Better late than never.......
Friday at the World was another chock full day. The four adults headed for a variety of different parks with Mac following Vanessa and Maxine around. The Animal Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios and the Magic Kingdom all got visits as favourite attractions were revisited and new ones had a crack at. Trev's aversion to the only big ride he didn't have a crack at Hollywood-the Tower of Terror was maintained, whilst the afternoon for the rest of the crew was spent at the resort's pool at Samawati Springs at Animal Kingdom Lodge.
An early evening was had as the boys prepared for their golf reservation on....
Saturday morning. Dawning bright and early for a 910am golf reservation at Oak Trail, the only walking only course at Disney. There are 3 other courses, Osprey Ridge, Palm and Magnolia, the latter two being the host courses for one of the annual PGA events.
The courses are located at the Northern end of the property up by the Grand Floridian hotel, which is near the Magic Kingdom Park. The boys caught the bus from AKL to Magic Kingdom and then hopped on the monorail for teh Grand Floridian. Upon asking at the hotel what was the quickest way to get to Oak Trail for our reservation, we were called a complimentary taxi for the short hop to the course. Brilliant!!
Upon arrival our tickets were scanned to confirm the round being part of our water parks and more add on, and we headed out to the course to murder a couple of buckets of balls on the driving range with the hire clubs....King Cobra clubs mind you. Very flash. Sweating like a Saudi camel driver, the three of us headed for the first tee to be confronted with a smiling cut out of Mickey and Goofy welcoming us to the next 2 hours of absolute torture. I can assure you, it is a complete miracle how the two cutouts still have their heads because by the time we returned after the 9 holes, a 1 wood King Cobra to the scones of the two aforementioned charcters was not only likely but deserved. The only reason we didn't decapitate the Mouse and the Doof was because we barely had enough energy left to make it to the clubhouse via the oxygen tent, let alone jail for destruction of Disney property. Imagine trying to play golf in a washing machine....thats how wet we got due to the humidity sitting at about 85%. Rough the likes that you can't imagine. As soon as the ball goes off the cut long green stuff, it is lost. Just accept it. 5 holes was enough for Larry when he decided that having a heart attack on the 6th wasn't part of his future. Trev and Wayne soldiered on, alternating between crying and hallucinating as the last 4 holes went by in a daze. Traipsing back to the clubhouse, the boys reconvened with a recovering Larry and were the beneficiaries of another complimentary taxi all the way back to the AKL. An afternoon spent at Typhoon Lagoon seemed to be a marvellous way of recharging the batteries. And it was!!!
Sunday was spent at a combination of the hotel pool and the Downtown Disney area. Some terrific shopping avails itself at Downtown and we can all confirm that we gave the place an absolute hiding for the 10 nights/11 days that we there. And it's not necessarily expensive either. If you pick the eyes out, then bargains abound. Sure Disney license and merchandise every conceivable piece of paraphenalia that you can imagine, but Christ they do it well. 95% of it is tastefully done and could adorn any house without looking cheesy and tacky. We needed to start reducing the amount of food in the fridge, so dinner was in our villa, as Trev started to fight the effects of a flu. Luckily Maxine was, as usual, equipped with enough tablets and pills to put a pharmacist to shame, and she gave Trev some pills that are usually used to cure animal transferred Ebola, and hoped that the Senior Strahan would improve sufficiently enough to keep up his recently acquired non-stop Disney addiction.
Monday morning dawned bright and a bit too early for Trev as our last character breakfast at Disneys Hollywood Studios was embarked upon without the slowly recovering Old boy. An early morning bus to DHS, and we headed for Hollywood and Vine for breakfast with June and Leo from Little Einsteins, Handy Manny and JoJo. Macks eyes lit up as the most interactive meal that we had included conga line dancing with the characters, as well as the usual table side visits from all the above. Upon completion of the meal, we headed for the Animal Kingdom minus Larry who went back to the room early. Vanessa rode expedition Everest whilst Max and Mac re rode the Pteradactyl ride. From there we headed for Nemo the Musical which met with different reviews from the various members of the travelling circus. Vanessa and (surely out of a sense of duty) Maxine as well, indicated their enthusiasm for a performance that included costumed humans running around with broomsticks adorned with characters from the movie "Nemo". Mackenzie was similarly enthusiastic due to her dancing and clapping (she was obviously under orders from her mother), whilst the only sane member of the group (Wayne) was bemoaning an hour of his life that he will never ever get back. It really was crap. (Was not!!....according to Vanessa!). An early afternoon departure from the park as planned, was never really going to happen as Vanessa seemed to find every character that Mac still hadn't been photographed with....and some that had already got a guernsey. The blue dude from "A Bugs Life", Thumper and his girlfriend Miss Bunny, some obscure guy from Tarzan, Donald (again), and Goofy (again) led to a departure around 7pm for a return to the Lodge.
Tuesday saw an lazy start to our last full day at WDW. Vanessa went down to reception to organise our transport to the airport on Wednesday, and to confirm how many days of her and Mac's pass was remaining. As only 5 of the 10 days had been used, and 8 of the minor pass days were remaining, she payed extra to upgrade to "no expiration" which ensures that we can use the passes on the next visit. As Wayne had already had the foresight to add the no expire option on his pass at purchase he was already set for 2013. An afternoon visit to Blizzard Beach (our favourite water park) rounded out our park visits as Trev finally got his picture tackling Summit Plummet, Mac and Wayne took 3 laps of the lazy river and Crush and Gusher got a late afternoon hiding from Vanessa and Trev, whilst Maxine, Mac and Wayne admired the view from the zero entry pool of an approaching thunderstorm. A final dinner at the Rainforest Cafe at Downtown Disney rounded out our last day.
Wednesday morning was spent doing final packing for an 11am departure on the Disney bus to the airport for our 230pm flight to Vegas via the travel "hotspot" of Alberquerque New Mexico. Tears were shed on the bus by the male members of the party, as our final glimpse of Disney disappeared in the rear view mirror. Two flights later and we arrived in Vegas about 4pm and headed for the Excalibur. Upon realising our cab driver was taking the long way to the hotel, Wayne gave the camel jockey a mouthful when we realised the $12 cab fare was heading towards $20. Upon enquiring with the baggage porter at the hotel on the unusually large amount of the cab trip, he managed to take down the number of the cab as Osama Bin Laden screeched off into the sunset upon realising that his scam had been uncovered. An evening buffet(hey we are in Vegas after all) rounded out an exhausting day.
A 630 am departure for Larry and Wayne as we headed for Bullhead to pick up the last of our luggage that we had left behind for the trip to Orlando. Returning around noon, we all headed for a bite to eat as Maxine and Vanessa (the Criss Angel show at Luxor) and Trevor (the O cirque de soleil show at the Bellagio), readied for their big nights out. Larry, Mac and Wayne kicked back with the opening night of the NFL season on NBC as our trip neared its end.
Wednesday morning saw Max and Larry leave about 930am for the trip back to Bullhead. Teary farewells were performed by one and all, as it dawned that we wont see each other for at least another 18 months. We all agreed to open Skype accounts to help keep in touch visually as it is super important for Mac to retain a link to her Nana and Grandpa Larry on the other side of the world. A late checkout at 3pm and the rest of us were on our way to the airport for our 5pm flight to Vegas. Baggage came in under weight (yay!!) and we were on the 1030pm flight to Sydney on the Qantas Airbus A380. What an awesomely sized aircraft. It's still a miracle to me how they get so much weight into the air, but bar a couple of bumpy moments halfway across the Pacific, and a sick little girl, the flight went fairly smoothly. 15 hours later and we touched down in Sydney to the world's slowest, most incompetent customs department. Could not organise a bit of hand relief on an adult film set the Australian Customs. Due to their pathetically slow and laboured service, we missed our connecting flight to Perth at 810am and had to take tghe next flight art 1010am. When we eventually got to Perth,, (after sitting on the tarmac for 30 minutes waiting for a gate to become available in Perth, Qantas performed to their usual high standard and informed us at the baggage carousel that they had left one of our suitcases in Sydney.....Welcome back to Australia!!!! Dave was there to pick up his Dad, whilst Mike, Cathy, Kiara and Brianna along with Kali, John and Alex were there to welcome us home and in Kali's case take possession of 6 Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Home by 4pm and the unpacking began as we re-acquainted ourselves with the animals and house.
A fabulous 6 weeks were over as we plan towards our next trip. I hope that you have all enjoyed the posts that we have posted over that time. Photos are available on our facebook pages (especially Vanessa and Trevor's). Thanks to those of you who followed our trip and I strongly encourage you all to try to visit the USA at least once before you fall off the mortal coil. A wonderfully diverse land geographically, wonderful service (95% of the time!!), welcoming polite people, and world class entertainment, be it in Vegas or the ultimate family holiday destination Walt Disney World in Florida. Couple that with it being remarkably cheap for most everyday items (food, accomodation, petrol etc) and you have a recession gripped country that in your humble correspondents opinion is second to none. Stick Bali and the rest of the Asian reason up your arse, and save a little harder to get to the states. YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT.
The entire crew of Strahans Across America say a fond farewell until next time............2013 here we come!!!!!!
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
The first week with the Mouse....
As promised.........to the best of our recollection!!
Monday the 30th dawned bright and early as the clan awoke to our first full day. Wayne and Trev took off to pick up the minivan from Alamo, only to find that they didn't have one so we took a Ford Expedition which is a big Territory type bus with a double seat in the rear. We only booked the car for three days on the off chance that Universal would get a visit for Harry Potter....didnt happen!! Upon return to the AKL the boys picked up Larry and the three lads took off to the nearest supermarket to do some shopping for the 10 days. $300 later and the lads headed back well satisfied with their efforts. Cant remember what was bought besides Corn Chips and Bud light, but who cares!
Lunch was a character lunch at the Crystal Palace at the Magic Kingdom with Winnie the Pooh, Eeyore, Tigger and Piglet. A bloody brilliant idea if you have kids who love the characters getting dressed up. An absolute highlight!! We then hit the park in earnest for the afternoon, introducing Trev to the pleasures of Space Mountain, and Big Thunder Mountain railroad. Mac and Vanessa and Maxine spent time thrashing the kids rides for our princess, whilst Wayne photographed all of Mac's character greetings before a faulty Compact Flash card decided to reformat itself and wipe the 200+photos that he had already taken. Very f**king impressed.
The Main Street Electrical parade was held from 9 until 930pm which was a highlight. Brilliant explosion of lights and floats. The fireworks over Cinderellas Castle followed at 10 pm which was another highlight again. You can easily see where Disney spends its $30,000 each and every night on the Magic Kingdom fireworks. The buses cleared reasonably quickly and we were home in bed by midnight.
Day 3 on Tuesday was spent at the extraordinarily humid Animal Kingdom theme park. Not content with Orlando being the most humid place on God's earth, Dis decided to add to it by building a "Zoo" in the middle of Disney World with tropical plants and a humidity rating that would evoke sweat from a Saudi Arabian camel jockey. After the ubiquitous rides like Kilimanjaro Safari and the excellent Lion King stage show......make that Brilliant Lion King stage show, extra magic hours led to a late finish and welcome showers back at the ranch.
Day 4 on Wednesday and the first of the Water Praks copped a visit. Blizzard Beach was the victim and Vanessa and Trevor especially gave it a hiding. Summit Plummet reached speeds of 55mph plus as Trev found out why you dont bounce down on your shoulder blades, and Vanessa's modesty was kept intact with a one piece cossie. Various rides were attempted by most while Larry and Maxine kept an eye on Mac who found a slide at the kids area which she managed to ride at least 70 times in a row....no kidding!! An afternoon visit to Prime factory outlets before the car was returned the next morning rounded out the arvo before a quick return visit to the supermarket for the couple of things that the lads missed on Monday........about $120 worth actually. Bit harsh. That evening Wayne and Vanessa had their first night out minus the youngun in almost 3 years with a visit to Downtown Disney for a bit of shopping whilst Grandpa and Nana kept an eye on Mac.
Day 5 on Thursday and Trevor decided to hit Epcot in a big way. Left at 930am and returned back after 10pm after spending all day at the one park.....a truly magnificent performance. Wayne dropped off the hire car whilst Vanessa, Mac and Maxine hit Magic Kingdom again in the AM. The afternoon was spent in the pool at the hotel, whilst Vanessa hit Hollywood Studios at night for Rock n Roller coaster with Aerosmith, Tower of Terror and other assorted maniacal rides while Wayne kicked back in the Lodge with Mac.
The rest of the blog to follow soon........
Monday the 30th dawned bright and early as the clan awoke to our first full day. Wayne and Trev took off to pick up the minivan from Alamo, only to find that they didn't have one so we took a Ford Expedition which is a big Territory type bus with a double seat in the rear. We only booked the car for three days on the off chance that Universal would get a visit for Harry Potter....didnt happen!! Upon return to the AKL the boys picked up Larry and the three lads took off to the nearest supermarket to do some shopping for the 10 days. $300 later and the lads headed back well satisfied with their efforts. Cant remember what was bought besides Corn Chips and Bud light, but who cares!
Lunch was a character lunch at the Crystal Palace at the Magic Kingdom with Winnie the Pooh, Eeyore, Tigger and Piglet. A bloody brilliant idea if you have kids who love the characters getting dressed up. An absolute highlight!! We then hit the park in earnest for the afternoon, introducing Trev to the pleasures of Space Mountain, and Big Thunder Mountain railroad. Mac and Vanessa and Maxine spent time thrashing the kids rides for our princess, whilst Wayne photographed all of Mac's character greetings before a faulty Compact Flash card decided to reformat itself and wipe the 200+photos that he had already taken. Very f**king impressed.
The Main Street Electrical parade was held from 9 until 930pm which was a highlight. Brilliant explosion of lights and floats. The fireworks over Cinderellas Castle followed at 10 pm which was another highlight again. You can easily see where Disney spends its $30,000 each and every night on the Magic Kingdom fireworks. The buses cleared reasonably quickly and we were home in bed by midnight.
Day 3 on Tuesday was spent at the extraordinarily humid Animal Kingdom theme park. Not content with Orlando being the most humid place on God's earth, Dis decided to add to it by building a "Zoo" in the middle of Disney World with tropical plants and a humidity rating that would evoke sweat from a Saudi Arabian camel jockey. After the ubiquitous rides like Kilimanjaro Safari and the excellent Lion King stage show......make that Brilliant Lion King stage show, extra magic hours led to a late finish and welcome showers back at the ranch.
Day 4 on Wednesday and the first of the Water Praks copped a visit. Blizzard Beach was the victim and Vanessa and Trevor especially gave it a hiding. Summit Plummet reached speeds of 55mph plus as Trev found out why you dont bounce down on your shoulder blades, and Vanessa's modesty was kept intact with a one piece cossie. Various rides were attempted by most while Larry and Maxine kept an eye on Mac who found a slide at the kids area which she managed to ride at least 70 times in a row....no kidding!! An afternoon visit to Prime factory outlets before the car was returned the next morning rounded out the arvo before a quick return visit to the supermarket for the couple of things that the lads missed on Monday........about $120 worth actually. Bit harsh. That evening Wayne and Vanessa had their first night out minus the youngun in almost 3 years with a visit to Downtown Disney for a bit of shopping whilst Grandpa and Nana kept an eye on Mac.
Day 5 on Thursday and Trevor decided to hit Epcot in a big way. Left at 930am and returned back after 10pm after spending all day at the one park.....a truly magnificent performance. Wayne dropped off the hire car whilst Vanessa, Mac and Maxine hit Magic Kingdom again in the AM. The afternoon was spent in the pool at the hotel, whilst Vanessa hit Hollywood Studios at night for Rock n Roller coaster with Aerosmith, Tower of Terror and other assorted maniacal rides while Wayne kicked back in the Lodge with Mac.
The rest of the blog to follow soon........
Monday, September 6, 2010
Updating 7 days so far at Walt Disney World Florida.........Phew!!!!
Good day to all of our followers and apologies for the tardiness of the update from WDW in Florida. I am getting my first chance to get on the computer in over a week and we have all done so bloody much it is hard to know where to start......so here goes.
Last Sunday dawned bright and early over Bullhead City.....3am bright and early to be exact. Bags were already packed and thrown into the vehicles for the 2 hour drive to Vegas for our 745am flight to St Louis and onto Orlando. Hire car was dropped off relatively incident free, and we were on the Southwest flight for 3 hours to Missouri. Pretty calm flight, incident free and St Louis really is a good looking city from the air. Plenty of green belts, spread out well, clean as a button, and grossly overpriced food at the airport.......whats new, and after an hour we were in the air for the 2 and a half hour jaunt to Orlando.
Unfortunately our intrepid pilot decided to try and find every turbulent air pocke tbetween St Louis and Orlando......and succeded a treat, the prick. Those who know Wayne's aversion to flying will probably humour themselves, but I can assure you it was no laughing matter. Feeling like the Pope when he arrived in Orlando (ie almost kissing the ground upon disembarking), Wayne and the clan grabbed our bags and headed down to Disney's Magical Express for transport to the World. Unfortunately Disney rostered their most incompetent staff members onto the airport desk and half an hour after being the first people in line, we finally got aboard a bus following at least 50 people who arrived after us and were shoofted straight past us and onto their bus.....shoofted good word!!....should use it more often.....note to self. Hoping that this wasn't a portent of things to come, we were then subjected to Speedy Gonzalez, the South American bus driver who decided that it would be fun to sit on 35 miles an hour for at least 75% of the soon to be hour long trip. Now patience is something that you have to learn when you visit Disney.....queues are a way of life, but this prick came very close to being thrown under his own bus (a la KRudd), and Trev and Wayne were looking at 10 to 20 in maximum security. But I digress............
Finally arrived at Animal Kingdom Kidani Village and all our concerns were forgotten. Our extremely wise 2008 purchase of Disney's Vacation Club was repaid in spades when we got to our "home" for the next 10 nights. 2 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 3 flat screen TV's, full kitchen with cutlery, balcony the full length of our villa...the list goes on. Add on the access to the Savannah with all the animals in their own environment and we were an extremely happy and contented bunch. We hit the buses for the Downtown Disney shopping and entertainment precinct at 8pm and had dinner at the Rainforest Cafe. Those who have visited the states may be familiar with the Rainforest cafe, as we were, but this was the first time we had ever eaten there.....and man was it good!!!! Steaks, seafood, chowders, it was flash and most importantly tasty, and reasonably priced averaging $30 a head. Home via the bus at 11pm and bed early for the next days adventures at the parks.
Next Update.....our first week.
Last Sunday dawned bright and early over Bullhead City.....3am bright and early to be exact. Bags were already packed and thrown into the vehicles for the 2 hour drive to Vegas for our 745am flight to St Louis and onto Orlando. Hire car was dropped off relatively incident free, and we were on the Southwest flight for 3 hours to Missouri. Pretty calm flight, incident free and St Louis really is a good looking city from the air. Plenty of green belts, spread out well, clean as a button, and grossly overpriced food at the airport.......whats new, and after an hour we were in the air for the 2 and a half hour jaunt to Orlando.
Unfortunately our intrepid pilot decided to try and find every turbulent air pocke tbetween St Louis and Orlando......and succeded a treat, the prick. Those who know Wayne's aversion to flying will probably humour themselves, but I can assure you it was no laughing matter. Feeling like the Pope when he arrived in Orlando (ie almost kissing the ground upon disembarking), Wayne and the clan grabbed our bags and headed down to Disney's Magical Express for transport to the World. Unfortunately Disney rostered their most incompetent staff members onto the airport desk and half an hour after being the first people in line, we finally got aboard a bus following at least 50 people who arrived after us and were shoofted straight past us and onto their bus.....shoofted good word!!....should use it more often.....note to self. Hoping that this wasn't a portent of things to come, we were then subjected to Speedy Gonzalez, the South American bus driver who decided that it would be fun to sit on 35 miles an hour for at least 75% of the soon to be hour long trip. Now patience is something that you have to learn when you visit Disney.....queues are a way of life, but this prick came very close to being thrown under his own bus (a la KRudd), and Trev and Wayne were looking at 10 to 20 in maximum security. But I digress............
Finally arrived at Animal Kingdom Kidani Village and all our concerns were forgotten. Our extremely wise 2008 purchase of Disney's Vacation Club was repaid in spades when we got to our "home" for the next 10 nights. 2 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 3 flat screen TV's, full kitchen with cutlery, balcony the full length of our villa...the list goes on. Add on the access to the Savannah with all the animals in their own environment and we were an extremely happy and contented bunch. We hit the buses for the Downtown Disney shopping and entertainment precinct at 8pm and had dinner at the Rainforest Cafe. Those who have visited the states may be familiar with the Rainforest cafe, as we were, but this was the first time we had ever eaten there.....and man was it good!!!! Steaks, seafood, chowders, it was flash and most importantly tasty, and reasonably priced averaging $30 a head. Home via the bus at 11pm and bed early for the next days adventures at the parks.
Next Update.....our first week.
Friday, August 27, 2010
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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
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.
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.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
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