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 ….

Grand Canyon South Rim & Flagstaff

Lovely bright, sunny day and a bit cooler than we have been used to.  Temperature was about 15 degrees C with an icy wind.  After having a quick cup of coffee/orange juice and some cereal and fruit, we headed off to the shops to get our souvenirs and then we headed off at about 9:30am along Route 66 again to eventually get to Flagstaff. 

We went through a little town called Ash Fork which is the flagstone capital of the USA (for slate as we would call it) and there were just loads and loads of places selling it, with it all neatly stacked.  This is a town that has certainly been forgotten as it was rather derelict even though there were people living there!  We got to a town called Williams where we stopped to take a picture of a diner and then carried on our way.

We also stopped at an aircraft museum which Doug and Dereck enjoyed looking at while Sue and I wondered around and looked at some classic cars we found in another building.

We finally reached our stop which was the south rim of the Grand Canyon and boy was it grand!! We went to various view points to take pictures and certainly had fun doing a bit of trick photography!! The view was absolutely spectacular and you just cannot imagine how huge these rocks are.  They look so close, yet they are so far away.  I know the pictures look great, but you actually have to be here to appreciate their size.

Saw this really fat, sluggish crow and couldn’t resist taking his picture!

Also spotted a little squirrel who just sat watching me while I was sitting on the wall and then he jumped onto a branch that was higher than it that had greener leaves, which promptly bended over and he fell off – no not to the bottom of the canyon!!!!

We found a restaurant and bought some sandwiches and a salad for lunch and then found a spot in the park to sit and eat.  The difference with this part of the Canyon is that there are loads of Ponderosa Pine Trees, compared to the west rim that we did on the plane, was just a desert.

Once we came out of the Canyon area, we headed off to a town called Cameron which we had been recommended to go and see by a very friendly lady at one of the shops we went into in Seligman.  There was a huge shop with all sorts of handcrafted goodies.  It was tempting, but space in the suitcase is limited!!!

We continued on our way, but not before stopping to take a few pictures of the Sunset Crater. We eventually arrived at Flagstaff and found our motel – Super 8.  Again very nice a clean. After unpacking we went across the road the “Great Outback” for supper.  I had shrimp with crabmeat and fillet, Dereck & Doug had pepper Steak and Sue had pork.  All very yummy.  Sue and I had milkshakes which weren’t on the menu, but they were very obliging and made them especially for us – well worth it!  Our waiter actually played rugby and was going to South African in December to visit a friend.

Headed off back to our hotel for a good night’s sleep.

Flagstaffers signing off ….

Get your Kicks on Route 66

After a wonderfully healthy breakfast of a slice of chocolate cake (the one we couldn’t eat from the other night!!!), we packed our bags and all the other goodies we had, into the car and went to check out.  When we got outside, we got a surprise of it being rather cold and windy.  Temperature was 61 degrees F (about 15 degrees C) – the coldest so far!

From Vegas we crossed the Hoover Dam and then headed on to Kingman on Route 66 but before getting there we stopped off at “the famous Rosie’s Den”.  We ended up having pancakes.  These were huge !! They were the size of a dinner plate and about 5cm thick and as a single serving you got two!!!!!  Dereck and I only managed to eat one of them.

We got on our way and our next stop was Kingman which is the heart of Historic Route 66 and is at an elevation of around 3 300 feet. There was an historic train and a classic car display which we had a look at and then went on our way.

We drove on past Valle Vista, Hackberry, Valentine, Truxton, and Peach Springs before reaching Seligman where we found a place to stay – the Canyon Lodge. (pictures).  Most of these places we drove through were really one horse towns with a handful of houses and a couple of shops.

The town of Radiator Springs in the Pixar film Cars is loosely based on Seligman.

After unpacking, we headed off to see the historic sights and of course the shops.  These shops had such stunning memorabilia and we will be back in the morning to stretch the credit card a bit! 

We headed off to the “Famous Black Cat” bar and had a drink and then went to the “Roadkill Restaurant” with a slogan of “you kill it we grill it”, but it was closed, so we went across the road to “Westside Lilo’s Café”, which had a German/American feel to it.  Doug and Dereck had beers for $1 which they quite enjoyed.  We had supper there which was very yummy.  Doug and I had chillie beef, Dereck had a chorizo burrito and Sue had a southern fried steak.  We finished off with 1 piece of carrot cake, which was huge and between three of us only managed to eat half. Boy their helpings here are HUGE!!!  We then had to walk all the way back up the road to our motel, and of course setting off all the dogs barking – had a good laugh as we were barking back to them.

This is a famous route for bikers and we have seen many, majority of whom are on Harley Davidsons with all their gear as well.

A great day, good evening and looking forward to the next part of our Route 66 trip tomorrow.

Route 66’er signing off ….

Death Valley

Las Vegas – Day 7 – Death Valley

We were up at 6am today, had a quick breakfast, got ready, packed the cooler box and headed off to Death Valley.
We drove through a little town called Beatty to fill up with petrol and took a few pictures of the Soughdough Saloon. This saloon is where some scenes from the movie “The Island” were shot as well as in the surrounding area.
In total it was about a 90 minute drive and boy was this a sight to see!! On entering the Nature Reserve the temperature was 66 degrees F (about 25 degrees C) and when we reached the bottom of the Valley it was 96 degrees F (about 35 degrees C). It was also rather windy. This area is the home of the famous Joshua Tree and a Desert Five Spot, which I managed to capture.
We drove through to “Stovepipe Wells Village” where I had a photo taken with the local Sheriff. He was most obliging and enjoyed posing!

We went to Furnace Creek Ranch for lunch. Doug had a southern fried steak, Sue had meatloaf, Dereck had a burger and I had liver and onions – very delicious!
Then we headed off to “Devil’s Golf Course”. Only a picture can describe this place ….

Then we went to the “Badwater Basin” which is the lowest elevation in the US. It is 282 feet (82m) below sea level. This was quite spectacular and when we walked out on the white strip (you see in the photo), it was quite an incredible feeling, being so small in such a vast amount of open space. At this point the average summer temperature is 47 deg C. Fortunately we came on a cool day with the temp being only 35 deg C.

The last place we visited was Zabriskie Point and was so windy, we were battling to stand still. Again this was so awesome to see these outcrops, the colours and how huge they were.
We left there at about 4pm, stopped off at a small town called Pahrump to have refreshments and got back to our hotel at about 6pm. Sat around with drinks chatting and listening to music on our iPods, and of course mine was getting ripped off – ha ha, although both Dereck and Doug were singing to a couple of them!!!!!

Death Valley travelers signing off ….

Red Rock Canyon

Las Vegas – Day 6 – Red Rock Canyon

Another great day in Las Vegas, except it was slightly windy. After a breakfast of toasted English muffins, fried eggs and bacon (cooked by Dereck and assisted by Douglas) we headed off to a few shops. One was the Outlet Centre and then the Guitar Centre. Then we headed off to the Mandalay Bay so that Doug and Sue could see the “House of Blues”. We had a drink there and a few purchases were made in the shop. Then we headed off to the Hard Rock Hotel – Doug and of course Dereck again, were suitably impressed with all the music paraphernalia adorning the walls. Then we headed off to the Hard Rock Café where we had lunch. It was Sue’s birthday last week, so this was her birthday celebration. We left there at about 3:30pm and headed back to the hotel to get cameras and pack our cooler box for our trip to Red Rock Canyon.
It took us about 20 minutes to get there and boy what a sight!! You just cannot believe these wonderful rocks and their colours jutting out of the earth towards the sky. They do have a red colour to them, hence their name. There is a 13 mile (about 19km) scenic route with stop offs where you can view the sights. We took plenty of pictures, but you have to see it to really see how huge they are!



We were there until sunset which is about 7pm here and then headed off to Freemont Street to see the light show on the roof. We wondered around there and watched the show which came on at 8pm and then headed off home, but made a stop at the South Point Casino (which is right next door to our hotel) to buy something for supper. We ended up buying a piece of chocolate cake and a piece of Strawberry shortbread cake as well as ice-cream for all of us. Well, after eating our ice-cream, we only had room for a slice of the strawberry cake. These Americans certainly know how to dish us servings. The piece of cake was sufficient for all 4 of us. Shelley, you know how Janet makes “Pigs Ears”, well, here they have them, but guess what ….. they are “Elephants Ears” and yes, 4 times the size!!!!! The size of one muffin here, would feed 4 of us back in SA. We were then suitably full and tired and probably got to bed at about 10:00pm.

Red rockers signing off ….

Vegas - Day 5

Las Vegas – Day 5 (walked our feet off!!!)

Another beautiful, clear, hot and sunny day in Las Vegas. It was 33 degrees C for most of today and it was a pleasure walking through all the Casinos that we did!!
Here, the shops only open at 10am, so for us it is rather a waste of the morning, but it gives us a chance to do some updates, washing and generally getting things ready for the day.
We drove down to the Hardrock Hotel and had a good look around there. Dereck was in his element seeing all the music paraphernalia!
We then drove to and parked at Planet Hollywood. We walked through the Miracle Mile, which is literally a mile (1.6km) consisting of 170 stores and 15 restaurants. We did half to get out to the front of the hotel (and did the other half on our way back to our car later in the afternoon).
From there we went to the Paris. We went up about 477 feet of the Eifel Tower which was absolutely amazing to look up and down the Strip!!
We walked through Bally’s, the Flamingo, O’Sheas, the Imperial Palace, Harrahs and Casino Royale until we got to The Venetian where we wondered around the “Grand Canal Shoppes”. Every name you could think of was here, Louis Vitton, Channel, Rolex to name a few. We had lunch in the food court of the Venetian – Dereck had a chicken platter and I had a seafood platter – very yummy.
From there we walked around the Shoppes at the Palazzo and then went to the Wynn Casino. This place was very luxurious, even had carpets and marble flooring in the shopping mall! Dereck found a Ferrari shop and went into their display of Ferrari’s and Masurati’s. From there we crossed over to Treasure Island, the Mirage, on to Caesar’s Palace and wondered through the Forum Shops. This place was absolutely amazing.
We then headed off to the Bellagio and again every exclusive brand name had a shop here!
Just to put things into perspective – we left our hotel at about 9:45am and returned back again at about 5:00pm, and we only sat down for about 20 minutes when we ate our lunch. Both of us felt like we had walked a marathon, except we probably walked about 7km in all!!! With all the walking we are doing, when we sit, it hurts when we get up again!!! ha ha ha.
All the casino’s have a theme and have the main sightseeing features as part of their make-up. It has been amazing to see all of this, although I am now so over casinos!!!!
At about 7:30pm we headed off to the airport to fetch Douglas and Sue who were coming to join us for a few days in Las Vegas and then on our Route 66 road trip. Their plane was on time and we headed off back to the hotel and chatted a bit and then went to sleep.

Casino walkers signing off ….

Grand Canyon

Temperatures here have been anything between 26 & 33 degrees C, and clear skies every day since we have been here (including in the evening) and today was no different. It was a lovely clear day which was perfect for our flight over the Grand Canyon. We went shopping for while and then came back to our hotel and waited in the lobby for the “Stars and Stripes” bus to collect us and take us to Boulder Airport. They were on time (and that is the same with any form of transport so far) and once we were there we had to wait a short while and then met our pilot – Scotty (he had quite a sense of humour and was cracking jokes which some of the other passengers didn’t quite catch!!! We went in an 8 seater plane (this is certainly the smallest I have ever been in) and off we went.
The first place we flew over was Boulder City which is known as a clean, green oasis in the desert. Compared to everything else we could see, it certainly lives up to this reputation. This city was built for the people building the Hoover Dam, has a population of just over 15 000 people and is about 32km outside of Las Vegas.
The next place we flew over was Bonnelli Bay and Upper Lake Mead and even though they look like two separate lakes, all the water leading up to the Grand Canyon is part of Lake Mead. Lake Mead is the biggest man made reservoir in the United States. The white rock you see near the water is where the water level used to be. This was certainly quite impressive and the water had a lovely deep blue and green colour to it. You could also see how the rock outcrops actually went down in the water.
The next place we flew over that had any significance was a place called Temple Bar. It is one of seven resorts situated along Lake Mead. Across the river of this resort is a rock formation in the shape of a temple which is where it got its name from. We noticed a marina there and I am sure this would be a lovely sailing venue.
The next place we flew over was Iceberg Canyon. In these beautiful, clear Canyon waters the amazing rock forms burst from the surface resembling terracotta desert icebergs (it’s the only place where you will see lines vertical instead of horizontal). This is where Lake Mead turns back into the Colorado River (the red bit in the pictures).
Construction on the Hoover Dam began on 30 September 1930 and the last concrete was poured in 1935. Hoover Dam is 726.4 feet high, weighs 6.6 million tons and cost $49 000 000-00 to build. There are 96 000 000 pounds of steel and metal work used by the dam but none of it in the dam. 16 000 men and women worked on the project and there were 3 500 people employed at any one specific time. The Hoover Dam is a system providing water to over 25 million people in the southwest United States.
It was absolutely amazing to be flying over this Canyon and seeing the lakes. It was certainly a breathtaking experience and one we will certainly remember for a long time. The rock formations and their actual size was totally incredible.

Once we got back and landed, we waited for a while and were then taken to the “Strip” where we decided to get off at Ceasars Palace where we had lunch. We walked around the Forum Shops and then headed on to the Bellagio – this is where the film Oceans 11 took place, the one they robbed. They had beautiful Zen gardens created inside and it smelt lovely. We stayed and watched the water fountain display where the water “dances” to music – very impressive and I am sure even more impressive in the evening when the lights are on.From there we caught the bus back to our hotel. It was still so hot, so we went down to the pool and Dereck got into the spa pool with his beer and I sat and watched him with my Wild Berry Jack Daniels. We then went up to our room, had supper and then a well deserved early night (9pm!)

Flying high signing off ….

Las Vegas - Day 3

This welcome sign used to be on the outskirts of Las Vegas, but with the way the city has built up it is right in the middle. It is the most photographed sign in America.

We went to New York-New York Casino and the MGM Grand Casino and these are some of the pictures of them. At the New York-New York Casino they have a huge roller coaster. We decided to go on it. It is extremely high and will post these details later as I don't have them with me now. It was quite scarey as you go right up and then drop and you also go upside down.

In the MGM Casino they have a Rainforest Cafe and we decided to have some fun with pictures with their props!!

{Dereck} Was very temped to hire one of these beauties, but as we already have a car ... :-(

For lunch we went to the Harley Davidson Cafe. If you are a Harley fan, you would be in your element in this Cafe - stunning!! Had a great lunch and I had a glass of Black Oak Johannisberg Riesling (yes, it is spelt correctly!)

Freemont Street Experience in Downtown Las Vegas where they have a covered roof with a massive video show on the roof every hour. We took a video and will upload when we get a chance. Very impressive. This is the older part of Las Vegas before the casinos on the Strip were built and is certainly a hive of activity. At 9pm it was 34 degrees C. We then went to the Palms Casino which is where the Playboy Club is situation. I wanted to buy some undies, but at $150 (R1500) there was no way!!!!!

Stripped and experiences gining off .....

Route we took from Visalia to Las Vegas

The red line marks the route

mapped out signing off ...

Viva Las Vegas

Left our motel in Visalia and headed off to Vegas, thru’ Bakerfield, Mojave, Barstow and through the Mojave Desert until we finally reached Las Vegas. Here are a few pictures taken whilst driving:
Right on the county line, there was a casino! Found our hotel – the Global Grand at Las Vegas, and we are up on the 12th floor. This place is lovely.

Took a drive down the “strip” to see what was what and then headed to a supermarket to stock up on some groceries and then headed back to our hotel an early night.

Got up early for our “complimentary” breakfast. Can’t believe the Americans eat pastries, doughnuts and huge muffins for breakfast!! This was a total catch for us as we had to go through the whole speel of being sold time share. The guy just could not understand that whatever price he gave us we had to multiply by 10. He was trying to tell us that a $23 999 purchase for 6 weeks was a wonderful deal and the more we tried to tell him that this equated to R239 000 he just laughed us off. Eventually he got the idea and finished the talk. Just for attending, we received $100 worth of gambling vouchers and went to the Luxor to play. We managed to convert this to $54 in cash, so it was worthwhile after all!!!
Wondered around the Luxor which has an Egyptian theme and all the hotel rooms are built in the shape of a pyramid and look down onto the casino.
We also went into another casino called the Excalabur which has a castle theme. The other one we visited was the Mandalay Bay which has a beach in it as well as a huge shopping centre with exclusive shops. All very impressive.
Then took a drive further down the strip to look at more of the sights in preparation for our excursion tomorrow.
Came back to our hotel and booked our aeroplane trip to the Grand Canyon on Tuesday. Walked to the casino next door to us called the South Point Casino to see if lady luck was on our side, but alas, she was not, although we had fun playing on the machines at 1c a line. We then headed off back to our hotel.
Don’t forget to click on the pictures to make them bigger.

Viva Las Vegas signing off….

Yosemite

Got up at 6:00 to get ready.  Dereck went and fetched the car and we left at 7:00am for our trip to Yosemite National Park.  We drove over the Bay Bridge which is a 2 storey bridge with outgoing traffic on the bottom level and incoming traffic on the top level.  We headed out towards Oakland, past Livermore, Manteca, Oakdale and Groveland, to name a few places, before we got to the Yosemite National Park gate.  It took us 4 hours driving according to the speed limit as they are extremely strict here.  We drove around this park, and boy was this a sight!!  It has towering cliffs of granite that had been carved out by glaciers in years gone by and they must have had a snow storm some time recently as there was still loads of snow on the side of the roads and in the forest area.  But surprisingly, it was not cold.  The temperature was 58⁰F (about 15⁰C).  We climbed to 6000 feet and when looking down, boy was this high!!!  This is the place where some movies have been filmed with people climbing the face of some of these granite rock faces.  I wouldn’t dare!!!!!  We bought lunch from a Grill at the visitor’s centre.

 After eating our lunch we then headed off towards Fresno.  Once out of the park, the temperature rose to 78⁰F (about 28⁰C).  We drove through Wawona, Oakhurst, Coursegold, Pinedale through Fresno (which was a huge place), past Calwa, Selma and Kingsburg until we reached a town called Visalia.  We found a motel called Days Inn and checked in for the night. This motel is like the one you see in the movies, where the cops always drive in, surround the door and then kick it open!  We got a ground floor room which was certainly very pleasant and clean.  After unloading the car, we drove around to find a place we could stock up with groceries and ended up shopping at Save Mart.  We bought chicken for supper and ate that in our room and then got to sleep at about 10:00pm.

Here is a sunset I managed to capture from outside our room.  Stunning hey!!

For those of you that want to see the collages bigger, just click on the collage and it will enlarge them.

Californian dreamers signing off ….