We meet Jerome and Sedona

Jane Reporting for 8th October

Because of the closure of all the national parks we were unable to go to the Grand Canyon as planned on 8th October and so, on the recommendation of the motel owner in Seligman, we drove Seligman - Ash Fork, then turned off onto the US 89 to Prescott, then onto the US 89A for the scenic drive through Jerome and Sedona before reaching Flagstaff and from there to Tuba City.  (Original plan was Seligman through the Grand Canyon and onto Tuba City.)

Jerome
Driving along on the scenic US 89A we started to descend and suddenly found ourselves in Jerome - the most unsual US town we've encountered to date.  Unlike most of the sprawling towns and cities we've seen and visited Jerome is clinging to the hillside - much like parts of Wellington - and the US 89A narrows markedly as it twists and turns between buildings close up on either side.

In fact the buildings were so close it was hard to take photos, but here are a few that Lyn took:

Narrow streets of Jerome

The fire station is a feature to the downhill traffic as we had to cruise slowly by and negotiate a sharp bend (and tourists who think that's the best place in Jerome to wander across the street).  Plenty of time to admire the building.

Fire station on a sharp corner

The road is dropping down the side of the hill as it goes so it is something of a zig-zag track; very narrow with the front of the houses right on the edge of the road in some places.  In the following photo the road has widened a little and they have room to park their cars.

More corners

Jerome is over 5,000 feet above sea level and although we've visited plenty of towns that were as high or higher, this one is special because it's perched on the side of the steep Cleopatra Hill.  It was founded in 1876 on a copper boom and the population peaked at 15,000.

Looking back up the hill at Jerome

The population then dropped to less than 100 and it was promoted for a time as a ghost town.  Nowadays there is no chance of that as the place was packed with visitors when we negotiated the hairpin bends and managed to drive through the streets full of busy arts and crafts shops.

Gary, Lyn, and Geoff looking back at Jerome

Refs: http://www.azjerome.com/jerome/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerome,_Arizona


Sedona
The scenery had already been impressive before Jerome and afterwards seems as if we were down on the plains and nothing more would happen.  Sedona happened, though.  It seems ridiculous to me that people can run an ordinary (though very attractive) town in the middle of such natural beauty - but perhaps visitors to New Zealand think that about Queenstown.

Anyway, many of my photos from Sedona are taken with traffic lights included because that was what amazed me the most; you could be sitting at traffic lights in the town and see this:
 

Scenery in Sedona

These photos actually don't show how amazing the colours were in the rocks, nor how close they were as we were driving along the streets.

View while stopped at the lights

As well as stopping for information we drove slightly off the main road to a art/ design shopping centre where even the car park was filled with interesting things:

Gary with the Follow the Leader sculpture

And on the way back to the main road we spied these horses and a cactus:

Horses in Sedona

As a last example of how the town is nestled into the scenery, here I got a lucky gust of wind which unfurled the Arizona state flag which was flying on top of one of the buildings.  The rocks really are that close in the background.

Arizona state flag

State Quarters
Lyn has nearly all the quarters she wants now and the book hasn't been out for a while.  This quarter was donated for photography purposes from her massive collection of washing (laundry) quarters.  I think we have enough to put money in the machine for the whole motel!

State Quarters: Virginia

Emergency at Sea.

Don reporting.

Yesterday about 11.30 am the Captain announced that at 12.15 pm the ship will be stopping and lifeboat launched to pick a package that will be dropped from a US Coast Gaurd Hercules aircraft. There had been a medical emergency on board that required additional medication. The ship was one and a half days from Hawaii and it was arranged to have the medication flown out to us. Come 12.15 pm the ship stopped and from the bridge deck we saw the Hercules aircraft come into view.

The plane circle the ship about six times waiting for the life boat to get into position.Most people on deck had their cameras clicking away as the plane circled the ship coming the closest as it crossed our bows

The rear doors of the aircraft opened and something dropped into the sea. The lifboat headed to the drop zone and picked up what looked like a big black ball or as one of the passengers said a gigantic pill. The ball can just be seen near the front of the stopped lifeboat.

Once the package had been retrieved the Hercules headed back for Hawaii, the lfeboat returned to the ship, and we got underway again.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Los Angeles

Don reporting.

Seven in the morning we docked in Port San Pedro, the weather was warm and to be kind the outlook was low overcast although, a few described it as smog. Some passengers disembarked but we expect another 700 to board. At this stop all I wanted to do was go ashore and find a shoe shop and some sandals. After an early breakfast I filled in my immigration form, collected my passport and wallet then headed down to deck three to go ashore. Hang on a minute, this was LA and if the delays passing through their airport immigration is any thing to go by then I was in for a wait. And wait there was. After, at least, an hour we were then told that it would be at least another half hour before they were ready for us. The ships announcer apologising after each announcement. Close to 10am I left the ship.

I walked along the waterfront for five blocks before turning up a first street that had I saw shops. After another three blocks up and slight inclined street I found a likely shop. At first it appeared they had only jandals, but down the back I found my sandals. Taken a different way back I passed through a residential area where all the windows were covered by bars even on the second stories.

Safely back at the ship hot, clothes soaked in sweat I changed and relaxed in my cool cabin. I was glad that I had turned the thermostat down before leaving for my great sandal hunt.

Just in case you are wondering what happen to the immigration form I had to fill in before leaving the ship. Well I still have - no one on shore wanted.

At diner tonight the dining room was full and the noise level loudest it has been so far. I don't know if LAers are noisier than other people or if it was just the numbers. Later going to show and finding it difficult to find a seat, it is now clear that the joys of a partly full ship were left behind in LA. From now on I need to be a little earlier at the various venues around the ship.

The show last night a very entertaining comical violinist. One of his opening lines was that he wanted to be a musician when he grew up. To which his father replied "Make up your mind you can't do both". Here is a photo looking across the Visat Lounge. The stage on the right out of shot.

 

The weather is good but as we head west towards Hawaii the seas have a bit of swell on. Walking along straight corridors everyone seems to take a zig zag path. Now finally, last night we were told to set our watches back and hour. I happen to joke if that you turn up for lunch tomorrow and no one is there you did it the wrong way. Well, you guessed it, I have just found the dining room doors closed.

 

Posted with Blogsy

The storms over.

Don reporting.

I have just looked at my daily program to check the date and it is Wednesday 2 October. Each evening the next-days program turns up outside your room. Not only does it keep you in touch with all the ship-board activities, but it is dated so you can keep track of the days. Another helpful practise is the changing of the mats in the elevators each day.

The storm that kept us in port has now past and the ship is steady and once again it easy walking around. It was a different story on Monday night as we sailed around the bottom of Vancouver Island and turned south along the coast heading for LA. The wind was 50+ mph and I think the waves were about 20 feet or so. Anyway, the ship was certainly rolling a bit. At about 9 pm I headed down to my cabin and decided to climb into bed an sleep my way through the storm. I can tell you a cabin low down in the middle of the ship is certainly the place to be. The pitching and rolling seemed to have disappeared, I climbed into bed and went to sleep. In the morning the wind was still 50 mph, the doors to the deck still roped off, and in my central cabin there was some movement that made showering interesting.

 

I was again surprised as I went to the dining room, at the stern, the ship's movement increased dramatically such that walking became difficult.So remember if you are planning to take a cruise select a cabin in the centre and not too high up. This is advice that you will often see and believe me it is true.

 

Now the final question - did I get sea-sick - No.

 

Posted with Blogsy

America's Best Kept Secret - The Utah Scenery

Jane Reporting for 2nd October

The Drive
This is not the first time we've driven through Utah and raved over the scenery but this time we were driving the other way (east to west) and it was possibly even better.  We didn't understand last time how we had never heard about this part of the country - everybody knows about the Grand Canyon, but all we knew about Utah related to the Mormons and Salt Lake City.  The first thing people should think about when they hear 'Utah' is the incredible scenery.

Obviously the hardest thing about putting together a post from a day (2nd October) when my camera ended up with 400+ photos on it, is choosing just a few photos to use.

The I-70 west-bound

At the first rest stop / viewing point 'the blokes' scurried up a hill to survey (and photograph) the country.

Gary and Geoff take photos

The trains still roll on by through the amazing landscape:

The train

Another viewing point stop (we probably stopped at every one) and Gary must have had my camera since I don't climb hills.  Here is the view back down over the view point car park (our car is the red on toward the bottom left of the photo) and off into the distance.

The view point car park

The scale of the rocky scenery is hard to get, especially as my photos are often zoomed in a little to get clear of the car window frame and road edge.   The following photo gives an idea of how large these formations are when compared to the bus-sized RV in the middle of the photo, driving east on the other half of our road.

The RV for scale

How far through the drive were we?  At Black Dragon Canyon:

Black Dragon Canyon

The rocks weren't just one colour or another, or all one style.  Everything changed and changed again as we drove along.  Gary would have taken this photo, one of many he took with the window wound down and the 100-mile-an-hour wind whistling in.  (In fact, I think the dark blob in the bottom left corner of the photo is the wing mirror.)

Spectacular rocks, great day for photographs

As well as the drive-by shots (and remember there were over 400 on my camera and Gary also had his own camera going, plus Geoff's as Geoff was driving, plus Lyn was in the back seat taking photos as well) there were plenty of opportunities to stop and walk around taking photos.

There was some greenery but the rocks were always better

This was Gary and Geoff's favourite valley:

Canyon

The distance shots were always a little hazy so these nice clear shots prove that this is all just whizzing by the window of the car.  Apart from stopping at rest stops / view points we didn't leave the road or make any special side journeys.

Always dramatic

This is probably the best photo of the red rocks but doesn't do them justice.  They glowed!

Red rocks

The weather wasn't as perfect as the day before (driving through the Rockies) but the clouds held off long enough for us to get photos of the rocks with sun on them.

More rocks

I see my captions have faded to inanities but the well of superlatives has completely run dry. :o)

We were stopping for the night at Salina again as we did last year.

The day's drive is nearly over ...

After the Drive
Yesterday, during our stop in Georgetown, Lyn bought a geode with a mining scene inside it.  At Salina I took the opportunity to get a photograph of it for the blog:

The Georgetown Geode

But wait!  There's more!  As we were sitting having drinkies in the motel room Gary noticed a car arrive with a tumbleweed stuck in the grille.  Lyn raced outside and lay claim to it as the car owner removed it.  Here's Lyn and her new pet:

Lyn brandishes the tumbleweed

Lyn's Snow Day (or Denver to Grand Junction)

Jane Reporting for 1st October

The Rockies
Today (1st October) we drove through the Rockies (again).  This was the reverse of our trip last year and we by-passed the Eisenhower Tunnel (11,158 feet or 3,401 metres) in favour of the route over the Loveland Pass (11,990 feet or 3,655 metres).

We stopped at the Georgetown information centre (already at 8,500 feet).  I can't speak for the 'information' but they had a superb shop and had I not had concerns about baggage weight I would have shopped harder.  Lyn bought a geode with tiny miner figurines inside it.  Very cute.  These are the trees alongside the car park and fail to show that they were a glowing gold than the flat yellow of the photo.

Some of the trees have changed colour

Off up the Loveland Pass which is quite a busy road as all the trucks carrying hazardous materials have to take this route rather than go through the tunnel.  There were certainly plenty of trucks on the road, and presumably that traffic (and the fact the road is kept open all winter) meant it wasn't a goat track but a very nice, wide road, though in my opinion it could have done with a few extra barriers on some sections!  The drop was probably fairly spectacular but I wasn't looking at it. ;o)

View back down the road

We finally reached the top - the continental divide - which at nearly 12,000 feet is a bit low in oxygen for me.  I got out to take a few photos of Lyn playing in the snow then handed my camera over to her as she and the others climbed the steps to the viewing point.
 

Lyn at the Continental Divide

Geoff loved the scenery through the mountains but was particularly taken with Dillon Reservior (the water supply for Denver) which is shown in the following photos.  I'm going to tell him this morning that should he decide to relocate to the area he can expect 200 - 300 inches of snow a year and the lake will freeze over so he can go ice-fishing on it.

Lyn and Geoff at Dillon Reservoir

Here's Gary's contribution to the photo:

The alternate shot

And a photo of Gary in on the shores of the Reservior:

Gary at Dillon Reservoir

We carried on driving but the photos got fewer as we dropped down from the mountains and lost the snow - plus the sun got to the windows and the photos are just full of reflections.  This is one has a few of those but is a good example of what Gary was seeing as we drove along:

What Gary sees

What road(s) were we on?  Mostly the I-70 except for the Loveland Pass route with was US Route 6 (US 6).  The roads in the US have histories (!) and can be checked out on places like Wikipedia.

The road of the day, the I-70

On a quirky Gary-detour we came across this collection of mail boxes.  This has been a feature of the rural areas - rafts of mail boxes located together, presumably for the ease of mail delivery or at the end of the line.

Mail boxes on the roadside

By the time we approached Grand Junction the scenery had changed to that we (Gary and I) associate our first visit to Utah ... but that's tomorrow's journey.

Nearing Grand Junction

Last year Gary said the scenery in his rear view mirror was more spectacular than what we were seeing out the front of the car and by reversing our route over almost the same roads we've seen what he meant.  I would recommend driving west toward the Rockies without hesitation; doing so has a huge history, after all, and it made for a spectacular day on this trip.

State Quarters
Lyn continues to get her change (and more) in quarters to fill up her display book.  The odd colouring to the silver-coloured coins comes from the lights in the room as I'm usually taking the coin photos last thing at night.

State Quarters: Mississippi

Is this a steamboat gunship?  I must investigate more.

This morning (2nd October), after much conversation with my other best internet friend, Mr Google, I now know that this coin is not a state quarter - that is, not from the US Mint 50 State Quarters Program.  They are from the next program, America the Beautiful Program which is not nearly done yet.  I'm not sure how I'm going to break the news to Lyn!

Anyway the steamboat gunship (and Mr Google's answer to my question about this, this morning, was to direct me to the blog post I wrote last night) is the USS Cairo and she was an iron-clad gunship that was powered by steam and a paddle wheel.  Awesome!

The Great Platte River Road and on to Denver

Jane Reporting for 30th September

Yesterday (30th September) we back-tracked a mile or so to visit the Great Platte River Road Archway, a 'museum' that goes across the I-80 just before Kearney.

The Archway
It's a little hard to see in this photo but the arch really does span the I-80.  I know it looks like it only goes over the car park here, but honestly, it really does go over the road.

Archway Monument goes right over the I-80

We drove under the arch the day before but arrived at the museum via the local roads.  After a tour of the various car parks we settled on a suitable one and on the way to the museum Lyn stopped off to have her photo taken with a friend.

Lyn and the bison

Inside the huge building the escalator rose up from the foyer taking us into the walk through dioramas.  We were issues with headsets which gave us short re-enactments of typical thoughts and events on the wagon trains west.

Up onto the arch over the interstate

Fort Kearney was the hub for the westward migration during the wagon train era but further along the road the trails split off to go to the California gold fields, Oregon, or the Mormon settlement near the Great Salt Lake.

The dioramas were very good:

One of the walk-through dioramas

Another scene showing things abandoned on the trail

Once we had finished with the wagon train era we walked through areas explaining the Pony Express and telegraph, the advent of rail and then of the motor car and roads.

The Lincoln Highway - 'Main Street America' - has just celebrated an anniversary and there was a large display about that and the I-80 which replaced it.  Here Gary and Geoff pose with one of the exhibits:

Gary and Geoff pose in the Lincoln Highway / I-80 display

There was also a mocked up diner with booths and little table juke boxes:

Table jukebox in the diner

In the wall of the diner there were window that looked out over the I-80 running below the arch.

On the Road
I'm sure if you drive enough miles in America you can see almost everything on the road.  Here we were over-taking a castle:

Howl's Moving Castle, perhaps?

State Quarters

State Quarters: Arizona