Back in SA

We are now back in SA and had a wonderful holiday :-)

For further updates, please go to scrappywalker.blogspot.com

UK – Day 7 - Marlow

Got up to see Chris and the children off to work and school, then got our things packed.  We headed off to Henley on Thames where they were preparing for their canoe race.

We then drove through the Chiltern Hills to a quaint English village called Turville, where the TV series “The Vicar of Dibley” was shot.

 

We had lunch at a pub called “the Bull and Butcher”.  Dereck had fish, chips and mushy peas and I had cottage pie and vegetables – delicious

We then headed back to Chris and Karin’s place to collect our bags and drove to Heathrow.

UK – Day 6 – Leaving Cardiff to go to England

After making sure all our things were packed, we drove Leanne to work.  It was nice to see where she worked, but it was not nice for me to be saying goodbye to her.  We have both so enjoyed being with her and seeing how she has been living and what she has accomplished since arriving in the UK.  From there we drove over to England to a town called Marlow where our friends Chris and Karin live.  They had left a key for us, so we unpacked our luggage and then headed off to see the town.

We had a cup of coffee (me hot chocolate of course, but this time with hazelnut flavour!) and then headed back to their house.  We both managed to doze for a while until Chris arrived home at about 6pm.  He took us to a pub for a drink and we got home at about 7:15pm by which time Karin and her children Tyla and Dean had arrived home.  We had a lovely braai for dinner, sat chatting for a while and then went off to bed.

The English signing off ….

UK – Day 5 – Cardiff, Wales

Got up to another overcast day and headed off to town to make a few last minute purchases.  While we were there it started to drizzle a little.  Had brunch at Burger King and then headed off to the Cardiff Castle.  This was very interesting as we had an audio guide so were able to listen to the history at certain points.  

They also had some Falcons there which I managed to photograph 

We then had something to drink and then headed off to the Panarth pier.  It was freezing cold due to the wind.  

Then we went to the Cardiff Barrage.  

We then went to Asda to do some last minute grocery shopping and went back to Leanne flat to off load whereafter we went to Bart’s place for supper.  He cooked us a really yummy spaghetti with cheese sauce – as good as mine!!  Then we played Uno which was a lot of fun.  Leanne won overall and I again came last – but like they say it is all in the fun!!

Headed off home to start packing.

Castle viewers signing off ….

UK – Day 4 – Cardiff, Wales

The weather here has been about 12 degrees C and today was not exception except that it was very windy and looked like it would rain.

Leanne had some training to attend at the Leisure Centre and had to be there at 7:30am, so we were up super early.  While she did her training we waited in the pub.

We drove off to Caerphilly castle in Caerphilly.  This is the biggest castle in Wales and the second biggest in Europe.  It was started in 1268 by the powerful Lord of Glamorgan but was never finished in his lifetime and from the 15^th century was allowed to decay.  Most of what is seen today is restoration work from the 1930’s, carried out by the 4^th marquess of Bute, who then owned the castle. 

From there we drove to Brecon Beacons National Park to see the Glun-Gwyn waterfalls. The weather was freezing cold, the wind was blowing and it was raining, so we only managed to walk down to see one of these waterfalls.  On our way down, the rain stopped, but the wind was still blowing! This was spectacular and Bart decided to get closer and walked almost to the edge to take pictures.  We were rather concerned and shouting for him to move, but with all the water falling, he could not hear us!!  

On our way back to the car we spotted some sheep with their lambs who walked away from us when we came towards them but then when we stopped, they came closer.  They were really cute.  All in all we walked about 2km down, then up a wet and rocky pathway. 

We then went to Pizza Hut for some lunch.  Dereck and Leanne had eat as much pizza, Bart had eat as much pizza and salad and I had eat as much salad – delicious!

We then drove back to Cardiff and went to the main street and looked around at the shops.  I must say I find them rather interesting and found some nice brads at a book shop that also stocked a few craft items.

We headed off home atabout 6:00pm and we made toasted sandwiches for supper and just sorted out photos and watched TV.

It was a long day and we eventually got to bed at 10:30pm.

Sheepwatchers signing off ….

UK – Day 3 – Cardiff, Wales

We only woke up rather late and Dereck and Leanne made a yummy breakfast of bacon, eggs and cheese on bagels.

We went to Cardiff Bay to go on a boat cruise round the bay.  This was rather interesting as the skipper was telling us interesting information about the various buildings and what was going on in the Bay area.  Stopped in at Starbucks for something to drink and shared a choc chip cookie.  There was a flea market there and we wondered around for a while.

We then went to Roath Park. There is a large lake with loads of ducks and geese there as well as paddle and peddle boats that you can go on.  It was far too cold for us to do that!  It started to drizzle a bit and it was freezing cold (coming from me, you must know how cold it was!!).  We bought some food and fed the ducks and geese.  The geese bite your hand when they take the food out, but the ducks actually eat out of your hand. 

We got home at about 5:30pm and a bit later, Leanne and Bart made supper consisting of chicken cordon bleu with mash and salad and finished off with a cupcake – nice being served by someone else!!

Cruisers signing off ….

UK – Day 2 – Cardiff, Wales

UK – Day 2 – Cardiff, Wales

After a yummy breakfast of bacon, sausages, rolls and cereal made by Claire (thanks Claire!) we sat chatting for a while.  Richard and Emma (Mark and Claire’s son) brought their children, Emily and Chloe around for us to see.  They are so cute!

We left their house at about 12, after seeing off Gigs (Mark took her to the airport).  For me it was sad to be saying good bye, but it had been great seeing her for the short while I did.

We arrived in Cardiff at about 3pm and quickly made a detour stop to ASDA to get a few groceries, then we headed off to Leanne’s flat.  It was nice to see it in real life and it is really a lovely little place.  We had rolls with cold meat for lunch and it was great to be eating something “home-made”. Bart came over and we decided to go down to the Bay area for something to eat.  We ended up going to an Italian restaurant and Leanne had a pizza, Bart had penne spezzatino, Dereck had taglietelle cabonara and I had penne Verona – all very delicious.  From there we wondered around a bit (rather freezing!!) and then headed off to a mall where we decided to play a game of ten pin bowling.  While waiting to play we had ice-creams from Ben & Jerry’s.  I was hopeless and came last and Bart won, and we all had a lot of fun.

 Bowlers signing off ….

UK – Day 1 – Meeting up with friends

We left Denver airport at about 8:30pm (as we had to wait for a delayed flight in with passengers for our flight).  We had a fairly pleasant flight except for a baby that cried quite a lot. Got woken up at 3:30am to have breakfast!!  On landing at Heathrow, we had to move our clocks 6 hours forward, so the body was quite out of sync.

Leanne was waiting for us, and it was quite an emotional moment for us both.  It was soooo great to see her and I know the short time we have together is going to be really special.  We waited for my friend Gigs to arrive and again when she did, it was fantastic to see her again – I last saw her about 18 months ago and we have been friends since 1970!

We got onto a bus to take us to the car hire and packed all our things into the boot and then we were off to Southampton to a village called Whiteley where our good friends Mark and Claire live.  They have a lovely house and we had a good afternoon, catching up, chatting and drinking wine in the sun – brilliant.  Later that evening we went to the Tichfield Mill for dinner.  Gigs and I had piri piri chicken, Claire had scampi, Dereck had gammon, Leanne had a burger and Mark had fish.  Claire, Gigs and I shared an apple, gooseberry and honey crumble and Leanne had a chocolate brownie.  All very yummy!!

From there we had coffee at home and chatted for a bit before retiring.

Whiteley visitors signing off …

Colorado – Day 2– Still Leadville

We had a delicious homemade breakfast and then headed off to Vail which is a famous ski resort.  Temperature was round 46 degrees F and went up to about 66 degrees F.  The sights on the way were awesome and reminded me of our trips to Austria when we went skiing.

We arrived at Vail and wondered around the town square.  Most of the shops were shut – having closed 2 weeks ago and they only open again during June and July.  These are just a few pictures taken while walking. 

Had a yummy milkshake … 

From there we travelled up to Breckenridge which is a famous ski resort.  Oh, wow, this place was beautiful and again all the ski slopes were closed and most of the shops were closed as well.  We stopped at a parking stop and ate the remainder of last night’s pizza for lunch and this is the town below us. 

The next stop was in a village called Fair Play where they had a historic village, but we couldn’t go in as it was closed, but we took the pictures!! 

Dereck playing in the snow at one of our scenic stops!! 

We eventually got back to our cottage, having decided this morning that we were going to stay there another night.  We packed our suitcases and then went to the Silver Dollar Saloon for a drink before having dinner. 

At the recommendation of our cottage hostess we went to Zichittella’s Italian restaurant.  Dereck and I had Italian sausage pasta, Sue had lasagna and Doug had a pasta dish with chicken and broccoli.  All very yummy, but much too much and we could only manage about half of it. 

Walked back to our cottage with the temperature at 42 degrees F (which is about 5 degrees C).

Leadvillers signing off ….

Colorado – Day 1 – Leadville

After taking the last few photos of the Oldest Church – San Miguel Church, in Santa Fe, which was built in the 1600’s by the Tlaxcalan Indians and the original adobe walls can still be seen within its current structure, and the Oldest House in Santa Fe we set off on our way to Colorado.  

We travelled on highway 285 and eventually left New Mexico and entered Colorado and stopped in a town called Saguache where we found the Oasis Restaurant where we had lunch.  Dereck and Sue had a burger, I had chicken strips and Doug had a small portion of nachos (which was still enough to feed two!).  It was a good meal and thereafter we just took a few pictures of the nearby houses and the wonderful sight of snow covered mountains. 

We carried on along the highway passing through Beuna Vista and Granite and taking in the wonderful mountainous sights before we reached Leadville. 

We made enquiries about accommodation at the local information office and found a wonderful place called McGinnis Cottage.  What a wonderful place.  The owner, Donna was such a lovely person and gave us lots of tips of places to visit and to eat at.  After unpacking, we took a walk around the town. About a week ago Colorado had a really heavy snow fall and you can still see a lot of snow around the gardens and along the roadside. 

While Sue and I were popping into various shops, Dereck and Doug happened to ask the assistant in one of the shops where a good place to have a drink was and they were given directions to the Silver Dollar Saloon, which turned out to be a very enjoyable place to be.  Sue and I joined them after we had finished shopping. Apparently the bar counter, the mirror behind the bar and the floor are the originals from the 1800’s.

This is the spot where Doc Holliday shot the sheriff of Leadville over a $5 bet. Some shady looking characters – ha ha

We were having a great evening (with one of the locals chatting to us and telling us how he got kicked out of Leadville for digging up the judge’s garden one evening) and decided to order pizza to have in the saloon (suggested by the bartender).  Sue and I took a walk around the corner and ordered two pizzas.  They were HUGE, but we all agreed that they were the best pizzas we had ever eaten.  We couldn’t finish them, so we took what was left home. 

Walking home at about 9:00pm it was about 8 degrees C and rather chilly, but so worth it after such a great evening.

 

Silver dollars signing off …

Status Update

We have had an amazing 2 days in Colorado and stayed in a town called Leadville, which was absolutely fantastic.  We left there this morning and drove to Denver, Colorado where we wondered around the main street for a while before heading out to the airport.  We are currently sitting at the airport now awaiting our flight which only leaves for the UK at 8pm tonight.  We have tried to upload our pictures from the last 2 days, but the internet access is not allowing us, so you will have to be a little more patient until we get to London when we can do our blog post for the last two days.  The weather today got down to about 4 degrees F and it was really icy cold.

Sad to be leaving the USA signing off ....

New Mexico

Another cool day again, but not so windy.  We got up at 6:00am, got ready, packed the car and left by 7:00am.

Our first stop was at the Petrified Forest National Park to see the Painted Desert.  The colourful mesas, buttes and badlands you see in these pictures are a natural work of art.  Wind and running water cut these features from the Chinle Formation deposited over 200 million years ago when this area was a vast inland basin near sea level.  The colours are due to ancient environmental conditions in which the sediments were originally deposited as well as the type of minerals in the rocks.  Besides being colourful, the Chinle Formation contains valuable fossil records of Late Triassic plants and animals ranging from ferns and shellfish to amphibians and dinosaurs.  Members of the scientific community from all over the world come here to study these fossils.

From a lookout point called Chinde Point is where fossil bones of an early dinosaur, Chindesaurus bryansmalli, were discovered near here in 1984 and this park immediately received worldwide attention.  The fossil find was affectionately named “Gertie” after an early cartoon dinosaur.  The appearance of this small creature in the fossil record may be a key to understanding the origin, evolutionary rise and success of the dinosaurs that followed. 

We had some coffee and a huge chocolate chip biscuit and then drove to Gallup New Mexico which is the Indian jewelry capital of the world.  Most of the jewelry is handcrafted by the Navajo and Zuni Pueblo artisans. It was named after the paymaster of the Atlantic & Pacific Railroad in 1882. We stopped in at the El Rancho Hotel (all the romantic charm of yesterday with the convenience of tomorrow – the pride of Gallup) which is the home of the movie stars.  Stars such as Ronald Reagan, Spencer Tracy, Katherine Hepburn and Kirk Douglas were among the many stars listed in the guest register.  This hotel was formally opened on 17 December 1937 and has been decorated in a Spanish Indian tradition.  

Along our route we passed a town called Grants and just after this town there is some Lava Flow “Malpais” badlands.  This was when the Bandera Crater rose up in volcanic fury some 10 000 years ago.  Whilst we didn’t see the crater, it is approximately 1 200 fee across and 800 feet deep and we saw quite a bit of the old, black lava laying around. 

Albuquerque is known as the ballooning capital of the world (hot air balloons).  It was founded by Don Francisco Cuervo y Valdezin 1706 as the third villa in Spanish colonial New Mexico, and was named after the Due of Alburquerque, the then-34^th Viceroy of new Spain living in Mexico City.  Today it is the states largest city and the Bernalillo County seat.   We found a parking area and you have to pay before you leave your car.  The way you pay is that there is a booth with all the numbers of the parking lots listed on it and you have to “stuff” your money into the number relative to your parking bay.  There was no ticket or anything for you to display afterwards.  Here is a picture of Dereck “stuffing the meter!!  

We wondered around the town for a while and then found a place to have some lunch – it had to be Mexican now that we were in Mexican territory!!  Sue, Doug and I had salads and Dereck had some Mexican dish (can’t remember what it was exactly, but he enjoyed it as we did of our salads.  

Then we headed back to the car and on our way towards Sante Fe.  The lady at the information centre suggested that we go along the ”Turquoise Route” which is apparently the scenic route.  It was rather scenic and some of the towns we passed were only a couple of houses big.  We arrived at one town called Madrid and thought nothing of it until we went round the corner and saw that it was quite a quaint little town.  Apparently lots of artists live and work here.  

From there we finally reached our stop for the day – Santa Fe, which is known as the “The City Different” and is the oldest and highest-elevation capital in the USA.  We found a hotel called “Garrett’s Desert Inn” and with Doug’s excellent bargaining skills got a really good price.  Once unpacked, we headed off for a walk into the historic part of the town, which was about 3 blocks away.  The buildings here have a Spanish feel to them. We walked around a bit and then went to the Santa Fe Bar and Grill for dinner.  We were wondering why the town had been so quiet and all the shops shut, and then suddenly realized that our clocks were an hour slow – we are now 8 hours behind SA.  That explained a lot!!!  Dereck and Sue had a cheeseburger, Doug had spaghetti bolognaise and I had a chicken salad.  Sue and I had hot chocolate sundae’s for dessert.  Then we headed off back to our hotel for a good nights rest. 

Mexicans signing off ….

Standing on a Corner !!

The San Francisco Peaks can be seen from our motel and I found some information on them.

 NUVAT-KYAN-BY, the original Hopi name for the San Francisco Peaks, translated means “High Places of the Snows”.  These mountains are the original homes of the Kachinas, supernatural beings who dwell on the peaks and come down during the growing season to visit the Hopi Villages.  The peaks were renamed more than three centuries ago by the Oraibi Franciscans in honour of their patron saint, St Francis of Assisi.

Of the four peaks, Humphrey’s Peak is the highest, being names for railroad surveyor and  Army engineer, Andrew Atkinson Humphrey (1810 – 1883).  Its elevation is 12,643 feet.  Second is Agassiz Peak, at 12 340 feet, named for Jean L R Agassiz (1817 – 1873), a French geologist and zoologist.  Fremont’s Peak, at 11,940 feet, is named for John C Freemont (1813 – 1890), Governor of Arizona Territory from 1878 to 1882.  Doyle Peak, at 9 000 feet, is named for a cattleman, Allen Doyle (1850 – 1920).

The San Francisco Peaks are remnants of an ancient volcano that reached 15 000 feet during its greatest activity.  Erosion has cut the range to its present size and shape.

New geological studies who that the glaciations of the peaks was more extensive and more active over the last one million years than first supposed.  Seven distinct stages of glaciations have been found; the earliest dates back to about one million years ago, and the latest occurred within the last 1000 years.  The earliest glacier, believed to represent the so

-called Illinoisan glaciations, third of the four major ice sheets that swept down into the United States during the Ice Age, was the most extensive.

Near the foot of the mountain, Ponderosa Pine grows abundantly.  Nest is the Canadian Zone of Douglas, White Fir and Quaking Aspen.  At the top of the tree line is the Hudsonian Zone where Bristlecone Pine and Englemann Spruce can be found.  Above the timerline are lichens, mosses and alpine tundra clinging to rocks amid the Arctic-Alpine Zone. 

The Arizona Snow Bowl  Ski Area is located on Mt Agassiz and many ski enthusiasts visit here during the winter.

We got up early this morning and the temperature was certainly a lot lower than we have experienced previously – 46 degrees F (about 15 degrees C).  We headed up to the reception area where we had a quick breakfast and then went on our way.

We went through the Red Rock Canyon near Sonoda – again what an awesome sight!!

We then we headed on to Sedona which was a really lovely place.  Quite a number of movie stars have their second homes here.  We wondered around for a while and then went on our way. 

We drove through Cottonwoods up the mountain to a village called Jerome which used to be a copper mining town in the early 1920’s.  Bought some really yummy fudge and then headed back on our way to Holbrook.

 Drove back to Flagstaff and had lunch at a Denny’s Diner – I had a chicken salad, Dereck had crumbed steak and eggs, Doug had a sandwich and Sue had chicken.

We then headed off to the Meteor Crater.  Jeepers, this was certainly a sight to see.  Cannot believe how big it was and there is a piece of rock that juts out, which is actually the size of a house – see picture below.  There was also a museum there which was very interesting.

We then carried on along part of Route 66 and part of the Interstate until we reached Winslow. This is the town which made the Eagles’ song “Take it Easy” famous and there is a corner with a statue and a picture of a girl in a window in a pick up truck painted on the wall (“… Well I’m standing on a corner in Winslow Arizona, and such a fine sight to see, it’s a girl my Lord, in a flat bed Ford slowin’ down to take a look at me ….”). 

While looking at this corner I happened to look at the opposite corner and in a window above the shop I saw the following sign “route 66 scrapbooking supplies” – I was in that shop like a shot – I didn’t even look at the souvenir shop!!!!  They had a lovely, but limited selection of scrapping goodies and I certainly had a great time selecting making my purchase.

We then carried on to Holbrook where we are staying at the Wigwam Motel and yes, sleeping in wigwams. They are so cute, yet really spacious.  After unpacking we went for a drive around the town and found a place called “Joe and Aggies Cafe” which serves Mexican and American food. The receptionist at our hotel had recommended this as a great place to eat.  Something we had a good laugh about was the fact that on the placemat, was an advert for a funeral parlour. Doug had something with red chile which was rather hot, Sue had a steak sandwich, Dereck had a burrito with mince and I had a chicken chimi, all of which were very yummy!  (pictures taken) We then headed back to our hotel for an early night as we are leaving early tomorrow in order to get to Sante Fe.

Taking it easy signing off ….