LAS VEGAS

Unwillingly, it seemed that my aim for my time in Las Vegas was to see how much food I {Tenille} could fit in my stomach before I exploded. I feel like I came close to exploding a few times. After a buffet brunch at the Cosmopolitan Casino I had to sit down after walking every 50 metres or so, I was just so full. It wasn’t my fault though, how can they put so much delicious food in front of me and expect restraint?

We stayed the first night in the Stratosphere hotel, down the Northern end of the strip. I think it was the ghetto. It was more ghetto than the main strip, but not as ghetto as downtown, Fremont St area. We booked only the one night as we decided to leave Death Valley a day early and start the Vegas fun! It was great staying there as it has a tower that rises over 900 feet above the strip, giving an awesome view of the city. We went up the tower for 2 for 1 cocktails and had so much fun with that. What we didn’t realize was that when they say two for one, it wasn’t choose one each and get two, it was choose one each and end up with four, we didn’t complain too much! We continued onto the next bar where we got endless mojitos for $25. Wow we got our money’s worth. I {Zane} even got some alone time, sitting in the bar overlooking the strip whilst Tenille had to go and get changed out of her dress {ate too much again}. This ordeal should have taken approximately half an hour which includes the stumble there and back, I’m not completely sure, I too was slightly intoxicated, but by my drunken calculations Tenille returned about one and a half hours later, I had drunk another cocktail after I finished the one I got when she left and had started on Tenille’s cocktail when she returned, a lot comfier and ready to get her drink on! After we drank till out time was up we had to make it back to our room, a lot harder task when intoxicated! Along the way we came across some of those little shops you find in the in the middle of the isles in malls, well these were in the middle of the isle in the casino, we should have know that alcohol + first night in Vegas + shops = money spent! Tenille got her sights on some hair straighteners and stopped to ask the price, the lovely lady said that seeing as she was closing {11pm} she would give us a deal, we accepted, Tenille’s old $25 hair straightener wasn’t doing her justice, so we bought a new one, retail at nearly $300, got it for $80, drunken shopping pays off :)

For the rest of our time in Vegas we stayed in the Tropicana Casino and hotel, which is more centrally located in the strip, near MGM Grand and New York New York. We had a great day shopping the outlets and then a full day of sightseeing. We loved the Bellagio fountains, which were so far beyond what I expected. It’s pretty much just jets of water in different directions set to music but I loved it, maybe because I was fairly liquored. We went to the House of Blues bar a few times for meals and live music. It’s in Mandalay Bay Casino and they have live blues music every day and half price appetizers and $2 beers from 4-7, {we had 2 beers each and then, realizing we were on to a good thing, bought a bucket of six beers}, which makes for a great afternoon. We had dinner there one night and I had amazing Jambalaya and Zane had a nice big steak.

We tried to be thrifty and collect as many 2 for 1 drink cards we could and got the all day buffets when it was viable. It was at these that I seemed to exercise my right to eat until I felt sick.

On our last afternoon in Vegas we went on a Helicopter ride out to the Grand Canyon. It was great as we got to see the Hoover Dam and Lake Mead and it was a spectacular way to see the canyon. At one point we were flying at 6,000 feet, and the canyon descended 4,000 feet below. We landed and had some lunch before jetting off back to Vegas. It was an amazing afternoon, one that I will not forget. To put the experience in perspective, in the 3 hour trip we took over 200 photos!

Since writing, we have enjoyed more of the Grand Canyon, Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park and are currently at Arches National Park, in Utah. More posts to come!

Unfortunately the photos are taking an inexplicably long time to load, so I will have to post them at a later date.

Much love, T and Z

DEATH VALLEY

For two snow bunnies used to scaling mountaintops and high elevations with ease, settling into a campsite at 200 feet below sea level and reaching heats of 40 degrees at 7:30 in the morning was a bit of a struggle. The heat is completely enveloping and the sun is torturous and the only relief is the seldom gusts of hot wind that tumble across the fields. We had planned to do some hikes to explore the beautiful landscape but every time we ventured onto the track we’d only make it a mile or so before being overwhelmed by the heat and sulking back to the car for some air con. Luckily, there was a lot to see from the comfort of Veronica. We drove up to Dante’s View, an overlook at 5,500 feet that gives a beautiful view of the valley. Funnily enough we went up for sunset and the 22 degrees was just a bit cold for us. When we made our descent back to the valley the temperature doubled, despite it being past 8pm.

Dante's View

But I shouldn’t complain. The surrounds completely made up for the uncomfortable heat and we knew what we were in for. Surely the name “Death Valley” made it obvious that it wasn’t going to be a walk in the park. The sheer size of the valley is astonishing, stretching for three and a half million acres. Most of the park can be reached by the paved roads that criss-cross through the centre, but some of the highlights are only to be reached by dirt roads. We gave Veronica quite a work out and she performed brilliantly, if not a little begrudgingly.

Sand Dunes

It was quite a sight to get so many different landscapes and vistas in the one scope. Snow-capped mountains towered over granite and marble volcanic canyonlands and rolling sand dunes overlooking the great expanse of salt plains that reach across the floor of badwater, the lowest point of the Western Hemisphere at 282 feet below sea level.

Badwater Basin

Zabriskie Point, a popular lookout

Due to erosion, the floor of Death Valley has been dropping for thousands of years and is currently dropping at a rate of 6 inches each century. Death Valley receives around 2 inches of rain per year, less than 5 centimeters, largely due to the mountains surrounding the valley, that prevent rain clouds entering and also prevent the warm air leaving, attributing to the warm, dry weather.

Ubehebe Cratre

There is a place in Death Valley called the race track, where winds are so strong that they actually push rocks along the valley floor, leaving a trail behind the rock. Unfortunately we didn’t think that Veronica would be up to the 30 mile dirt road, but it would have been a great sight. I did some googling to find an pic.

A rock on the racetrack

Death Valley was given its name by prospectors that traveled through the valley on their way to the California goldfields in the mid 1800’s. It was one particular group who had a hard time and on their exit, one member remarked ‘Goodbye Death Valley’ and the name stuck. Business started soon after with the mining of Borax. Towards the late 1800’s people were starting to make serious money from mining opportunities in Death Valley. One of the most illustrious was Walter Scott (Scotty). He would roam far and wide, telling people of his secret goldmine in Death Valley, getting investors to pay him thousands of dollars to get a cut in his profits. One of the biggest investors was Albert Johnson, a millionaire who had heavily invested in, and profited from, other mining businesses. When he saw no returns from Scotty but heard how he’d been throwing his money around, Johnson decided to pay Scotty and Death Valley a visit. Scotty staged an elaborate scheme, getting his buddies to act as gold-hungry thieves and ambush him and Johnson while in Death Valley. This would surely scare Johnson enough to never visit again but to continue to fund the mining of the gold that was obviously worth protecting. In the execution of the plan, however, Scotty’s brother got shot, a halt to the fight was called and Scotty was shown to be the fraud that he was. Instead of being angry and severing his partnership with Scotty, Johnson was drawn to the valley and continued to visit the Valley and Scotty, who soon became his close friend. In the 20’s the Johnsons built a holiday retreat in the northern region of the park, with a guest house for Scotty. The home was always called “Scotty’s Castle” and every night the Johnson’s and Scotty entertained guests with Scotty’s outlandish stories of the ‘goldmine’, and even got the hired help to make noises in the basement, just the miners working hard, collecting that gold. Albert Johnson once said that even though he had given Scotty well over one hundred thousand dollars over the years, he had been compensated a hundred times over with his friendship.

Scotty's Castle

We did a tour through the castle and it was really interesting to hear the tale and see the amazing furnishings. As it had always had guests visiting and enjoying it as a museum, everything was in pristine condition, and all furnishings were the originals. In the 1920’s, it cost the Johnson’s $2million to build, I can only imagine what it would be worth today.

This area of Death Valley is called Devil's Golf Course, as it is such an expanse of rock salt weathered into jagged spires so serrated that 'only the devil could play gold on such rough terrain'

Much deathly love,

T and Z

I did some googling and this is what we missed out on :(
He sure is a big boy

LOS ANGELES
LA was sweet, we stayed right near Venice Beach and really close to some bars and restaurants and well away from the ghetto. After battling the LA traffic we were keen to get out of the car so we went for a walk down Venice Beach and had some chicken wings. There was an awesome Mexican Restaurant just next door to the hotel and it was pretty packed so we thought we'd give it a go. It was amazing. As soon as we sat down they gave us FREE corn chips and fresh made salsa. We had massive burritos and pints of Dos Equis and toasted to five and a half happy years together.

Venice Beach


The next morning we got on the road to San Diego. Before leaving LA however, we had some serious sightseeing to do. We saw the Hollywood sign, cruised along Mulholland Drive, Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood Boulevard and onto Rodeo Drive. I could've spent a whole day in the shops but time and money restraints kept us on the road. We went onto Newport and Laguna Beach to see how the rich people live. There were hundreds upon hundreds of mega-mansions on the hills, and we were certainly feeling like hobos in Veronica, surrounded by Mercs and Escolades.

The View from Mulholland Drive


Rodeo Drive Baby!
SAN DIEGO
We only saw the outskirts of San Diego, as our campsite was a bit out of town, but at night we could see the city light up from where we were staying. It was a really nice site but pretty busy and we had some noisy neighbors. They were horses and they were quite content whinnying and neighing to each other, only one of them had a bit of a hoarse horse throat and he sounded a bit like an old man horse.

At nighttime a few rabbits came out and there were heaps of squirrels so it put us in a good animal mood for the next day at San Diego Zoo.

My favorite animal at the zoo is from South Africa and is called a Dik-Dik. It's like a tiny little antelope. Fully grown they are only the size of a beagle. I also really liked the little baby duckies and the little monkeys, especially this one that looked like an Ewok from Star Wars. Zane liked the lion and the bearcat from Thailand.

Dik-Dik
Nap-time for Mr. Lion
Panda!
Meerkat
Polar Bear
Flamingo
Monkey/Ewok
Bearcat from Thailand. The keeper was taking it for a walk so we got to see him up close.
Skyfari- Takes you over the top of the Zoo.
SEQUOIA/KING'S CANYON NATIONAL PARK
Gong from the 20 degree temperatures we experienced at San Diego to -2 and snowing in Sequoia all in one day was a bit of a shock. We weren't anticipating snow and for this late in the year, I don't think the park staff were expecting it either. We pulled into the campground and saw it was only $10 but then we realised that maybe hypothermia isn't really worth it, so we continued onto Montecito Lodge. Here we got a room with a big bed and bathroom and all meals included so we were pretty happy to fill up and snuggle in for the night. The snow continued all night and well into the next day so we were holed up for a little while with road closures. Not that we minded, with a steady supply of food and NCIS Season 1 on DVD.

We were able to leave the next day, with newly purhcased chains on our tires. Unfortunately as we were taken out the Northern exit, we weren't able to see the highlights that we had come to the Park to see, General Sherman (a tree that is the largest living thing in the world), the tunnel log (a fallen giant sequoia tree that you can drive through, lenthways), and the crystal caves.
On the road again...
And now we are heading to Death Valley for a few nights and then onto Vegas. We've booked a helicopter ride from Vegas that flies over the Grand Canyon, so Zane is very excited about that.
Much love, T and Z.

We arrived at Yosemite National Park in the mid afternoon, giving us enough time to secure our campsite, stroll around and explore the village and have a beer. As Yosemite Valley itself is at around 4,000 feet, it was a lot colder than the mild, almost summery conditions we had been previously experiencing. We pulled on our woolies, got our bearings and planned some hikes for the following two days.

We woke up the next day after a bit of a sleep in and rushed off to do our first hike, an 8 mile round trip that take you up to the top of Yosemite Falls. Described as strenuous in our hiking brochure, the estimated timeframe for the hike was 6-8 hours. We were a little bit concerned about this, as we fluffed around a bit and didn’t begin the actual hike until 11am (I needed a coffee, having had a few too many wines the night before with some new friends) Nevertheless, with our hiking boots on and our gore-tex’s in our back packs and with plenty of water and snacks, we headed off.

The weather at this point was looking promising, some low clouds but only drizzling lightly. We had gone probably a few metres up the first section of the trail when we ran into a couple that just raved about the view up there, so we were getting excited. The next person we met had only made it about half way up, as his attire wasn’t quite warm enough for the snow that he had encountered. We were a bit concerned by this news. He was only wearing shorts and sneakers but he was a marine, so surely he’d be tough. He did, however, give us 4 beers (Coors light though…) as he wasn’t going to be able to drink them at the top and thought we might like them. As you know, we never say no to beer.

We kept running into the same couple, who it turned out had been coming to Yosemite every year on their anniversary (this year their 22^nd) and annual climb to the Upper Falls. The lady was so super upbeat, I could hear her the whole way up saying ‘isn’t this fun?’, even though we’d be slipping on rocks in the rain, and then later, snow.

There were some amazing vantage points on the way up, of the lower falls and then the upper falls as we got further up. There was a brief moment when it stopped raining and there was a small area of blue sky but that quickly clouded over and soon enough it was snowing.

It's a bit cold!

I found something out about myself. I really love oranges. I don’t think I was much of an orange eater growing up, considering Zane had to show me how to peel my orange and then actually peel it for me because it was just all too hard and my hands were cold. So we were about 2 miles into the hike and I was hungry and thirsty all at the same time and I had this orange and it was just about the best thing I’ve ever eaten.

So about three hours off huffing and puffing (on my part only. Zane ‘Bear Grylls’ Bewg seemed to be a mountain goat, nimbly hopping from rock to rock) we were at the summit and on the verge of experiencing one of the most breathtaking vistas in America, from the top of majestic Yosemite Falls, almost 8,000 feet above the Valley, opposite from huge Half Dome. At this stage there was around 6cms of snow on the trail and my fingers were tingling from the early stages hypothermia but we stepped down the last few granite steps, prepared ourselves for the awesomeness that awaited, stepped around the last rock wall blocking us from the epic view… and were met by a slam of water and snow in the face. I couldn’t even open my eyes, so strong was the force of the snow and water blowing off the falls. We stayed out there for around a second before retreating. Zane stuck his hand out to take a photo of the falls and really captured the essence of our experience.

And here is what we should have seen, had the day been a bit better.

The walk down was a bit scary as the snow had made the rocks invisible and slippery. We made it down with only a few close calls and no falls. To our amazement we had made the trek in only 5 hours, much faster than the predicted time, so we must be damn good hikers! Either that or the predicted time factors in a bit longer up at the top to admire the view/get a face full of water and snow.

It was a nice hike though, and I‘m glad we did it, it’s just a shame the weather was so crap. I suggested we could stay a day later and do the hike again when the weather improved but Zane didn’t seem too keen on the idea.

So we made it down and back to the campsite and it was about 2 degrees and we were wet and cold and tired so we just had a shower, got a pizza and had an early night.

The next day we woke up to sunny skies, perfect for our second hike, the mist trail up to the top of Vernal Falls. This was only a 3 mile hike and we gained only around 1,000 feet but the last half a mile was made up of 668 granite steps (I counted). It was a beautiful view from the top.

Vernal Falls

The weather was a bit different to the day before!

Since Yosemite we’ve just driven West, back to the Coast and then South, towards LA. As I type this, Zane is experiencing the joy of LA driving. We are hoping to spend tonight in Venice Beach and see some of the LA sights tomorrow. Look out Rodeo Drive, here we come... to window shop.

Much California love,
Z and T

Driving through Redwood National Forest and we were astounded by the size of the trees...





California Coast




All along the coast, bright yellow, pink, red and purple wildflowers like these grew next to the road, making a pretty contrast to the blue of the ocean and green of the cliffs.

Together again :)
San Fran Sunset

Cable Car!
Lombard St: the most crooked street in the world

Beatuiful San Fran

All the pretty houses :)



Ready to ride! And safety conscious too!




Yay the bridge!

Alcatraz:
The Gardens; families of wardens living on the rock would tend to these gardens, as would select prisoner

Nice view, shame about the Prison


Us with our audio headphones

A typical Alcatraz cell

The Recreation Yard, from here, prisoners could see San Fran, and the lives they'd left behind

The old Warden's House






Yay! We escaped the Rock!


Domaine Chandon Winery



Me in my Napa-Wine-Tasting-Attire

Our picnic grounds at V. Sattui Winery



Lake Berryessa

Ahh this is the life :)



Zane and I both had to pee while we were on the road today and not much was happening in Farmerton so we headed on to Copperopolis. We were soon to find out they were having their annual old car festival so we got to look at some sweet old cars and get a nice big burger, can of drink and bag of chips for $6! Yay Copperopolis!





Windmill Valley