Summing up 14 days on the Road.

Well where do we start??? An ambitious undertaking was the general consensus of opinion, but one that Wayne especially thought was achievable, thanks to previous US roadtrip experience. And with only one exception, we got there. Olympic National Park near Seattle WA, was the one that we didn't quite get to, due to the enormous size of the park (at least an 8 hour round trip) and the fact that a dirty great big airline company tour took precedence. But at the other side of the coin, we managed to add in Cedar Breaks National Monument on the way to Bryce.....not quite a national park yet, but one that will surely find it's place among the grand old members of the NPS in the future.

We were asked by fellow travellers on the road as to what was our favourite park? To put 14 in order of favourite to least favourite is a hard ask, but one that we've never been shy of having a crack at. So here goes.....

Wayne's List

1. Glacier National Park Montana. Simply the most stunning visual feast for your senses that you will find in an awfully long time. It's a hell of a drive to get there, but well worth every minute of some fairly monotonous driving conditiond up through Wyoming and Montana. Give yourselves a minimum of 3 days to do it justice. The Going-to-the Sun road is a highlight especially with roadworks along the length (51 miles) of it. Ensure that you go from east to West as you drive through, so you end up clinging to the rock face rather than the edge of a 1000 foot drop off!
2. Crater Lake NP, Oregon. Bugger all to do here. A 45 minute drive down one side of a dirty great big lake in the middle of a volcanic crater is pretty much it. But the majesty of the lake can't be underestimated. Great colour and a bad photo can't be taken. Highly recommended.
3. Grand Canyon NP, Arizona. An old favourite and probably the park mst people associate with the uS. Nothing can prepare you for your first sight of the canyon itself. It really is overwhelming. Roadworks and park "improvements" going full bore in the height of tourist season leaves me still to be convinced is the greatest timing of all time, but when Obama remains determined to spend borrowed money on "stimulus", who am I to argue?
4. Bryce Canyon NP, Utah. The colours of this wonderland of hoodoos and spires and arches never get old, on this my (WS) 4th trip to Bryce. Add in as much wildlife as we saw in any park on the trip and Bryce really is a feast for the senses.
5. Canyonlands NP, Utah. This really is a fairly unknown park in a lot of respects. More people visit Arches NP just 30 mile up the road, but in your humble correspondents opinion, they are doing themselves a great disservice. 4 seperate sections of the park, of which some are only accessible via foot lead to a vast array of choices. The needles section is crap....a waste of time, but the drive into said section is something else!! The Island in the Sky section is really a standout. Some massive canyons and vast plateaus really give you something to behold. A must see.
6. Zion NP Utah. Never been a favourite of mine, but is always spectacular. Driving along the valley floor looking up at the walls of the canyon gives a completely different perspective to most other parks. Add in a super efficient Shuttle service through the park and it is a thoroughly entertaining and somewhat awesome experience.
7. Yosemite NP California. One of the first NP's in the states and one of the favourites especially when the falls are running.  A fairly big park with massive granite peaks and troughs and a favourite with rock climbers the world over ( No rock climbing here though-Ed).  A spectacular park easily accessed from San Francisco. Do it!
8. Yellowstone NP Wyoming. The first park in the system and close to the biggest in the lower 48. A myriad of geysers, waterfalls, bubbling pots of mud, fiery gasses, and (usually) a large selection of wildlife. Due an eruption every 600,000 years, Yellowstone is 60.000 years overdue. You do the math....
9. Grand Tetons NP Wyoming. Located at the southern gateway to Yellowstone, The Tetons is a simple drive along a mountain range reaching up some 12,000 odd feet. Nothing much to do, but for photography nuts, some great opportunities to combine lots of elements in the one shot. Picturesque or what?!?!
10. Arches NP Utah. Super popular but has always been a bit ho-hum to WS. Spread out over a large area, the few arches that are visible without an exhausting hike in bloody hot temps (how is that sunburn going Trev?), are so full of people who seem to pop their ugly mugs up at the most inopportune moments, that taking decent photos without photoshopping the crap out of snooty nose kids suffering heatstroke, is impossible. Don't be afraid to give it a miss.
11. Mt Rainier NP Washington State. Bah humbug. A couple of nice waterfalls, and plenty of snow on the mountain itself are the highlights. The rest.....pretty average. A nice housing development through the park would improve it no end.....kidding....kind of.
12. North Cascades NP Washington State. Really coming to the "cream" now folks. A waste of space. Mow down all the pine trees to provide building timber for the entire country for the next 50 years and then bitumise the rest. Enough said.
13. Lassen Volcanic NP California. One of the few parks where all the "attractions" can't be seen from the roadside drive i.e. you need to hike your ass off  into far flung places to view lava beds and volcanic "stuff". A small thermo nuclear device would work wonders.
14. Grand Staircase Escalante NP Utah. The newest NP and one has to ask why did they bother. Completely unsealed, only accessible via 4 wheel drive (which it seems like every second man in the US possesses), and a complete waste of 50,000 valuable acres that would make a fine waste treatment facility.  Easily the low point of the trip.

Trev's list
1. Glacier
2. Yosemite
3. Yellowstone
4. Zion
5. Bryce
6. Crater Lake
7. Grand Canyon
8. Canyonlands
9. Arches
10. Grand Tetons
11. Mt Rainier
12. Lassen Volcanic
13. North Cascades
14. GSE

As you can see, different people have different perspectives of different parks. All are going to appeal to different interests. All we can suggest is seeing it for yourself. You wont be disappointed.

Fuel prices are as varying here as back home. The cheapest price we came across was right here in Bullhead City at $260 per gallon. The most expensive was $4.50 per gallon in Walker CA....needless to say they didnt get our business. The most that we actually paid was $3.60 pretty much right through California.

Good company is essential to the enjoyment and Trevor was very fortunate to have Wayne as his travelling companion.....:-). Seriously, Wayne enjoyed Trev's company immensely and the banter and abuse heaped out at passing cyclists who were hellbent on a lonely passing in the middle of a 50degree desert, was a sight to behold.....and hear. Trev's amazement at the size of the SUV's was a source of continual amusement as Trev's realisation that he could park his Hilux in the back tray of most SUV's finally dawned on him.

Thoroughly enjoyable 14 days which has led to a return to our loved ones and excitement at heading to Florida and retirement central for 10 days at Disneys Animal Kingdom Lodge with Mick and the crew.

Next post from Florida!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!     
        

Days 13 and 14.....which turn out to be the end of the Roadtrip!!

Day 13 dawned bright and early on the moon's earth station Tonopah Nevada. A complimentary continental breakfast at the Clown Motel was followed by a refuel at a sub $3.00 petro and the start of the drive across the desert in the middle of Nevada directly north of the Nellis Air Force base. Those who are unfamiliar with this part of the landscape only have to imagine the most desolate, rock strewn, bone dry, barren backside of a location.....and then double it. 3 hours of mind numbing nothingness was only broken by a lone cyclist riding in the other direction at least 70 miles from anything (we are talking 163 miles between servos).....(Lance f**king Armstrong has a lot to answer for!), a lone deer trying to become the one piece of roadkill in this hellhole (thanks to running alongside our car, again in the middle of nowhere), and a lone caravan parked at least 50 miles from the nearest human company on a concrete pad in a furnace of a valley. Incredible!!

Noon arrival in Cedar City and we decided to head to Bryce Canyon for the afternoon. This wonderland of spires and hoodoos and incredible colours of reds, oranges and creams was also home to an array of wildlife which was videoed and photographed until batteries ran dead. We decided against the $200 plus a room that the lodging establishments near the canyon were charging, and headed for Harold's place about 18 mile out from Bryce, which boarded the Male Strahan's in a cabin for $84 inc tax. A 14 mile round trip to a nearby town for dinner being the only negative thanks to a late arrival at 820pm as a result of an ill fated attempt to view Grosvenor Arch at Grand Escalante Staircase....note to all....read the national park literature that says all roads inside GSE are UNPAVED.

Day 14 saw the caravan of discovery head to Zion National Park, the last park on the itinerary. A detour around due to roadworks being undertaken around the east entrance led to a slightly later arrival than planned. As we drove into the park, a wrong turn led us out to the same eastern entrance that we drove 135 miles around to avoid. A traverse through a couple of tunnels and 3 different road closures before we realised we turned the wrong way....a quick 3 point turn and we were heading back to the visitor centre to take the shuttle along the main drag. A leisurely 90 minute drive and we were back to the visitor's centre with a camera and video full of shots. A one pm departure and we headed for BHC via Las Vegas with arrival at 615pm in a balmy 114F. A tupperware party with 12 lovely ladies at Maxine's ensued, ensuring a late but welcome bedtime after a lazy 5387 miles in 14 days.

When there is a bit more petrol in the tank tomorrow, we will post a summation of the roadie, as we prepare for our next adventure........10 days at Walt Disney World in Florida, leaving Sunday morning. Can't wait for 10 days of hanging with the mouse, playing some golf, hitting the parks (both theme and water) and kicking back with NO BLOODY DRIVING.

Day 11 and 12 on the road

Good evening to our myriad of fans from the town of Tonopah Nevada which bears an uncanny resemblance to the surface of the moon. And our flash CHEAP digs at the Clown Motel.....yes I'm not kidding, the Clown Motel. But hey for $39.76 inc tax for the room....no not each, but collectively $39.76 it's the best value weve found by a mile. Add in the fridge, the microwave, and the FLAT SCREEN TV, and it doesnt get much better. But I digress...

Yesterday (Day 10), we departed the Oregon 8 motel in downtown Klamath Falls (no there are no falls in town because when the white people came they damned all the rivers and buggered the falls...true story), and headed south towards Lake Tahoe. Came in from the West side of Tahoe and spent 2 hours fighting our way through the traffic down towards South Tahoe and the casinos. We got a room at the Horizon where Wayne has stayed before with the cricket lads for $80. 12th floor, view of the pool and lake...all good. Buffet downstairs for $12.95 each and very happy. The casino is unfortunately just about non existent as they have removed all the tables and only have machines left. And wifi was $10.99 a day....hence no update last night. What a f**king rort! Add in Bob Dylan playing outdoors at the hotel next door (jeez he sucks. Couldnt hold a note in a bucket. Sounds like a  frog drowning in cement actually) and an early nights sleep was undertaken.
We departed at 8am and headed for Yosemite. Roadworks left right and centre, and 2 and a half hours later we were driving into the park via Lee Vining. Yosemite really is an eye opener especially for those who havent been there before. Some terrific photos and videos, a decent walk for Trev to the dribbling falls, and we headed out at 315pm. 4 hours and 150 miles later and we arrived on the moon for the night!!

Tomorrow we keep heading east towards Cedar City Utah. Zion and Bryce Canyon loom in the next couple of days before returning to BHC early with any luck.

Its all good!!!!

Crater Lake

Day 10 of 16 on the road

Good day to you all from the Southern Oregon stronghold of Klamath Falls.....or it should be Good evening seeing as though for the second day in a row, we didnt check into our motel until after 8pm.

We departed the golden shores of the Northern Oregon coast at Gearhart and proceeded down the 101 which runs pretty much straight down the coast to California. We unfortunately, by chance, happened to pick a Saturday morning during summer to do our drive. Well Osama Bin Laden could have his way with central and Eastern Oregon this weekend as it seemed as though every single inhabitant of the Oregon state region was either driving or walking along the 101 today. Millions of the bastards.....so a leisurely planned 130 mile 3-4 hour swing down the coast took over 6 and put us behind the 8 ball. Couple that with the fact that from Florence where we headed inland towards Crater Lake another 150 miles of bitumen awaited us and we were starting to depair. Eventually arrived at Crater Lake about 5 pm but boy oh boy was it worth the wait. A pure self contained 1900 foot deep lake in the middle of an extinct volcano was a sight to behold I can assure you. The water was a brilliant blue unlike anything else we have seen on this trip at least. Though we were finished with the park inside 45 minutes and on the road to Klamath Falls.....where we found a Oregon 8 Motel for $60 inc tax, including a seperate bedroom, seperate kitchen and free wifi. Sure it was last decorated in 1977 or thereabouts but hey for 60 bucks it may as well be the Hilton.

Tomorrow we head for Lake Tahoe via Lassen Volcanic National Park. Hopefully by then, the Fat arsed Wombat would have conceded and let King Tony move into the Lodge

Day 9 of 16 on the road.

Good evening to you all from Gearhart Oregon. On the Pacific coast just past Astoria, but before Seaside......google it. Went through 5 hotels all booked out (Trev...."Why are you all sold out FFS??.....It's summer on the coast Sir"), before striking paydirt with the Windjammer Inn here in Gearhart. $119 inc tax gives us a suite with a seperate bedroom and a kitchen.....splendid!!!

Left the hotel in Seattle by 830 this morning for the 5 minute drive to the Boeing factory. Our tour was booked for 930am and we spent time looking at some of their displays. The tour began with a 6 minute introductory video, before we boarded the bus for the trip to the World's largest building...the aircraft hanger at Boeing. It has 98 hectares under One roof.....yes thats 98 hectares....not 9 or 8 but 98 hectares under one roof. They employ 29,000 people in 3 shifts at the factory, with 29 dining rooms serving 17,000 meals a day. The production line has to be seen to be believed. 747, 767, 777 and the new Dreamliner the 787 are all built and assembled in the hanger. This is definately a tour not to be missed if you ever find yourself in Seattle. Only $16.50 for almost 2 hours of tour is truly ripping value.

From there we set out for Mt Rainier National Park as we plow onto our goal of 16 in 16. Coming in from the North we thought that there was  something somewhat lacking in the park. But like it's northern neighbour, North Cascades yesterday, a few waterfalls, a magnificent snow covered Mt Rainier itself, and some tremendous afternoon sun shining through some thick undergrowth brought the park to a terrific conclusion. From there a 3 hour trip to the Oregon coast, and an 8pm check in to our hotel rounded out a great day.

Tomorrow we take a leisurely drive down the coast before we cut inland to Crater Lake National Park. From there who knows. By then we'll know whether to bother coming home if the Conservatives have triumphed, or whether to bother staying here if the Commo's get up.

Time will tell........

Day 8 of 16 on the Road

And a fond welcome to our newest follower John R Goodby!!!

And on the 8th day the Lord rested........but Trev and Wayne kept on bloody driving!! An early morning departure from Wilbur in Eastern Washington State, with Trev taking 10 minutes to drop the key off to the Zucchini bread queen, and we took off Westbound. After an hour we arrived at Grand Coulie Dam where we marvelled at the amoint of apple trees under irrigation.....America's largest Apple growing region. Crap out of luck if you hate Apples though.
From there we tackled North Cascades National Park. The initial drive in from the East is a bit average with not a great deal to write home about. But it definately improves towards the end. A brilliant turquoise blue lake called Lake Diablo was the undoubted highlight. Problem is the terrifically photogenic power lines that they have erected right across the lake and up the river which flows from said lake. Guarantee it wouldn't happen at the Grand Canyon or Yellowstone!!

An hour later and we were southbound on the I-5 heading towards Seattle. An afternoon spent perusing the former home neighbourhood of John and Karen Imgrund in Redmond (and getting lost....but that's another story).A visit to the free wifi at McDonalds and Trev booked a couple of tickets to the Boeing tour Friday morning at 930am. Then a quick burn up the highway to the factory so we actually knew which way to go and then the trauma of finding an affordable hotel room in Seattle began. $135 plus tax at the Hilton next to Boeing looked like the go after Staybridge Suites quoted $160 plus tax. But an eagle eyed Wayne spotted an Extended Stay Apartments one street off the main drag 5 minutes from Boeing for $110 inc tax. Seperate kitchen, microwave, fridge the size of Julia Gillards arse and a location right next to every imaginable type of food, both fast and ordinary and the lads are in heaven.

After Boeing in the morning, we will attack Mt Rainier national Park before we head for the Oregon Coast. Will update tomorrow night with any luck!!

Go the Conservatives tomorrow!!!!!

Day 6 and 7 on the Road

Day 6 dawned bright and early as we made an early morning getaway from Bozeman MT. On the road nice and early in order to make the long trek north to Glacier National Park. Open plains, wheat fields and plenty of long, straight poor quality roads, interspersed with some miles of excellent quality roads. A 3pm arrival at the park, setting up the tent right next to a berry patch which we were informed by the helpful ranger is the snack food of choice of the black bear....which according to the very informative movie at the visitors centre, they need approximately 100,000 berries a day to satisfy their hunger. The bush next to our tent site had about 3000 berries. We were hoping that it still had 3000 berries on it when we left.
After setting up the campsite we headed for the visitors centre and then a 40 minute drive to the Many Glacier portion of the park. It quickly became apparent that 1 day is grossxly insufficient to do this remarkable park justice. The photos and videos will have to try their best. A close encounter with a baby black bear as it crossed the road in front off us, and the telephoto was going ten to the dozen as the little fella clambered up the hill at the side of the road.
Trev was dropped off at 715 for the 730 rangers presentation whilst Wayne went off partway up the Going to the Sun road to take some late afternoon shots. After an hour of photgraphing the park, Wayne returned to find Trevor freezing his nuts off in the car park because the presentation was actually at another location. Trev's lack of foresight in not taking a windcheater with him to the talk was shall we say regretted, as the 30C evening temps of Vegas were replaced by 30F temps in St Mary.
A night spent with one ear focusing on anything resembling berry chewing noises, and the resultant prick of a nights sleep culminated in waking up with the tent covered in condensation causing the air mattress to come close to floating in the tent. A 715 wake up and on the road by 745 led us to take the most magnificent 51 mile drive you are likely to take. Vistas everywhere you looked....each one outdoing the previous one.....mountains, rivers, waterfalls, islands, glaciers, wildlife....the list goes on and on. An encounter with a deer by the side of the road was a particular highlight as well. Add in road works at three seperate locations and 4 hours later, we had traversed the length. Magical!!!!

From then on we took turns driving as far as we could before we stopped for the night....and the luckt town is.....Wilbur in Washington State. About 150 miles past Spokane. $69.95 incl tax in a delightful little farming town and the (single female) manager was suitably impressed by her 2 Australian lodgers (especially the Senior single one), to bring out her home cooked Zucchini and Walnut bread for us to try. Trev needed little encouragement to happily return the plate to the office. But I digress.....

Tomorrow we head to North Cascades and onto the Seattle region. Mt Rainier will possiblt also get a guernsey depending on our route.   

Day 5 of 16 on the Road

Well things change at the last minute. Thought we would be preparing to rough it for the night at our prepaid campground at Rainbow Point Campground in Gallatin National Forest in Montana, but due to a dodgy looking dashboard light rearing it's ugly head, and a decision that it is better to be safe than sorry, Trev and Wayne decided to head North to Bozeman Montana to attempt to rectify said dashboard light and bunk down at a Motel 6. Free long distance calls and some procious time on the phone with the 2 bosses, and free wifi and life's OK.

Wayne was up early at 5am to head out from Jackson WY to take some early morning shots of the Grand Tetons. Returned to pick up Trev at 730 and we hit the road for the day at Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone is a BIG park measuring at least 60 mile by 60 mile and there is usually a ton of wildlife to be seen. Well today we spotted a grand total of 4 bison, 20 elk all gathered at the same place (Mammoth) and zero buffalo. Actually saw more roadkill than bloody animals.....all squirrels of course!! Then the dashboard light reared it's ugly head and we headed a hundred mile north to the nearest Renatl car depot to sort it out. Hopefully it should disappear in the next day or two!!

Tomorrow we plan to head to Glacier National Park right on the canadian border....but of course whose to say things mightn't change!!! Hope not!!

Until later............ 

Day 4 of 16 On the road....

Left Roosevelt UT about 9am headed for Jackson Hole WY, the gateway to Yellowstone. We were across the border into Wyoming within 90 odd miles and had about 3 hours to Jackson. The 191N through WY is one boring as all f**k piece of highway let us tell you. Great condition and as safe as houses, but just as monotonous as all buggery.
Arrived in the tourist mecca of Jackson spot on 3pm after a picturesque last 20 miles heading into town running alongside the river. Got a carpark around the Town Square and decided to stroll the Inns and Motels in search of  a reasonably priced room for the night. Started at the Ranch Inn where Wayne and the Cricket lads cracked rooms in Sep 06 for $55 inc tax......ha not anymore sunshine. $160 inc breakfast.
A short stroll across the road to the Antler Inn and the only room left was a double bed only above the office for $100 + tax. After initially deciding against the room, a quick re-think and the fact that we had a twin air mattress in the car, and we got the last cheap room in Jackson for the night. Not the Hilton but perfectly comfortable and ESPN as well!!!!
A late afternoon dinner at Billy's Hamburgers and a last minute decision to drive out to the Grand Tetons for a sunset photo op, and back in the room by 930pm (late sunsets in this part of the world at this time of year!!).

Tomorrow Yellowstone and hopefully no close encounters with Smokey the Bear. Our 2nd night of camping at the Rainbow Point campgrounds in the Gallatin national forest, and then our 3rd night on Tues at St Marys campgrounds at Glacier National Park in Northern Montana, means a couple of days until our next update.

Until then......

Day 3 of 16 on the road

Day 3 produced some great scenery as we departed Monticello UT and headed to Arches National Park about 30 mile up the 191. 3 hours, countless photo stops, and a serious hour and a bit walk by Trev to visit Devils Garden and a couple of out of the way Arches, has led to the best case of sunburn you've seen and has Strahan Senior looking like he took the budget priced Cosmas tour of Hiroshima and Nagasaki around about 1946.  Whilst the far more sensible Junior Strahan stayed in the car and kept reading up on how to use this bloody new camera, Trev was cooking up a treat.
From there we headed "over the road" to the Islands in the Sky part of Canyonlands National Park. Some great scenery along the lines of the Grand Canyon (that is from above the rim) and we headed off about 430pm. 150 miles odd later and an unscheduld detour through Price UT, thanks to some lousy signposting , and we arrived at Americas Best Value Inn in Roosevelt about 830pm. A good diner feed at JB's restaurant, conveniently located in the carpark of the motel.....mind you it is the worlds biggest carpark for a motel in a small towm....reminds me of the old Disneyland carpark in Anaheim, and some crap TV (No ESPN which sucks!!) and we were in la la land by 11.
Meanwhile back in Bullhead City, Vanessa and Mack headed off for a lazy afternoon swim and feed at one of Maxine and Larry's friends place. Lucky buggers as the temps on the road are getting cooler at night, the more Trev and Wayne head north.

Today the lads are off to Jackson Wyoming, the gateway to Yellowstone. What more adventures await!!!!

First 2 days of the Roadtrip

2 days into the roady and all is well.

Day 1 was spent uneventfully driving (new term!!) from BHC to the Grand Canyon 3 1/2 hours down and we were there. Mather Point which is the first vantage point that you strike after entering from the South entrance, is undergoing some serious renovation and construction which has turned the whole thing into a dogs breakfast. Stupid to be doing all the work in the middle of the summer season when there are a squintillion people in the park...Dead set it was as full as a state school. No vacancies either camping or lodging in the entire park. Luckily the $18 camping spot at Mather Campground worked a treat and Trevor and Wayne spent a more than comfortable night on the $15 Walmart twin airbeds (1 each smart arses). A late afternoon hack on the shuttles out to the Hermits rest meant some great sunset photos. This new Canon 5d MK11 really comes into its own after the sun sets....unbelievable actually. An early rise for Wayne and some sunrise photos whilst Trev slept like a baby (waking every hour crying his eyes out!!), and a 830 departure meant we were on the road in good time.
Lunched at Kayenta in AZ before crossing the border into Utah. Became Mormons at a swearing in ceremony whereby we learnt we are going to be doorknocking in Uzbekistan to try and convert some half Commies......kidding. We booked into the National 9 Hotel in Montecito for $57 inc tax for the night....bonus. Budget is up to $100 each per night so we are well in front tonight at least. Then we  took off to the Needles section of Canyonlands National Park for a late afternoon burn. I did the Island in the Sky entrance into the park in 06 with the cricket lads and it was well worth it....the Needles section however was a bust...what a crock. However!!! The drive in to the park entrance which is 34 miles off the 191 is utterly jawdropping. An absolute must do if anyone is ever in this part of the world. I really look forward to showing you the photos and videos that we both took. The colours of the rocks and the sheer size and magnitude of the mountains is beyond description....and unfortunately as my first try at posting photos on here was a bust, you'll have to wait till we get back......and don't expect Ansel Adams type photos either!!

Will post soon!! Arches tomorrow!! and the Islands in the Sky section of Canyonlands as well!!

16 National Parks in 16 days!!!

Well we are a couple of hours from hitting the road for our attempt to cover 16 National Parks in 16 days. Trevor and Wayne are going to hit the frog and toad, whilst Vanessa and Mack spend 2 and a bit weeks with Maxine and Larry trying not to spend our Disneyworld spending money!!! (only kidding honey!!). Mack's 3rd birthday yesterday was a blast with the Little Einsteins themed dinner at Nana's getting a hiding. She was spoiled rotten and deserved every little bit of it.

Trev and Wayne are heading firstly for the Grand Canyon where we've booked a camping spot for tonight. Made the mistake of waiting until about 8 weeks ago to try and find accom in the parks for August....what a joke!! So a borrowed tent from a work colleague of Maxine's and a trip to the Super WalMart for the $15 twin airbeds (x2) and the $9.88 sleeping bags, along with the $5.88 electric lanterns, a bootload of bottled water and pretzels , and the open road beckons!!

From there, we hit Monument Valley, Canyonlands, Arches, Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, Glacier, North Cascades, Mt Rainier, Olympic, Crater Lake, Lassen Volcanic, Yosemite, Bryce, Zion, Grand Staircase Escalante before winging our way back to Vegas. Add in a few other scenic stops aplong the way depending on time and we could possibly reach 16 in 16!!

Will keep you updated......

My Little Darlings 3rd Birthday

It's a fine Wednesday morning here in downtown BHC. And our little girl is turning the big three. Unfortunately she's still asleep because Trev and Wayne were up at 630am blowing up helium balloons from the kit we bought from Walmart yesterday for $20. Her "Little Einsteins" themed birthday will hopefully go down a treat as Vanessa has bought all the associated plates, napkins, poppers etc etc to go with the rest of her favourite TV shows paraphenalia.

Will fill you in later as to how the day unfolds.

With the In-Laws...

Just a short update from downtown BHC.

A fairly uneventful last day in Vegas, with nothing untoward to report. Check out at 11am, with Vanessa buying a couple of tickets to see Criss Angel's Mindfreak at the Luxor (with her Mum) when we return to Vegas in early September after our DisneyWorld holiday. The 2 hour drive to BHC went seemingly quicker than usual and we arrived at about 130pm after a leisurely drive through town showing Trevor the sights. A couple of quick trips to Safeway for some much needed food shopping, a home cooked roast dinner and conversation till 1230am rounded out our day.
Today (Monday), we took the 45 minute drive to Lake Havasu to see the London Bridge which was dis-assembled in London and then re-assembled in the middle of the bloody desert. From there we took a drive to Oatman, whose sole claim to fame is the fact that burro's (wild donkeys) roam the streets of this old town. Mac loved the interaction, Wayne was molested by 4 adult burro's when he tried to feed them the $1 bag of carrots purchased from a local vendor, Vanessa crapped herself laughing at Wayne's misfortune and Trevor was picked up from the sidewalk as we departed the tourism "jewel" of the Southwest.

Tomorrow Laughlin!!....................................

Vegas Baby!!!!

Gday to you all!! Blogging from the brand new 10" net/note book purchased from Frys electronics here in Vegas for $320. Sweet deal.
A quick recap since we left Perth last Saturday night. Mac only slept for 1.5 hours on the Perth to Brisbane leg, when we arrived in at 6am. We left Bris at 11am on Sunday and Mac started to look sleepy as we were taxiing and preparing for takeoff. She subsequently fell asleep before the wheels left the tarmac and proceeded to sleep for the first 7.5 hours. We had just passed Hawaii when she awoke and was a charm for the rest of the flight!! We arrived at LA at 7am Sunday and were through customs with baggage by 830am. Booked into Southwest for the massively long flight to Vegas.....an hour, departing at 12 noon. We were met by Maxine and Larry who surprised Vanessa and Mac. We checked into the Luxor which was/is our home until Sunday the 8th. This is our 3rd stay at the Luxor and we have yet to be let down. Mind you when we first checked into our "No smoking" room, it smelt as though a Winfield convention had convened in our room. But to their credit, a phone call to the front desk resulted in a lackey appearing at the door within 15 minutes with a can of "wonder odour" in his hand. No Glen 20 or f**king Nilodor here. Whatever he sprayed worked a treat, and 5 days later there is still not a trace of the smoke smell. Miracle!!
We have hit the factory outlets for clothes shopping as is our want when we come to America. Mac has been spoiled rotten by her Mum, but when you are picking up clothes for $1.99 a piece what do you expect! On top of that her cousins and little Mums group friends have been looked after as well.....and Mum and Dad have picked up a couple of specials as well. Hilfiger jeans for Mum and Dad for $17 a piece, Polos for less than $20 a piece...the list goes on. Even trev has been getting in on the act. Shopping his little heart out. Walking the strip at 2am in the morning from the Venetian down to the Luxor thanks to the early finish for the monorail for the evening (welcome to Vegas Trev!!!).....those who are familiar with Vegas will know that that is a bloody solid walk, especially when the daytime temps are in the 40's and the nighttime temps are still in the 30's. His travelling companion for the Vegas leg of the trip Caroline, has also had a big trip dropping a few k on a timeshare off the south end of the strip. But they got $25 tickets to see Criss Angel's Mindfreak out of it, and are still raving about the show a few days later.
As I said we lashed out on a netbook as well as a camera backpack for my new gear that has arrived at Maxine's this week. Only $100 for the backpack JI!! That 35-350 is a heavy bastard though!! A couple of memory flash cards, a cover for Ness' camera and almost $700 later we were done. Oh well it's only money and we saved a heap on what it would have cost us back home.
The weather really is something else in this part of the world at this time of the year. The 40's that we are experiencing are so dry it's hard to describe. As well, the heat starts by 9am and doesn't cease until about 830pm or thereabouts. Hot Hot Hot!!!
We took Mac to see the Shark Reef attraction at Mandalay Bay. $16.50 which was a bit of a crock. Popular as all buggery, but pretty bloody overrated. A big aquarium with a shitload of fish and sharks. Ho hum. But then we went to the Mirage to see Siegfried and Roy's dolphin habitat and White tigers etc. Bloody magnificent. Especially for a wide eyed 2 year old who fell in love with the dolphins. Highly recommended....and only $15 for adults.

That's about it for now. We will post some photos in the next couple of days with a new report when we get down to Maxine and Larry's. I'm taking Trev and Caroline down to Hoover Dam first thing in the morning after our attempt today was short circuited by the traffic jam from hell. Started 6 miles from the Dam and an hour later we still hadn't reached the security checkpoint. Bugger that for a joke. So we will give it a go in the morning (Sat). We leave Vegas on Saturday for a few days with Max and Larry for Mac's birthday next Wednesday.

Until later.......Viva Las Vegas!!!!