2 hours to San Francisco International airport. Hit very heavy traffic around Oakland, the beginning of the commuter rush (just before 3 pm). Then the gas light came on (with 35 minutes driving to the airport). Got of the freeway and put a few dollars of gas in the car (we had paid for a tank of gas when we picked up our rental in SFO) so was determined to take it back empty.

Once again thanks to GPS we got back on the freeway with little problems. On the Bay Bridge it was bumper to bumper. However once we moved over to 101 things moved a little easier.

Arrived at the Rental car centre just on 4 pm. Caught the air train to the airport and checked in with American Airlines (AA). Now had 3 odd hours to kill.

The AA departure lounges and terminal was excellent. Not crowded and with lots of shops and food outlets. The terminal is very traveller friendly. Plenty of charging stations, desks to work on and great swivel chairs to relax in.

The flight down to LAX was not crowded (well apart from Business class). We both had a row to ourselves. So, we had a great view of San Francisco and Los Angles. The flight was surprisingly fast-about 45 minutes.

The AA terminal in LAX was the exact opposite to SFO-- very crowded, very few shops (including one very small and poorly stocked duty free store).

The flight back to Auckland was full-a mixture of US folks and New Zealanders (most of who seemed to be returning after watching the All Black lose to Ireland in Chicago.

There was also some very, very large people, who couldn't fit into their seats, so took up a large portion of the aisle as well.

Was a good flight-binged on movies and The Big Bang Theory.

My only complaint is -being at the back section of the plane you don't get to get your first choice of evening meal. You get just what ever has been rejected by those in the forward sections. Hence, the evening meal was not very nice. As was the mid flight snack-took two bites and gave it back.

The flight left at 11.15 pm and the outside temperature was 25 degrees C. Incredible climate in LA.

Flight time was a little over 12 hours-so settled back and watched movies.

Arrival, immigration and customs on arrival was a breeze. Straight through. 

Walked over to the domestic terminal and waited for our 1.35 pm flight. The domestic terminal left little to be desired when compared to San Francisco domestic terminal and those prices-back in expensive NZ now.

Finally arrived back in Greytown around 5.30 pm-overcast, wet and cool. The grass is up to my ankles, so will be mowing the lawns at least twice this week.

She who can not be named headed of to the cat motel to pick up Boris-the magnificent.

Was in bed very early. Buggered/knickers.

That is it folks - another road trip done. Will have to work how many miles we drove. I figure it will be around 3000 miles all up.

Election Day- Decision Day for the USA

The folks we were staying with are a little nervous today. They are rooting for Hillary.

Lovely sunny day, temperatures in the mid to high 60's. Went for a ride (on Stan's golf cart) around the lake. Good to spend time with Stan and June again.

Went out for a lunch/dinner at their favourite Mexican resturant. Only seems fitting that on our last full day in the US that we end with a Mexican meal.

After we drove through the historic section of Placerville. Looks like a town worth exploring. In the 1850's this was called 'Hang town' for the obvious reason. While driving through Placerville we noticed a mannequin hanging from a gallows on the side of one of the buildings.

Had to at the TV at 4 pm (local time) which is 7 pm on the East Coast. Needless to say from 5pm onwards things got gloomier and gloomier. Not what our hosts wanted.

Around 9 pm, I gave up a quit. Went and started packing away the things Regan had had shipped to Stan's place. Hopefully we won't have to buy another bag.

Our daughter asked via whatsapp for a few little items. After consulting Ma Google we found a shop stocking her makeup request in Sacramento (Aden Mall, I believe). Guess that will be our first stop tomorrow enroute to the airport.

With the election all but wrapped up, I feel very sorry for all those who voted for Hillary. Hard to Belive that she got the majority of the populous vote, but their first past the post state by state (the electoral college votes) she lost. She is only the second presidential candidate in history to carry the majority vote but loose.  I believe it is time the people of the US seriously looked at proportional representation or something similar.

However, the people have spoken. I only hope that Trump and the Republicans can deliver what they promised. Personally I doubt it. It could be a very rough 4 years for the good folk of the US.

Tomorrow we are off back to little ole New Zealand.

Diamond Springs

Left Yosemite -half Dome village just after 9 am and drove to Mariposa. A great drive along the Merced River. Narrow but scenic.

Refuelled in Mariposa and headed for Sonora (had initially put Sonoma in the GPS and it had us heading north west -150 odd miles to travel...discovered this just in time. Followed Rte 49. Stopped in Sonora for coffee and good look around. Interesting little "old mining town".

Continued on 49 to Angel Camp (another small mining town). When we drove through on Friday, it was a very busy, hectic little town. However, today, Monday it was quiet. Almost all the shops were closed. Read a few articles about Mark Twain, who was a reporter in the county and he wrote a story about the jumping frogs of??? County. You need to Google this.

On 49 again to Jackson-where we re-visited the Cost less supermarket. Hugh, but friendly staff (helped us find the items we were looking for.).

Arrived at Diamond Springs around 3 pm.

Great to catch up with Stan and June again. One of Regan's parcels had arrived, so unpacked it to figure out how we were going to pack it for the trip back to NZ.

Spent the afternoon and evening catching up on family comings and goings.

Whatsapp is a great way to communicate with our kids back in NZ. I noticed a few more orders are coming in from those who stay in contact with us using this app. Evan and Rebecca are currently walking the Milford Track in NZ. Hope they aren't up to their necks in rain and sandflies. 

Spent the evening watching the democratic rally -with Bon Jovi, Bruce "the boss' Springstein. Followed by Bill Clinton, Michelle Obama, Barak Obama and finally Hillary herself. Michelle and Barak are great speakers-their speeches were very moving (talked about what they achieved and how lucky they were to have 8 years in the Whitehouse etc. Real same Barak can't stand again. he is truely inspiring.

Stan and June are democrats, so tomorrow we will spend Election Day with them. Looking forward to this event.  

Day 2 in Yosemite

Slower start today, for two reasons. A little stiff in the legs and daylight saving ended over night.

After breakfast (pancakes Yea), we caught a shuttle back to Mirror lake trail. The day is warm but overcast. Decided to walk the 5 mile loop up past Mirroe lake to the Tulomene Meadows trail head (15.6 miles one way to the meadow). Can't help to think of bears and Cougars when you are walking by yourself on the trail. At the head of the trail we crossed the Tenya River and headed back down. A very good stroll in the woods.

Stopped again at the trees that appear to be hacked at and in some cases felled by an animal with large front teeth, possibly a beaver (see image in yesterday's thoughts). But it appears from all the information we have come across that Beavers don't live in Yosemite. Oh, well will make a good story any way.

At this point we decided we needed to visit the visitor centre, museum and art gallery (well 'she who can not be named wanted to visit the latter). Information centre had some very good dioramas and information on the formation of Yosemite- Granite, exposed by erosion and uplift. The granite looks to me as to be more a grandiorite little or no phelspars present, glaciated causing 'U' shaped valleys and hanging valleys (where the waterfalls are currently located. The granite is exfoliating like onion rings so makes this an ideal rock climbing venue.

The museum was orientated more to the original Indian inhabitants - Miwok and Piaute. When the 49ers (gold miners) arrived they eliminated 90% of the local people. Either shot them or starved them to death. A case of genocide in my opinion. Shameful action. Outside the museum was a Miwok village (they used to have ceremonial dances for the tourists in the 1920-1950 period. Interesting construction-all bark. The Indians lived on trout and Black Oak acorns-made a type of flour that they used for biscuits etc. They used 'red' hot stones placed in a water tight woven basket to cook this flour meal. The village also had a sweat box, where the males cleansed themselves before going hunting for mule deer or rabbit. The name Yosemite is a rough take on a Miwok phrase that meant "some of them are killers", interesting observation. I wonder whether they were referring to the Piaute or Europeans.

Like Yellowstone, the army protected the national park (established around 1890) until the park rangers were created. The Calvary unit here were buffalo soldiers - African Americans who had served in the Union army during the civil war.

The rest of the afternoon was spent walking through the meadows, now much smaller in size (because the early European settlers had drained the wetlands so as to graze diary cows and cattle (to serve to the early tourists). This draining allowed the pines to invade and take over the meadows. Thankfully, the national park is trying to rectify things. They have now board walks and a lot of the meadows are off limits as they are undertaking restorative work.

Visited the chapel (where you can get married), even witnessed a young couple having their wedding photo's taken on one of the boardwalks. Two weddings in two days- need to suggest this to our own children. Great setting.

Got back to our little hotel room around 4.30 pm. Rested, then checked out the pizza deck...no que so that's what we did.

A large number of school groups were in the eating area, all different ages, but well behaved. What a great place to do some teaching-geography, environmental studies etc.

Once again early to bed. Tomorrow we leave and head about 3 hours drive north of here to visit Stan and June.

Waterfalls, waterfalls and more waterfalls

Nice sunny day. A heavy breakfast of hash browns, bacon, scambled eggs coffee and toast and we were off. Took the shuttle to the beginning of Vernal fall. On the trip we ran into a coyote, just ambling down the road. Nice start to the day.

Initially we were only going to the lower viewing point (which is designated as easy). Well, it was steep and had us both blowing. We pushed on from the bridge and climbed about 1/3rd of the way to the top of the falls. It got steeper and wet,so we retreated.

Yours truely posing!!

Mirror lake

From here we walked a further mile around to Mirror lake. This was a good walk of around 2 miles. Not really a lake more like a small pool.

Had a late lunch outside the visitor centre, in the sun. Very nice. From here we caught a shuttle to Yosemite Falls. We did the walk to the lower falls. Yosemite falls are 5th tallest falls in the world (NZ's Sutherlad falls are 9th). 

For the rest of the afternoon we walked in the meadows, where we saw mule deer, including 2 stags just sitting in the grass.

Beaver action? At Yosemite?

The meadows

Apart from warnings about bears, there were also warnings about mountain lions/Cougars. Apparently they come down after the mule deer.

Got back to our digs around 4.30 pm. 7 hours mostly walking uphill and down dale. Feet and thighs/legs were hurting. Fell asleep almost immediately.

Went back to the food court earlier than the previous night, not so crowded. On the return bus ride the driver turned out the lights and pointed out the rock climbers up on one of the granite cliff faces. Their personal headlights reminded me of glow worms. All at different heights above the valley floor. Quite spectacular.

Then entertained ourselves in our room.

That's all folks.

Carson City to Yosemite National Park

Early start today. Found out that Tioga Pass ( the pass that allows one to travel from the eastern side over the top to Yosemite ) was closed. So will have to take either Rte 50 or 88.

After the usual hotels breakfast we checked out and headed to the Nevada State Museum (which opens at 8.30 am. We got there at 8.45-they had to unlock the doors to let us in. Had a good collection on view. In particular I liked their 'Ghost Towns' display. Had material and information on the Native Americans but, did not touch on the conflicts when the Europeans arrived in the area, which was disappointing.

Left Carson City around 10..30 am. Decided to take Rte 88 (via Carson Pass), however, our GPS unit had other ideas and kept telling us to turn around.

From the Nevada side it is a steep ascent to the pass. The road was in good condition with little traffic. Soon we were above the snow line. Noticed a few of the lakes were starting to freeze over. The usual fishermen were to be seen around a few of the larger lakes.

The descent was longer and with more curves. There was about 5 miles of roadworks to contend with, so spent 10+ minutes waiting.

Just outside Jackson, decided I needed a break from driving. Found a little deli and had a great BLT for lunch.

Stopped at a very large supermarket in Jackson -Costless. Fantastic selection. Did a little shopping for Yosemite.

On the way to Yosemite we passed through 2 little towns which seem well worth further investigation- Angel Camp and Sonoma. Both had Victorian buildings that looked like they did the the 1880's.

Finally arrived at the Yosemite Valley around 4pm. Lots of road works, with detours and closed roads to contend with.

What amazes me is the $80 annual pass still worked. So we got into Yellowstone and Yosemite free. That was a great investment n November 2015.

After a little driving around we found the check in building. Got that sorted and moved in. The room is small. No TV or radio and no frig. And, they charge $167 per night. There are only 18 of these hotel rooms. The remainder here at Half Dome Village are cabins or canvas cabins (both heated and non-heated) where you have to walk to use the bathroom or shower. Hence the price.

Apparently there are plenty of black bears around here, so had to empty the car (so they wouldn't be tempted to break in) and store everything in a container in our room. If you have a tented cabin there are bear lockers outside, which you must use.

We do have wifi but need to be in the communal building to access it.

Got settled and went exploring. The only food outlet here in the afternoon and evening is the pizza patio which by judging by the length of the que were doing a roaring trade. There is coffee corner which serves breakfast from 7 am to 10 am every morning.

With the bus stop just outside our room we decided to head to the food court (which closes at 7 pm) over at Yosemite Valley lodge. On the ride over, a woman hoped on and was telling everyone about a bear encounter she had just had coming down the track to catch the bus.

The food court was chaotic -a mass of humanity queuing to buy and then eat an evening meal. Needless to say it was not a memorable meal. But the experience was priceless, it reminded me of lunch time at the uni cafe, but 4 fold.

Bused back and prepared for tomorrow's hikes.

Carson City, Nevada

Awoke to a good frost on the car. Our car looked miniature compared to the monsters that were parked around it. One in particular was the biggest pick up I have ever seen- it was a monster and from Alberta.

No breakfast at the motel, so based on TripAdvisor we made a beeline to 'The Griddle". Had a great hot cake breakfast with hash browns (the first on this trip). The waitress tried to explain to me the difference between a hotcake and pancake- I didn't get it.

Next on the days adventure was a visit to the Humbolt Museum. Had a good visit, they had a very good collection of early vehicles and buggies. Got talking to one of the paid employees and once he knew I was involved with Cobblestones, he spent time with us. He open one of their three old buildings (a grain shop with the living quarters out the back). It had a wheelchair similar to the one we have in Cobblestones. We talked shop for a while. I would recommend this little museum.

Hit the road towards Carson City. On the way we stopped of to look at Lovelock (impressive court house but little else) and Fallon, where I found a Republican office. Went in to see if could secure one of those Make America Great Again baseball huts. Nothing, nada, infact one one was manning the office. Downtown historic part of town was non-descript -no cafe's etc.

So, we resorted to what we did last year in Fallon- hit the Walmart and had a Macca (God forbid). Did a quick look around-big on Christmas already. Christmas trees all around, why, even a Christmas shop. And people were buying decorations already. Checked out travel bags for Regans goodies, the called it quits and hit the road.

1 hour later we were in Crarson City and our hotel. Have a nice room on the 3rd floor. They offer cookies and wine between 4 pm and 6pm. She who cannot be named had one of each.

Had a good walk around town, saw the Governor's mansion, the state legislative chamber etc. Including a statue of Kit Carson. 

Carson city has a significant number of Victorian houses just a street or two back from Carson Blvd. We walked around having a good look. She who cannot be named loved kicking all the fallen leaves. She figured if she did that to all the leaves raked up out the capital building she would be arrested. As we walked around the Nevada Supreme Court we noticed workers putting up the coloured lights for Christmas.....and it is only November 3rd!!!!!

Talked to the information personal and was advised that the Toiga Pass to Yosemite is closed. So it will be a long drive to the Caliornian side to get there.

Will need to do extra planning tonight.

He recommended a Thai resturant - The Basil. Meant to be in the top 10 resturants in the state.... So we did. It was great. Highly recommend it. 

So, it looks like an early start tomorrow. We want to look at the State Museum before we hit the road. Thankfully it opens at 8.30 am.

So that's it folks.

Real Cowboys don't eat from the Salad Bar

I will put some context around this observation later.

The Oregon Trail Motel as mentioned is AA 1960/70 model. Offered a continental breakfast, which you had to take back to your room to eat. Offered the usual fare, oats, toast/jam and coffee or tea. While walking over to get our breakfast, we got talking to a fellow guest (who was walking her corgi), she mentioned how she was going to spend the day at one of the local hot springs. We got to talking and remembered going to one with Tim in 1980. A quick Google search, we found two hot springs just 10 miles away (Mircle and Banbury). A quick stop at a dollar store to buy towels and off we went.

Spent a very relaxing 45 minutes in the hot springs (located next to the Snake River). We shared the pool with a group of Aqua yoga's - about 5 women and one guy. Seemed to be an ideal way to keep yourself flexible. Got to talking to the guy after. He is a farmer just outside of Buhl. He has a Maori shearer leave his RV with him while he returns to NZ for the summer. Then this shearer leaves NZ in May to go shearing in England before hitting the US, where he picks up his RV and does the rounds shearing. He has been leaving his RV with this farmer for the past 6 years.

After this great start to the day we hit the road to Wells, Nevada. 

We stopped at Wells for lunch. Nice, small enough for us, but very expensive. We did drive down to downtown Wells looking for a local resturant. No go. Wells is a ghost town. It seemed like all the businesses were shut down. All retail and commercial activity now centres around the interstate exchange. Wells is a place to join an interstate to either Reno or Salt Lake City.

So, we hit the road, cruising at 80 mph. 

We passed lots of mineral mining activities. Interstate driving is not for the faint heart, why, even the 18 wheelers were driving at 75 mph. Some of the trucks had 3, not 2 trailers attached. Looked very impressive.

Made Winnemucca around 4 pm. Checked into our motel (another 1960/70 model). The room was very large and spacious.

Had a walk around to check out the local environment and eating options for the night.

We settled on the Winnemmucca Inn and Casino. A nice meal, but the resturant was full of Cowboys and girls. The men were wearing 10 gallon hats (they don't take them off inside), very large brimmed hats, bandanas and sneakers (go figure). The cowgirls wore baseball hats, cowboy boots with Spurs.

From my observation the women went to the salad bar but the big hats ate steak. A real interesting evening. These 4 + hours of driving are starting to become a drag (needed Regan to share the load).

The days was sunny and warm. Got up to 60 degrees F in the afternoon.

So another day down and closer to Yosemite

Back to sunny and warm weather

Awoke to light snow. Left West Yellowstone and headed out of the mountains to the plains.

But before the travel log continues, let me reflect on Halloween in West Yellowstone - what Halloween -it didn't eventuate. With 80% of the town closed for winter -there was no body on the streets, well apart from confused tourists looking for somewhere to eat. The only people or children I saw in costum were 2 kids and the check out girl at the local supermarket. I was quite looking forward to seeing all the glitz and glamour, but, to no avail.

As we left West Yellowstone the temperature was hovering around freezing point. For the next 45 minutes we drove through conifer forests (can't recall the name of the trees). Around Idaho Falls we hit open grassland and the temperature settled around 7 degrees C. Dry roads, so driving was easy. 

At Idaho Falls we hit the first of 3 interstates we will use today. At the intersection there was major road works in progress, hence, we missed the ramp...thank goodness for GPS, it re-routed us no problems. So, we didn't become lost and confused in Idaho Falls.

A little way down the interstate we stopped at a rest area-of geologic significance- pahoehoe lave (that is ropy lava). Went for a walk through it, saw a couple of collapsed lava tubes.

Arrived at Twin Falls around 2.30 in the afternoon. We left the interstate at the Hansen/Kimberely exit and went looking for the Coiner Ranch (I had met Tim in Argentina in 1976, and had stayed and did odd jobs at his father ranch around August/September that year). What was a two lane highway is now a 4 lane highway, what was once open farmland is housing and commercial buildings. Couldn't recognise the Coiner homestead or Tim's house. How time marches on, must remember that was a lifetime ago.

Stopped in Historic downtown Twin Falls-what was once bustling with people and businesses was deserted and little to see. did find a good coffee shop with interesting bench counters (all 1 cent coins set in a clear resin. I was reminded yet again my experiences were a lifetime ago.

Drove on to Buhl (our stop for the night). We had lived here for 3 or 4 months in 1980. Walked around. He only two things that were the same was the supermarket (which is very small and run down) and the bank (where we cashed our pay cheques). Walked over to where we thought our upstairs apartment was- nothing all pulled down. Walked past what was an apartment building (where Les the mort man lived), that is now a senior citizens centre. Why even the little coffee shop where the farmers met to spend time was gone. What has remained is the smell and the large grain silos surrounding the wee town. By smell I mean fish feed type of smell. This wee town is the centre of the commercial trout farming industry, all centred down in the Snake river canyon. They process the fish here in Buhl. We worked for Clear Springs Trout company down in the canyon. Really can't remember much else about Buhl as we got picked up every morning in the dark and were dropped back at our wee apartment in the dark. On weekends we worked down at the farm (we were young and travelling so need the money). We did spend time in Twin Falls (where there was a K Mart-long since gone).

On reflection, Twin Falls -about 6 miles away has possibly dealt to commercial enterprises in Buhl, and for Twin Falls, all the retail shops have migrated out to the Interstate, where all the accommodation is now located.

Buhl has one interesting fact. For such a small town it has 4 Mexican food restaurants (one so also a drive in outlet as well). We ate at Juanita's- great food, and very cheap. The owner gave me a bottle of Mexican sangria (on the house) when I told him how much I disliked coke from a tap. Sangria is soft drink in Mexico.

Our motel is definitely 1960/70 era. Rick our host has a uncanny resemblance to Smith (the guy who skipped NZ to Brazil, but now back in a NZ prison.

Sorry no photo's it was just 4+ hours of driving.