2011-05-26--28: Driving from California to Yellowstone West, Montana

It is a rather long drive from the west coast of California, to Yellowstone Park. Maybe we have been spoiled by fantastic scenic drives for too long, and maybe that´s why we found part of the last couple of days driving sometimes a bit boring.
We will be back with some text around the highlights, and there were highlights!

We put toghter some pictures for you in this link:  Avenue of the Gigants to Rexburg, Idaho

2011-05-23--25: Napa Valley, Highway 1 and Avenue of the Gigants

We do not have time to update the blogg with text right now, but will probably be able to do it in the next couple of days.
There are some pictures if you click this link: Napa Valley to Avenue of the Gigants

201105-21--22: San Francisco

We choose a camping close to San Francisco, as we didn´t want to drive around in the crowded city with a big RV. One of the services of the camping was a full day sight seeing to San Francisco, so we signed up for the trip as soon as we registered. The trip was really good, and we learnt a lot about the history  of the city and we got to see a lot. First stop was Golden Gate Bridge.

We then continued through Golden Gate Park - the largest man-made park in the world. Next stop was Pier 39 and Fisherman´s Warf. Kind of touristic, but nice.










 

We had a very good seafood meal at Bubba Gump (yes - it has a Forest Gump theme), with wonderful view over San Francisco Bay.

Fresh crab, shrimps and fish - can it be better?

After lunch we headed towards China Town - a rather large community in San Francisco, and drove through areas with the architecture that gives San Francisco it´s charm.

We didn´t get the chance to go with the cable cars, but there are still 3 lines operating the steep hills of the city.


More pics from San Francisco: San Francisco

2011-05-19--20: Yosemite National Park, California.

We pulled into a camping close to the south entrance of Yosemite, and spent the night there. When we checked in we had a chat with the people that worked at the camping. We got the information that the park had been closed all day due to the weather conditions, but with some luck the weather would be warmer the next day and the park open.
We were delighted to see a blue sky in the morning, and even more happy to find the park and most roads open.

We spent two full days, and a night in the park and loved every minute of it! It is sooo beautiful!! We would have loved to stay for longer time for hiking.

Also in Yosemite there are gigantic sequoia trees. In Mariposa Grove you can find the most majestic.This one, that Anne gives a hug, is not one of the biggest - but big enough to impress.

Bears are common in Yosemite. We woke up during the night - a lot of noise created by bears trying to get into trashbins. We also heard a couple of shots during the night, but were assured that it was rubber bullets aimed to sting and scare away bears from the camping areas.

More pictures (although they do not do justice) from beautiful Yosemite: Yosemite


Official link to Yosemite National Park: Yosemite National Park

2011-05-16--18: Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, California.

The drive from Las Vegas was amazing. We drove through Mojave desert and up in the Sierra Nevada mountains and experienced dramatic changes in climate and nature. On narrow, steep and curvy roads we climbed up and down the mountains - the scenery was again fantastic.

From orange farms in the valleys to snow in the mountains - just within an hours drive.







 

Our plan was to enter Sequoia National Park from the south, and drive through the park to Kings Canyon National Park which borders to Sequoia. Unfortunately there were some roadwork that made it impossible for vehicles of our size to drive the road at the moment, so we had to turn around and drive to the entrance of Kings Canyon.

When we got to Kings Canyon, much of the park was covered in clouds - and it was cold and snowy. We didn´t think we would experience that in California end of May.

We got to see the gigantic sequoia trees in Kings Canyon and they were really impressive. The biggest tree we saw was General Grant - 1700 years old, and 33 meters around the waist. These trees survives fire in average every 13th year.















Link to some pictures: From Las Vegas to Kings Canyon

Official webpage for the parks: Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks

2011-05-15: Las Vegas

We arrived in the afternoon to the big gambling centre - Las Vegas, and stayed at a RV site just behind famous Circus Circus hotel and casino.
The first thing we did was to take a walk and get some tickets to a nice show. We got tickets for Mystere, by a group called Cirque du Soleil. The show was really fantastic and we enjoyed every minute of it.
Link to the official show page: Mystere

Regarding Las Vegas we can only say that it is not our "cup of tea", so we continued driving towards sunny California.

We will update this post later, but there are some photos available on this link: Las Vegas

2011-05-14: New friends

 After driving through Zion National Park, we wanted to find a nice RV park to stay the night. We soon found what we where looking for - a really nice place close to a river.

From left: Dennis, Sam, Erika, Diane, Jimmy and Dixie

Very soon we got in contact with two very nice couples - Dennis and Erika with their dog Sam, and Jimmy and Diane with their dog Dixie.

We spent the evening around a camp fire, and during the night the convinced us to stay another day. The guys offered us a fantastic day in an ATV (All Terrain Vehicle).
These ATV´s are a lot of fun! They are rather powerful - speed around 65 MPH and can climb more or less any hill.

We had a lot of fun during the ride, and are very grateful that Dennis and Jimmy took it a bit easy with us rookies.

Dixie to the right - Jimmy to the left

We had another magic night at the camp fire filled with discussions, stories and laughter. We would have loved to stay with our new friends, but must continue our journey. Next stop is Las Vegas.


Dixie loves riding the ATV!
















You find some more pictures if you click this link:New friends

2011-05-12--13: Coral Pink Sand Dunes, Bryce Canyon and Zion

As the North Rim of Grand Canyon was closed we decided that we had the time to visit Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks. On the way there we saw a sign about a State Park called Coral Pink Sand Dunes, so we made a U-turn and spent an hour or so walking around among the beautiful dunes.
We continued to Bryce Canyon National Park, and found a very nice camping inside the park. In the morning we discovered the spectacular scenery that Bryce Canyon offers.
Next on our list was Zion National Park. We decided to just pass through the park and enjoy the ride that would take us a bit closer to the next target - Las Vegas. Again we find  a park that is so different from anything else we have seen. We are just amazed by this country!

This post will be updated, but in the meantime there are some photos to enjoy if you click this link: Coral Pink Sand Dunes, Bryce and Zion

2011-05-10--11: Grand Canyon

We visited the South Rim of Grand Canyon. The views are majestic, and there is no photo ever taken that really shows how great the canyon is. Our plan was to also visit the North Rim, but it had not open for the season yet.

We will update this post later, but photos are available here: Grand Canyon

2011-05-09: Petrified Forest, Arizona.

Sometimes we do not have the possibilities to update our blogg. Either time is not enough or we are in the middle of no-where with no internet access.

We will update this post later, but if you want to see some cool photos please follow this link: Petrified Forest

2011-05-07--08: Hovenweep, Indian market, Canyon de Chelly & Hubbel

After we visited Bandelier we headed back to the 4-corner area, as we got the information there was a nice annual indian market in Blanding, Utah. On the way to Blanding we passed Hovenweep - a National Monument with some strange building from around year 1200.We continued through Navajo country to the beautiful Canyon de Chelly - another National Park with amazing remains from early settlements.
We stayed the night on the National Park´s free camping. On the way to Petrified Forest we passed the old Hubbel Trading post - a nice brake, and a lot of nice indian art to look at (and buy if you can afford it).

This post will be updated when we have more time, but photos are available at this link:  Hovenweep to Hubbel

2011-05-06: Bandelier, New Mexico.

What a fantastic place Bandelier is! This canyon has been used for ages by native americans. Around 800 years ago the Anasazi people (ancestors of the Pueblo people) built a village here.

In Bandelier there is a big village built in a circle called Tyuonyi. Archaeology shows that the houses can have been three levels and maybe have 400 rooms. Around the village there are a lot of caves that have been used for living as well.  

It is a fantastic feeling to walk around in the surroundings and almost feel the presence of this ancient culture.

Mats in a 4 room cave. Nice and cosy - and what a wonderful view!

No, this is NOT Mr Walkers quarters.










Some more pictures from Bandelier: Bandelier

2011-05-04--05: Taos, Santa Fe and Los Alamos

Taos

From Mesa Verde we decided to go to Taos, where Mats had been before and remember it as an old charming city with a lot of genuine stores selling indian made art .

It is still a charming place with a lot of atmosphere, but you get a feeling that a lot of hippies fell in love with the place and have stayed there and are now driving much of the business.














The shops with indian art are way to "touristic" for our taste.

Dried red chilli

We are still happy that we visited Taos, it is a special place and it still has a lot of athmosphere.

















Santa Fe

We arrived to Santa Fe in the evening, and stayed over night in very nice camping in the Santa Fe forest just 15 minutes drive from town. Santa Fe was just like Mats remembered it. 

Santa Fe is friendly, charming and with a lot of genuine native culture.

In the main square native craftmen (and women) sell their work. There are really a lot of beautiful things, and we took the opportunity to buy some gifts.
 

 Los Alamos

After Santa Fe we went to Los Alamos, where Mats spent some time 40 years ago. The mission was to find the school (Los Alamos Junior High School) and the house we lived in. It was 50% successful - we found the school, but unfortunately we had the wrong address for the house. After a nice chat with one of the teachers, we continued to Bandelier National Park.

2011-05-02--03: Mesa Verde

We are so lucky! The weather is fantastic and the sun is shining more or less all the time. The temperature is perfect for sightseeing and exploring new things.

We arrived to Cortez in south-west  Colorado late afternoon, and after checking in at a very good camping called Sundance RV Park we drove to Mesa Verde National Park for a short visit before they closed.

Mesa Verde (Green Table in Spanish) is a National Park with more than 4000 ruins from settlements between 600 AD to 1300 AD.

Cliff Palace

Some of the ruins are cliff dwellings like this, other are on top of the mesa.

The round holes you see on the picture were rooms, called kiva. They were covered and the entrance was from the top.  A kiva was used for ceremonial purpose and for social activities.

Guiding at Cliff Palace

To understand more about the people who lived here, we took to guided tours. The tours were excellent and we can really recommend anyone who will visit Mesa Verde to do the same.

Cliff Palace

With a guide you have the chance to get into the ruins and get a better feeling for how it was 1000 years ago.

Balcony House

When we walk around these ruins we understand that the people living here belonged to an advanced culture.

This place is Called Balcony House, and the reason is the small balcony on the wall. The use of the balcony is not clear, but a good guess is that it was used for drying crops.

Balcony House

Fact is that they traded with other groups as far as California in the west, and got seashells and pottery. The also trade with groups in the south (Mexico now) and as far as the east coast.

Balcony House

The people that lived in Mesa Verde are ancestors to all Pueblo tribes in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Arizona. The native people in these tribes consider Mesa Verde as a sacred place.

Balcony House

A funny thing with Mesa Verde is that Gustav Nordenskiöld, the son of the polar explorer Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld lead the first excavations of Mesa Verde (1891). There are plenty of photos and documentation from this time.

Square Tower House

It was a fantastic experience to visit Mesa Verde. It took us a couple of days just to digest the impressions.

Spruce Tree House

The only cliff dwelling you have good access to without a guide is Spruce Tree House.

Spruce Tree House

At Spruce Tree House there is also a reconstructed kiva, which gives a good feeling how it would be in the ceremonial room under the surface.

If you want to know more about Mesa Verde, this site is excellent: http://www.nps.gov/meve/index.htm

2011-04-30 -- 2011-05-01: Canyonlands and Newspaper Rock

We used Moab as base for visiting Canyonlands National park. Canyonlands is a huge area with fantastic scenery and it is just a few miles from Arches.

There are 2 parts of the National park that is easily accessible by car - in the north Island in the Sky, in the east Needles. We started up in the Island in the Sky area, as it is closest to Moab.

You can not help thinking about the first man or woman looking out over this fantastic landscape.

Breathtaking views wherever you look.

Leaving Island in the Sky, we took the opportunity to make a quick stop at Dead Horse Point. It was a very rewarding detour. The views where fantastic!

Legend has it, that Dead Horse Point once was used as a natural corral for wild horses. The corral opening was around 3 meters wide, and the corral was kind of a peninsula in the air.

We spent the night in a small camping ground called Windwhistle, some 30 miles driving from the  east entrance of the park.

We loved the surroundings and tranquillity, and will search for this kind of primitive camping grounds going forward.

The weather looked a bit threatening, but we didn´t get any rain :-)

Early morning we continued to the Needles.

This time we could look up at the cliffs were we enjoyed the views yesterday.

Again the formations and the views were magnificent.

How about this - A wooden shoe!

Close to the road from the Needles there is a place called Newspaper Rock.