San Francisco and then home...

We arrived in San Francisco straight into the "Black Friday" (post-Thanksgiving) shopping frenzy - apparently the biggest shopping day of the year with all the shops doing sales. Also happening was the lighting of the massive Xmas tree in Union Square outside our hotel, and a very vocal Occupy San Francisco protest outside Macy's. There were hundreds of police on foot, bike, motorbike and horseback.
 It took us an hour to drive around the block to get to the hotel. The Ford Fusion was telling us we were running out of petrol (sorry, gas in US).  We were very happy to unload, and drop the car back to the car rental. So all go.

That night was very rowdy.  The sales are huge. There have shootings, fights and trampling around the country. The occupy group are a bit of colour and fun.  They had a full band playing, lots of dress-ups, sit-downs in the street with joints being passed around, masses of police on foot, mountain bikes, motor bikes, cars and horses. The SFPD seem to have a hierarchy, with the guys on foot, then on mountain bikes, then horses, then Suzuki trail bikes, then Harley Davidson’s, then Black and White cars, then plain cars. All armed with batons, Tazers and Glocks. They certainly out-numbered the Occupy people, No troubles arose, and it was all happy and peaceful.  There was the festive atmosphere with the Christmas lights and ice skating in Union Square.

We did a bit of bargain-hunting in the sales, before being complete tourists on Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge.  We biked across the bridge to Sausalito and caught the ferry back to Market Street SF.

On our last morning we had coffee with Rob Rowlands, who has lived here for 22 years. He introduced us to the Francesca Woodman photographic exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art. Some weird stuff, very introverted and a little depressing, but fascinating.

After 3 months, we are pleased to be on our way home.  We won’t miss the crowds, the armed police, the tipping, and the extra little taxes on everything you buy. We’ll appreciate more our smog-free views, our closeness to work, our holidays and our freedom.

The festive season is coming up and we are looking forward to some summer weather and catching up with family and friends.  Hopefully we’ll also get time to get fit, enjoy the outdoors, and prepare for 2012.

Thanks to all of you for reading the blog. If you have got this far you have stamina!  Thanks especially to those who you who have had us to stay, as seeing how and where our friends from overseas live has been a highlight of our trip.

We shouldn’t take NZ for granted; there is no better place to live.

Nick and Dara

Click here to see photos of San Francisco

Paso Robles and Carmel

Paso Robles and its colourful vineyards was a welcome sight after the dry desert and polluted LA basin.  Steve Miller had recommended we stop here and had given us the name of at least one winery to try.

Our plan was to do one tasting in the morning, then two in the afternoon.  With a bit of pacing I could still drive.  We started out at Tobin James, which to our pleasant surprise was free!  This set the scene for the day and as long as we bought a bottle of wine the tastings were gratis.

Following on were Maloy O’Neil, where the wines are all hand-made, similar to some of the small boutique wineries at Bendigo, NZ. There we met the dog heroine Tootsie.  When Tootsie was 1 year old, she saved a little boy from drowning. She dived in the river and held the boy up for 5 hours till the rescue team got there. Her exploits are chronicled in the Wine Dogs of California book.

Last of the day was Castoro, where 8 tastings were $3.  It was a mellow and very laid-back day.  The wines were good and we ended up well-stocked for the rest of the trip.

We carried on north to San Francisco on Highway 1.  This scenic costal road is remarkably quiet and under-rated. The elephant seal colony at Piedras Blancas was a highlight.  There are hundreds of the huge seals just metres away from the path, and they are very much alive and entertaining.  They bark, fight, cuddle, flick sand, scratch and sleep; very cute.

We had a night in the retirement beach village of Carmel, where there are more dogs than children. Clint Eastwood was mayor here for a while. It was very twee, and a good place for Thanksgiving dinner.  We can recommend O’Flannery’s Seafood Restaurant, especially the full seafood grill. As they say...”Happy Turkey Day!”

 Click here to see photos of Paso Robles and the Elephant Seals

The Grand Canyon and Joshua Tree

After saying goodbye to Elvis in the corridor of the MGM Casino, we drove to the Grand Canyon via the historic Route 66.  There is nothing really to see on this long (5 hour) drive except desert and dry hills.  We made a stop in the dusty town of Chloride, for coffee.  Probably laced with silver chloride, from the old silver mine nearby.

Our mission, at Grand Canyon, was a trip down into the depths.  The bus driver of the shuttle which took us to the trailhead called it “one very big hole in the ground”.  It is definitely that, at 5000 feet deep and 275 miles long.  The canyon walls are made up of multi-coloured layers of rock, mainly red, which gives the views a painted-on-canvas look. Looking over from the top at the South Rim is an awesome experience.  The canyon is one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

At the trailhead, signs warn against a trip down to the Colorado River and back in a day. Apparently, several people attempting it die each year from exhaustion and dehydration. 

Risking an early demise, we dropped into the void, taking the South Kaibab trail down an eerie ridge. 3000 feet further down, we stopped at the nine mile turnaround marker and weighed up our options.  Either up or down. Dara (taking all the warnings to heart) wisely took the up option, and I took off down to the river. It is steep so it wasn’t too long before all the switchbacks were behind me and I was having lunch on the North side of the river near Phantom Ranch.  Colourful rafts and kayaks belonging to down-river travellers were pulled up on a sandy beach.  It can take 2-3 weeks to paddle down the full length of the canyon.

The uphill was a 3 hour slog, requiring several water stops.  After seeing the sun set, we rewarded ourselves with pizza and beer at the Pizzeria in Tusaya just outside the National Park. The wine list offered “Marloborough (sic) Sauvignon Blanc, from Australia”. 

Our next stop was 29 Palms, gateway to the Joshua Tree National Park. These trees and the surrounding desert inspired U2's famous Joshua Tree album.  They also look very similar to Dr Suess’s spiky trees and are not unlike our own Cabbage Tree.  Exploring the Park was a delight.  Loads of Joshua trees obviously, yukka plants, some with huge flowers, ruins from an old gold mine, views of the San Andreas Fault line, and in the distance the Salton Sea (235 feet below sea level).  For a desert it wasn’t that hot.  There was new snow on the nearby Mt Jacinto and a chilly breeze.

On the drive back to 29 Palms we drove past the Marine Corps Airborne Combat Centre.  One of the monuments on the side of the road was a large old bomb sticking into the ground!  Many shops in town have signs welcoming the troop’s home from their tours.

A long drive the next day took us back the Wine Country just north of Los Angeles.  It was not pleasant seeing the sky turn from blue to dense brown.  The pollution is from motor vehicles, power stations and industry in the LA basin. In some areas the road is bordered by a huge number of ugly oil pumps, nodding their heads like giant toy dinosaurs. We passed by a massive beef farm, thousands of cattle beasts in corals eating feed through barred fences.  Also vast acreage of orange plantations, almond and pistachio farms.  This scale of agriculture is something we’d hate to see at home.  It is not pretty.

Click here to see photos of Grand Canyon and Joshua Tree

Las Vegas and Death Valley

Sin City, otherwise known as Las Vegas, is a very interesting place.  Everything you have heard about it is true.  Driving in through the desert bought back memories from reading the book “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream”.  Only we didn’t have any reptiles diving at us from the sky or a big red convertible sports car.

Our immediate reaction on driving up the strip to the hotel, was that it was over-the-top, garish, glitzy, and incredibly false.  After settling in to the penthouse apartment and then wandering around town, our initial impressions were confirmed.  But it was seething with life, colourful and fun. 

We did the touristy things like watch the water display outside Caesars Palace, the volcanic eruption outside The Mirage Hotel, and treated ourselves to the Cirque de Soleil show “O”.  It was an unforgettable and brilliant fantasy acted and choreographed over a set made of water and submersible stages.

The casinos drew in the crowds later on and we saw many sad gamblers in front of slot machines, drunken punters at the tables, and scantily-clad dancing girls gyrating on top of the bars.  Street hustlers hand out cards as you walk the streets, offering a girl in your hotel room in 20 minutes, guaranteed.  Stretch limos with blacked-out windows cruise The Strip and deliver VIP’s to important dates at the many clubs. Every night on the Strip was like New Years eve, with throngs of happy people out cruising.

As an escape from the madness, we headed off to see the Hoover Dam, and do the tour of its innards.  It was educational and fun, and gave an insight in to American history and culture during the great depression of the early 1930’s. The dam itself is an engineering masterpiece, and the lake it formed, Lake Mead, the biggest hydro lake in the USA.  It was designed with an Art Deco theme, in keeping with trends at the time.  There is liberal use of louvered aluminium, and doors and frames made of brass.  The American’s are rightfully very proud of it.

The following day we headed North West in to Death Valley.  Named because it is so hot and dry that nothing much grows there.  Driving in to the valley reminded us of the McKenzie Country.  Flat plains in a valley surrounded by brown and gray hills.  The scale is different though, as Death Valley is huge.  We managed a walk through the Badlands, past old Borax mines, up and down desolate canyons which rarely see any water.

 There is a small town at Furnace Creek, where there are natural springs.  This little oasis has recorded the second highest temperature in the world, 134 degrees Fahrenheit (56 degrees C). Fortunately, it was only 78 F when we visited.  This was also the low point of our trip, literally that is, at 190 feet below sea-level. 

Click here to see photos of Las Vegas and Death Valley

Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks

Mariposa, our next stop, is just outside Yosemite National park.  Yosemite is to rock climbers as Mecca is to Muslims, Everest is to mountaineers, Las Vegas is to gamblers, trees are to dogs and Bathurst is to petrol heads. Anyway, you get the picture.

We had two days craning our heads upwards looking at the vast vertical granite cliffs of El Capitan, The Sentinel, the Cathedral Spires and Half Dome.  There was a sprinkling of snow on the tops of the highest peaks.   Waterfalls cascade from the mesa above the cliffs.  Yosemite Falls is the highest in the States and we had a half-day hike up past the Columbia Rock to get a better view.  Comets of water falling over 2000 feet, rainbows shining in the spray, and loud crashes as snow avalanched off the ledges half way up the falls.

Seeing the spectacular Vernan Falls also took up a half day.  No climbing planned on this trip but I stepped up the first few metres of The Nose on El Cap to get a feel of what it would be like. Completely vertical for nearly 3000 feet, with over 100 different climbing routes, the easiest of which takes an average of 5 days.  The star climbers can do it in less than a day.

And for the uninitiated, Yosemite does not rhyme with Vegemite.

In the evening we retreated to Mariposa, where the food is good and accommodation is reasonable.

It is a short drive to the next National Park, Sequoia, named after the giant trees growing in groves above the snow line.  We ascended up in to the mist, which gave the forest a suitable eerie atmosphere.  The trees are simply amazing; so huge, so old, so peaceful, so majestic.  We paid homage to the biggest tree in the world, named “General Sherman”.  Survivor of many forest fires, the General was more than 200 years old when That Famous Carpenter was born, 2012 years ago. This place is well worth a visit.

Click here to see photos of Yosemite and Sequoia

Wine tasting in the Napa and Sonoma Valleys

Our transport to California

On arrival at San Francisco we discovered we are now an Argus Rent a Car express member! This means a free upgrade and fast-tracked car pick-up.  We turned down the Ford Mustang convertible (boot too small, too thirsty, and we are too old!), and took the luxury model Ford Fusion with heated leather seats, satellite radio and programmable interior light colours.

These mainly useless extras kept us entertained in the traffic jam all the way from San Francisco to Napa.  Famous for its wine, the Napa Valley also had a couple of hikes to choose from.  We thought we would be healthy and go for a brisk walk in the morning to see the lay of the land, work up a thirst, and then go wine tasting in afternoon.

Our first objective was Mount Saint Helena, near the little town of Callistoga. The film “Bottleshock” was based on a winery near Callistoga. At the beginning of this track there is a memorial to Robert Louis Stevenson.  Apparently he stayed in a cabin there while on honeymoon with his wife Fanny in 1880.

Another survey point for our collection

Having seen the view over the valley from the highest point we could see we had plenty of vineyards to choose from.  Over 100, with the oldest vines planted around the same time Robert Louis and Fanny were having a wild time on the slopes of Mt Saint Helena.

 First up, near Callistoga, was the “Envy” winery.  This was probably the most enjoyable tasting, with good wines, few people, good company, and a friendly helpful girl behind the bar.

Following on from this, mood enhanced, we tried a little known boutique winery with no other cars in the car park.  We soon found out why.  The tastings were $20 each, that is, per wine!  Making excuses, we backed out and went on to Grgich where, despite the bar-man being an idiot, the wine was OK and we had a coupon giving us 2 for price of 1.  Yes!  And the glasses were thrown in as souvenirs. Up until now we had been drinking our evening tipples from flimsy plastic glasses from the motel bathrooms.  Things were looking up.  As a bonus, and to round off a great day tasting, we had a very agreeable dinner at a Mexican restaurant in Napa.  It was quiz night, and needless to say our general knowledge of NZ affairs didn’t help much, but we didn’t get last.

On our second day, we visited Sonoma, the wine growing valley next to Napa.  Our morning walk took us up to Gunsight Rock, for a view over the vineyards.  The leaves on the vines were just turning into their autumn colours.  The vineyards, with their rows of different vine varieties, were a ribbed patchwork of greens, yellows and copper colours.  Wines tasted that afternoon were St Francis and Sebastiani. While all the wines were good, the interesting ones were the petite syrah and the Zinfandel. 

There are some beautiful wineries in Napa and Sonoma.  This is St Francis in Sonoma

Old vines, some were planted in the 1880's.  We "borrowed" and ate some grapes still on the wines, they are delicious!

A happy winery dog

As usual, the photos don’t fully show the amazing scale of the vineyards in these valleys.  It is simply huge.

Mesa Verde and Boulder

Crossing the state line back to Colorado bought us in to cowboy country.  Lots of cattle farms, with real cowboys on horses herding cattle down the roads.  There was even a horse-driven plough.

Our destination, Durango, was close to the Mesa Verde National Park.  As a change from hiking, the attraction was the remarkable and historic cliff dwellings, inhabited by the Pueblo Indians from about 1100AD until 1300AD.

This area is very popular in the summer, but fortunately when we visited it was closing down for winter, and very quiet.  Our ranger-led tour of the Cliff Palace had only three people in it, in contrast to the height of the season when there would be 60.  The cave dwellings themselves are fascinating, well built out of local stone, carefully set out and in reasonably good repair considering their age.  Cliff Palace had around 100 rooms.  Just getting to some of the ledges would have involved either rock-climbing or ladders.  Now there are steps cut and steel railings.  No-one knows why the whole area was abandoned just after the construction was completed.

Driving back to Durango later in day we stopped to view two coyotes wandering through the dry scrub land.  Durango has a great little historic downtown area complete with western bar and hotel.  We had dinner there, entertained by a yodelling cowboy, typically attired in check shirt, jeans, pointy boots, and cowboy hat.  Our waitress had on a saloon girl outfit.

The road to Denver led up through the Rocky’s, crossing Wolf Creek Pass in a blizzard. The highway  passed through Del Norte on the to Salida, where we booked a night in the  Gateway Inn.  For $57 you get a room with 2 queen beds, wifi, ensuite, fridge, coffee maker and self-service continental breakfast.  We are getting used to these typical breakfast arrangements.  Usually there are a selection of coffee, juices, fruits, yogurt, cereals, pastries, eggs and even waffle makers.  It seems OK to take a bit of everything and wrap the left-overs for lunch later.

Salida is a funky seasonal resort town with the kayak-friendly Arkansas River running through it.  There are skiing, hiking and mountain-biking trails in the surrounding hills. The Mexican food and local beer in the Boatman Cafe are superb.

The road to Boulder and Denver continues up through vast dry plains watered by many pivot irrigators.  The scene is very much like that in the Mackenzie Country at home, except the elevations are 7000 feet higher. Light snow squalls swept across in front of the car as we crossed the Rocky’s one last time, at a steady 65mph on wide empty roads.

Waiting for us in Boulder were Steve and Jayne Miller, and their two boys Jeffery and Aidan. They kindly put us up for 3 nights, and organised a dinner with many fellow skiers from ski touring trips to Canada a few years back. It was fantastic, after a 5 year gap, to catch up with Kim Ryder, Dave Meldrum, Bruce Plodkin, and Emily Rothman (wife of Dave who was away skiing at Monarch near Salida).  They organised a short hike in the Eldorado canyon the following day, where we saw plenty of rock climbers, and later deer in the meadows above. Dara and I did some further exploring a day later, in the Gregory Canyon, on Flagstaff peak, and on the Mesa Trail below the Flatirons.  These distinctive flat slabs of red rock rise directly behind Boulder and provide a playground for climbers, hikers and bikers. Bears and coyotes are abundant and frequently get in to peoples gardens in town.

We helped Kim walk her delightful springer spaniel Katie around the neighbourhood.  Katie has a to wear a little brace to support a deformed front leg, and happily trots along with a distinctive tapping noise on the footpaths.  Katie narrowly avoided getting her owner a $50 ticket from the patrolling dog rangers, for not wearing her lead on the park.

We were sad to leave the busy Miller household and wished the kids well for their weekend events, Jeffery in a swimming competition that might get him a place in the Nationals, and Aidan in a violin recital. Having been treated to a special performance at home, we know he will be amazing.  In return, I had to perform a very rusty rendition of my old school haka for them. 

California and Napa valley here we come ....

Click here for photos of Mesa Verde and Boulder