Overview of the trip

The happy travellers on Colin's birthday.

Like our long trips before around Australia and across Australia, Alan and I got on very well unless politics became the subject of conversation!  We managed the inevitable trials and tribulations with the usual equanimity and even my bike breaking down didn't spoil the trip.  The cards (Gin Rummy) went my way this time with me winning 23 hands and Alan 17.  Next time he might want a different game!  We have developed a mixture of looking after yourself and supporting each other, which must be the product of coming from a large family.

People we met were polite and welcoming.  Americans would often thank us for visiting their country.  On the road the cars and trucks would pull over on twisty roads to allow the bikes past. We never felt threatened or in danger.

The bikes supplied by Sacramento Motorcycles were frankly disappointing. Alan's had a noisy clutch which took all his experience riding GS's to keep under control and my bike was of an age and mileage when an alternator stator failure was just about guaranteed.  Not really in suitable condition for a hire of 8,600 kms and 5 weeks: and we both had to find new tyres en-route.  The bikes were worth less than the hire charge so would be well and truly written off after the trip.  On the plus side, Jon Daggett was genuinely apologetic about the failure of my Honda and did all he could to let us keep to our trip plan and he paid for all the extra expenses.

America was a land of contrasts and some parts were frankly third world and we saw so many towns in severe decline.  There were of course places that were vibrant and successful as well.  The big attraction was the magnificent natural scenery and landscape we encountered.  The Pacific Coast, Lava Beds, Crater Lake, Glacier, Yellowstone, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, Death Valley, Grand Canyon and Bonneville Salt Flats were all well worth visiting and spending time in.  The hiking was enjoyable as well, even though Alan and I will never be true hikers.  The road system was so good with plenty of sweeps and curves to keep us entertained.  Missing out on the Beartooth Hwy was the only real disappointment of the trip.  Driving on the right didn't cause us any problems most of the time, but you had to keep your wits about you.

Canada was quite a contrast to the USA.  The smaller towns were in better condition than their equivalents over the border, but people were not as friendly as the Americans.  The scenery was different too - maybe because it didn't have the effect of all the catastrophic volcanic eruptions and activity that shapes so much of the western part of the US.  The weather was indifferent too, which made travelling on the bikes not as enjoyable.

Our accommodation was admittedly at the bottom of the scale, but generally was expensive for what it was and in poor condition. Traveling in peak season was one of the reasons. Internet was generally useless out of the main towns and the tendency to charge for it got on my wick.  The food was full of sugar and we both put on a few kilos.  No wonder so many Americans are fat.  It was expensive and variable quality and having to tip for something you didn't rate was a pain, but the staff had to have tips to survive.  Canada was better for accommodation and meals.  One thing we noticed is that beer is much cheaper than Australia and there are lots of local micro-breweries to chose from.

Our family and friends were very generous and looked after us handsomely.  Alan had not met many of the Canadians before so that was a bonus for him.  He enjoyed swapping stories with them all.  Time had moved on for everyone since 2007 for us and them and that was apparent, so probably this will be the last visit.  Not much chance of any of them coming to Australia, but you never know.

16th August 2016 - Sacramento and HOME! - 13,206 Kms to Date

763 kms Today

We had brekkie at the Casino again with the only event being a customer pushing over a counter display by accident and causing an almighty crash of stuff behind the counter.

I took the first stint to Winnemucca and Alan took over to drive to Reno, where we stopped for lunch. The landscape of Nevada is starting grow on me - wide flat valleys with jagged lines of mountains in between; not much sign of habitation or human influence.

Animal crossing tunnel under construction on the I-80.

Nevada - Mountains and Plains - no people.

We tore down the incline from 7,000 ft to less than 1,000 ft at Sacramento passing trucks with their wheels level with our heads.  We had to press on to make sure we got to the Sacramento Airport in plenty of time.  I had decided to avoid the road works on the I-80 by turning off at Roseville and driving near Joe and Thelma's place to take the back road, like we had done before.  Trouble was that there was a faulty set of traffic lights that had banked up the afternoon school run and we were delayed by at least 30 minutes in long queues.  We got there in time any way.

We checked our bags through to Sydney and then waited for our flight to LA, which was delayed by 3/4 hour due to congestion at LAX.  The passenger sitting beside me had a dog on his lap!  The dog was labeled a "Service Dog" and apparently is allowed to help the owner have a calm flight.  The owners have to get special permission and the dog has to be suitable, which this one was - very calming!  There turned out to be another Service Dog on the flight, a fact we discovered when they had a fight in the lounge.

When we got to LA we discovered that we had left Rafe's map in the hire car! We had dinner in the airport and when we ordered a glass of wine the waitress demanded ID to prove our age! The formalities in LA for departure were pretty much non-existent apart from a quick Passport check.  This is so different from departure from Australia.  I tried the new E-Ticket entry system at Sydney on arrival but of course it didn't work for me and I had to queue up with the other unfortunates.  What with the Census debacle and now this, the Federal Gov doesn't do computer systems very well!

On the flight, Alan had his special big legroom seat, but I was moved to an empty central row of seats by the stewards as they wanted to use my seat at the back.  That allowed me to lie fully stretched out and with the help of a couple of sleeping pills I had 7 hours sleep - fantastic.  I couldn't say that about the cabin service.  The drinks trolley was so slow I had eaten my meal before I got a glass of wine and at breakfast the next morning I was not offered a cup of coffee.  When I took the flight to Melbourne, the Qantas cabin staff by contrast seemed positively friendly and helpful. 

Morag was not able to come and collect me until 5 pm so I went to the Qantas lounge and tried to use my free pass, but was told it was for outgoing passengers only.  The lady repented after a bit of pleading and allowed me in after I had dropped my luggage at a left luggage counter.  I had a lovely shower, changed clothes and then ate and drank Qantas' finest until it was time to go out to the pick up point, were my lovely wife soon appeared to whisk me home.

15th August 2016 - Bonneville Salt Flats UT - Kms to date 12,443

Kms today 232

We had brekkie in the Casino - much cheaper than Bella's.  The crowd at Bonneville was much smaller than on  Sunday - mainly the competitors.  We decided to go to the pits first and walk right through it.  We found many more motorcycles hidden away among the cars.  First we met the owner of the mighty Motom sidecar, just as he was getting his record certificate.  He had done his second run this morning early and had set a new record for his class of 38.3775 mph! 

Phillipe gets his Record Certificate for the Motom.

He was preparing the bike for the solo record run.  There were a group of French racers at the meet and they had brought a 1956 Renault gas turbine car that set a record then of 246 mph.

1956 Renault Gas Turbine record Breaker.

We met a Swedish guy with an ESO based machine.  ESO motors are usually used on speedway bikes and he was impressed I knew what model it was.  He said only Australians or New Zealanders had ever heard of it!

Colin gets a Prize for spotting the ESO.



Then we saw the Honda pit - it cost more for the pit than most other competitors cars!  There was a huge posse of young eager engineers working with computers and other high-tech stuff.  The engine was based on a 600cc car engine and had been tuned to give over 250kw - more than 4 times its original output.  So far things had not gone too well and the gearbox had crunched itself this morning well shy of the speed they were aiming for.  We spoke to their truck driver a chap from Dublin who had driven trucks for Formula 1 teams for years. 

Honda go overboard with its streamliner.

One old hand later told us the Honda guys had to "lighten up" a bit and enjoy themselves.  Getting highly tuned engines to work at Bonneville is a Black Art.  The problem is the thin air because of the altitude and the variations over the day.  Engine blow ups are common and speeds are less than you would expect at sea-level.  Also getting traction on the salt was a problem.
We had some lunch and headed back to the start line to see some of the racers in anger.  There was a glut of streamliners and "lakesters" (a special sort of car driven in a prone position) but  one motorcycle was there that we had spotted the day before.  It was a gleaming streamlined turbocharged Harley and ridden by a chap even older than us.  It was baking hot by this time and he climbed out of the truck at the last minute in full leathers. 

Harley Turbo-ed Streamliner but the car behind was about to go POP!!.

There was a Streamliner ready to go but then there was a loud bang from its engine,  so the bike went first and it didn't getting going properly for at least a mile when it suddenly came on song.  The poor rider must have been cooked.  We then found out that the Streamliner had blown a piston out the side of its motor and smashed a windscreen in the car park narrowly missing spectators.  All part of the action!

Bits of the Car engine.

Broken windscreen.

We headed home and washed the car as thoroughly as we could to get rid of all traces of salt.  Car rental companies don't take kindly to salt under their cars!  Up early tomorrow for the blast back to Sacramento.

14th August 2016 - Bonneville Salt Flats, UT - Kms to date 12,211

Kms today 243

We were woken by the sound of engines outside our room; perhaps someone going early to Bonneville 70 miles down the road. We couldn't get any accommodation nearby and had to stay in Wells, Nevada. The Bonneville Salt Flats is part of the Great Salt Lake beside Salt Lake City. It was the lake that breached its banks at one end and roared down the river to Twin Falls.

There was a 5 mile sealed road out to the salt proper and at the end if this we paid our spectator fee and drove onto the salt surface. It was quite firm but we drove slowly to minimise the accumulation of salt under the car as we would have to wash it all off before returning the car, or risk a huge cleaning charge.
We headed for the start line for the Long course where the fastest vehicles start their runs. It was already getting hot and the glare off the salt was intense. The cars were pushed away as they had such high gearing they couldn't start on their own. The "pusher" car was also used to retrieve the cars after their runs.

The Bonneville Salt Flats.

Hot Rod waiting to be pushed over the start line.

The cars were a mixture of everything imaginable from Mini Minors to Gas Turbine Streamliners.

Mini from NZ expected to go over 200 mph!

There were literally dozens of classes based on chassis, engine, whether it was standard or altered, blown or naturally aspirated and type of fuel. There were speed records for all classes. The same applied to the motorcycles. Generally the speed records were in the 150-250 mph range, but some of the small motorcycle classes were less the 50 mph and the top car classes were over 400 mph. I was surprised the speeds weren't higher, but the high elevation of Bonneville  (7,500ft), makes carburetion tricky and getting enough grip on the salt is always a problem.
We found a Kiwi rider lining up on a 1000cc Kawasaki and had a good chat as the line moves very slowly. He was having wheel spin in top gear at 150mph plus and towards the end of the 5 mile track the cars were creating ruts that were difficult for the bikes. We saw him  make his run but he shut off early and went over to the shorter 3 mile track. He was aiming for 209 mph.

Rob Walker from NZ was hoping to break the record in his class.

We then drove down to the pit area half way along the long course and got to see the motorcycles and cars at close quarters. Everyone was very chatty about their machines and there was a huge variety from an immaculate double-engined Indian V twin (2,000 cc)

These guys claimed their engines were all "Indian".

to a tiny 50cc Motom 4 stroke sidecar.

This sidecar from France was hoping to break 34mph and set a new record.

We were really cooking by now and found some shade and food to cool off. We went back to the start to see a few huge growling V8-engined streamliners take off. Then we had had enough and drove back to Wells, washed the car and crashed out for a nap.

Alan crashes after a hard day "on the salt"!

We had dinner in "Chinatown" and it was pretty good. Here we found out that Wells used to be called Humboldt Wells after the natural springs in the area, first used by the wagon trains heading out west and later by the railways. In the early 20th century, a large town called grandly "Metropolis" was established nearby with large buildings , schools and houses, but it collapsed due to lack of water and only a few walls are still standing.

13th August 2016 - Wells NV - Kms to date: 11968

Kms today: 610

We left Las Vegas early without availing ourselves of the Travel Lodge continental breakfast. We headed north to Alamo (not THE Alamo) about 60 miles away for breakfast. When we arrived we couldn't find the town centre, in fact we were having trouble finding the actual town. We kept heading down the highway when suddenly we came upon a cafe/motel on the top of a hill. We had a good breakfast and got back on the road to Wells NV. Highway 50 is known as the loneliest highway in the USA but I think highway 318 beats it hands down. We traveled down this road for about 100 miles and could count the number of vehicles we saw on two hands. The road was classified as a 'C' road but the surface was anything but C class. We have found that most of the roads we have traveled on in the USA are far superior to similar grade roads in Australia. We eventually made Ely NV which is actually at the start of highway 50, around lunch time. Our friend Rafe had told us of a great Railway museum in Ely so we decided to visit it. It was  hard to find, even some of the locals didn't know where it was. After a few wrong turns we eventually found it and were pleasantly surprised with what it included. We booked a trip on a steam train that did a fifteen mile round trip to a village which used to be the centre of an old copper mine.

Pub at Ely Copper Mine.

 This used to be the Pub!

After the train trip we did a tour of the machine shops. They have a number of steam and diesel trains that they maintain and we saw a couple in various stages of strip down. All their steam trains date back to the early 1900s and are still in full working order.

Which one is older???

Enthralled by a dirty big steam train.

They even have an old steam crane that they had to use last week to pick up another train that had been derailed!! We resumed our journey to Wells NV and arrived at our Super 8 motel around 7pm. The motel was pretty basic and not super at all but it served its purpose as a base for visiting the Bonneville Salt Flats over the next couple of days.

12th August 2016 - Las Vegas NV - Kms to date 11,214

Kms today 403

We decided to get out of Las Vegas and after a very meagre Travelodge brekkie, we set off for the Hoover Dam.  It was quite close near Boulder, the town that was built to house the workers building the dam. After a false turn that took us to the Boulder golf club we found our way to the dam. It had a large multi-level car park and well organised guides to take you through the dam.

Hoover Dam 220m high.





The Hoover dam was named after President Hoover who sponsored the dam to control flooding and provide water for irrigation and electric power. It was built in  the 1930's and employed 1000s of men over 6 years. The first task was to tunnel through the walls of the canyon to provide diversion for the Colorado river. These four tunnels were 50ft in diameter to cope with the river flow and were later used for spillway and penstocks. Many men died in the tunnels and they took years to complete.  Then the dam started.  It is a gravity arch concrete dam which is 100m deep at the base and 15m deep at the crest and 220m high with 6 million tonnes of concrete. They developed a chilling plant to pump cold water through the fresh concrete to keep it cool and allow faster pouring rates.
Our tour took us down to the diversion tunnels and then to one of the power stations.


Colorado River Canyon with high level Arch Bridge.

There are 7 units in each power house which produce 140 MW each giving a total of 2 GW. Only 3 were running.

Generator Hall.

We had great views of the dam and the canyon. After lunch we headed 100 miles further east to the West Rim of the Grand Canyon in the Hualapai tribal lands. They have set up in competition to the National Park. We parked at the ticket office and took a bus. Their trump card is a Skywalk over the Canyon 4,000ft below. We passed on that  and took in the views from the canyon rim instead. They were spectacular of course and the canyon was terraced down to the brown Colorado river 1000s ft below. The other attraction of West Rim was the helicopter flights through the canyon. We could see the helicopters flying below us.

1,200 m deep Grand Canyon West Rim.

Colin overlooks the Grand Canyon heading towards the Hoover Dam 150km away.



We drove back to Las Vegas in the late afternoon and stopped in Boulder for dinner. Alan was keen to get some playing cards for Jackie that had been used in the casinos. These packs are in perfect condition but have corners cut off and are marked with dye on the edge. He found them in the casino next door, Circus Circus which is probably the next in line to be demolished.

11th August 2016 - Las Vegas NV - Kms to date: 10955

Kms today: 182

We booked to go on a tour of the actual Amargosa Opera House at 8am. We actually got going around 8.30am. The woman who was giving the tour was busy staring into a computer screen being busy at the reception, doing what I knew not!





The actual Amargosa Opera House.



There were six others doing the tour all had stayed the night at the hotel!! Marta Beckett the New York dancer who had setup the opera house in 1968 painted murals on the walls of the hall depicting 16th/17th century characters that would have attended a performance, king and queen, lords and ladies, prostitutes and the general public.


Highly Decorated Walls.

The theatre was small and seated about 200. The stage had been extended to allow more room for the performers who where mainly dancers. The theatre could be heated but not cooled that’s why there were no performances in the summer. It needed a good paint job and our guide said that they were going to do a total renovation next year but I don’t think that is going to happen unless they get a rather generous donor to foot the bill. Basically the whole place is crumbling around their heads.



After the tour we headed for Shoshone a town on the way to Las Vegas, for breakfast. It had your typical American diner which we prefer. After breakfast we headed over the mountains to Las Vegas getting there about 1pm. They let us check in early. We stayed at the Travel Lodge at one end of the strip. It was fairly run down and the air-conditioning in our room sounded like it was about to take off. We headed for the Mirage to pickup our tickets for the Cirque de Soleil performance of “Love” which is based on Beatles music. We managed to get our tickets changed to tonight as they were originally for tomorrow night. It was hotter than hell outside so we stayed in the air-conditioned comfort of the Mirage and surrounding hotels. There was a Manly v Bulldogs rugby league game on one of the screens so we watched it. A couple of security men were watching it as well and we tried to explain the rules but I’m not sure if they were any the wiser afterwards.

The Venetian hotel with replica of Doges Palace and tower from St. Marks square.

We went out of the hotel to the strip to find somewhere for dinner before the show. We found Gilleys which was western themed. There were a bunch of scrawny cowgirls pretending to be waitresses, the food was average and expensive.

Pirate ship on the strip???

I guess that’s the cost of having an establishment on the Las Vegas Strip.

The Cirque de Soleil show was called "Love" and was pretty special. They had remixed and digitally enhanced the Beatles music and the presentation was high action and very colourful. There were performers dropping from the roof and lots of aerial gymnastics. The lighting was absolutely spectacular with holograms and all kinds of colour and patterns displayed. We went to the 7pm show which ran for 90 minutes without a break.  We were in the cheap seats up the back, but still had a great view.  At one point the whole audience at stage level were covered in a billowing sheet that had moving shapes projected on it from above.  Typical themes from Hard Days Night, Help and Yellow Submarine were interspersed with dazzling displays of split second timing; one that used 8 roller skaters and two sets of half pipe ramps was particularly impressive.

Theatre space for Cirque de Soleil show Love.

When we came out into the casino area the place had filled up and the tables were going flat out fleecing the patrons. Back at the Travel Lodge we had to turn the aircon off as it was so noisy. We called the reception and asked them to have someone look at it tomorrow???



10th August 2016 - Death Valley CA - Kms to date: 10773

Kms today: 477

We got up at 5am to beat the heat and left Panamint "Resort" at 5.30am bound for the Mesquite Sand Dunes near Stovepipe Wells in Death Valley. We got to the dunes just before sunrise and it was already over 30C. The colours reflected off the nearby mountains as the sun rose were amazing and the sand dunes lit up as the rays of the sun hit them. Many photos were taken and then we beat a hasty retreat back to the air conditioned restaurant at Stovepipe Wells for a well deserved breakfast. The trick was to get as many of the sights of Death Valley in before the searing heat of the early afternoon. Our first stop after breakfast was the Badwater Salt Flats. This is the lowest point in Death Valley and the whole of North America at 288 feet below sea level.

Mesquite Sand Dunes at dawn.


Badwater - you can't get any lower than that!

There was a sign on the cliffs overlooking Badwater indicating where sea level was. We met a poor sod whose battery was flat and was looking for someone with jumper leads. Luckily he found someone as he was gone after we got back from our walk on the salt. After Badwater we headed for the Natural Bridge which was at the end of a rather rough 3.5km gravel road. The poor old 'stang got a real beating. There was a short walk to the bridge which had been created by rain (Death Valley???) rushing down the gully and eroding the softer rocks. It was very impressive.

Natural Bridge.

Next we went round the Artist's Drive which was a one way road into the cliff side that took us past many coloured rocks. These were made of various minerals such as magnesium, borax and kryptonite.!!!

Multi-coloured rocks at Artists Drive.

Next stop was Zabriskie Point which looked out over a moonscape of eroded rocks. Then we did the Twenty Mule Train Trail another gravel road but not as bad as the last.

Zabriskie's Point.

Apparently the Borax miners made up a mule train with 20 mules to transport the Borax out of the narrow canyon.  Our last stop before lunch was Dante's View which overlooked the whole of Death Valley and most of the places we had just visited. Many photos were taken before we retreated to the air-conditioned car. Time for lunch so we headed back to Furnace Creek for a burger and fries which seems to be our staple lately. We made this a big one as we knew there was no food available at the Amargosa Opera House where we were staying. After lunch we checked out the exhibits in the visitor centre. The temperature was now up to 45C!!!

Death Valley from Dante's View -282ft to + 11,500 ft.

We made a bee line for the car turned up the air off the dial and headed for Death Valley Junction where the Amargosa Opera House was located. There are all kinds of warnings in Death Valley about running your car aircon in extreme heat and overheating your engine. Luckily the 'stang seemed to handle it OK. We arrived at the Amargosa Hotel in Death Valley Junction at 3pm but check in wasn't until 4pm so we headed 7 miles up the road to a Casino just inside the Nevada border for a cold beer. Whilst there we watched the Australia v USA basketball game from Rio. It was very exciting but unfortunately the wrong team won. Death Valley Junction has a population of 10 and the hotel where we were staying is called "The Amargosa Opera House". A dancer from New York called Marta Beckett moved to Death Valley Junction in 1968 and bought the building which was used to house workers from a local Borax mine. She poured a lot of money into it and converted a meeting hall attached to an Opera House where she has performed up until seven years ago. She is now 92. The whole place is quietly falling apart and the accommodation is circa 1950s with peeling paintwork. We bought a bottle of wine and nibbles in Furnace Creek so we had that as our evening meal.

Amargosa Hotel.

9th August 2016 - Panamint Springs, CA - Kms to date 10,296

Kms today 380

We shared our brekkie with Barnaby as Peter was occupied with the builders. The nanny arrived and she and Sunna discussed Barnaby's sleeping patterns; it reminded me of things I had forgotten about our own children.

We made our farewells and set off into LA's labyrinthine freeway system heading for Death Valley. Mabel the GPS wanted to send us out on I-5, but I over-rode her and headed down the I-50 west towards I-15. Mabel pleaded with us to turn around for over half an hour but eventually gave in to my superior navigation skills and we headed out of LA and into the mountains and the Mojave Desert. I was looking for a large solar power station of over 350 MW. We stopped in Adelanto for a break but couldn't find it. It was one of those American towns that don't seem to have a centre and spread over a large area. We gave up and went back to the highway and found a gas station. This gas station was on the edge of the Edwards Air Base of space shuttle fame. The solar power station was just north of here and was of the solar collector steam generator type and it certainly was a big one. We passed through two industrial towns called Westend and Trona that had big processing plants based on salt and were in severe decline, but they did have a cycle track!

Cycle Track in the Desert.

I had noticed a ghost town marked on the map called Ballarat of all places. We drove down a 3km dirt road, past a heavily secured radar station and into Ballarat. It was built in 1898 to service nearby gold mines and named after the Victorian town, probably in the hope it would be as successful. Unfortunately it closed up after the mines failed and the post office closed in 1917.

Alan tries to post a letter, but the Post Office closed in 1917.

It was the only original building left in the town that was recognisable.

And this probably last moved in 1917.

We headed on up the road to Panamint, which Rafe had described as "funky".  It had a restaurant/bar, a gas station, an RV park and a motel and was in the middle of nowhere. I got up in the middle of the night to see the stars. The Orion constellation was clearly visible on the eastern horizon and I saw two meteors burn across the sky. The Milky Way was only just visible.

Two white 'Stangs in the car park at Panamint Springs - very confusing.

8th August 2016 - Los Angeles, CA - Kms to date 9,915

Kms today 0

We headed off to Santa Monica beach after brekkie to give Sunna some time to work. Peter drove us with Barnaby in his urban assault vehicle, a Ford Explorer, which was as big as Sherman. On the pier we had the obligatory photo at the "End of Route 66" sign.

Route 66 though this is the first time we were on it!

The pier was busy even on this Monday morning with cafes, a fun park, people fishing and buskers of varying ability. After a coffee we headed down to the beach for a paddle. Peter took Barnaby into the water and he enjoyed himself. It was a familiar scene with families and swimmers in the water and some surfers further down the beach and made me a little home sick.

Barnaby gets the traditional throw into the air.

We had lunch and did a bit of shopping before heading home. Peter persisted valiantly to put Barnaby down and Sunna had to give a hand, literally as Barnaby insisted on holding hers when he was being put down.  Nothing unusual there and the only advice I could give was that Peter used to rub a wart on his mother's hand as a comforter when he was going to sleep, like father like son. Peter gave us a tour of his recording studio and played a video about the music he recorded with the cream of British orchestral players in the Abbey Road studios including the tracks he wrote.

The maestro at his desk.

These short pieces are sold to be used on film trailers and have to reflect the genre of the main film. Peter is very clever at creating the right atmospherics using his music.
We drove over to Culver City for dinner. This a more salubrious area and still has some old recording studios. I got to swing Barnaby with Sunna as we walked back to the car.

7th August 2016 - Los Angeles CA - Kms to date: 9915

Kms today: 462

We left Wawona early as we intended to have breakfast on the road. There were not a lot of towns on the road near Wawona until we got to a little place called Oakhurst. We spotted a cafe as we came into town. It looked just the job but we found out that they served all this alternative stuff not the bacon and eggs over easy we were looking for. We thought we'd try it anyhow and were surprised how tasty it was. We arrived in LA at Peter and Sunna's place early afternoon instead of late afternoon as we predicted. We caught Peter on the hop as he had just put Barnaby down for his afternoon nap and was looking forward to a rest himself. We sat down and had a cup of tea out of Mum's old tea set he had inherited. Sunna is expecting their second child, a daughter, on 25th December??? They are both freelancing but luckily they have managed to arrange their work so that one of them is not working and able to look after Barnaby who was 2 on 7th July.

Barnaby getting his shoes on.

He is a cute little chap and I think Colin and I might have been a bit much for him.

Peter with Barnaby.

Peter knocked up a delicious chicken curry for dinner, which was all the more remarkable considering his kitchen is in a skip on the road outside. The ripping out part has finished and the "that's extra" part has started.

New kitchen in a VERY early stage of construction!

Sunna and Barnaby.

Dinner was washed down by copious beer and wine.

6th August 2016 - Wawona Lodge CA - Kms to date 9,453

Kms today 117

We packed up the car and took the bus to the Awahanee Lodge (now called the Majestic Hotel) for brekkie just like Morag and I did in 2013. It is a magnificent hotel nestled in the trees at the base of Yosemite Falls.

Alan enjoying his brekkie at the posh Awahnee Hotel.

Alan managed to find a bucket hat that fitted his huge bonce in the gift shop. We drove out of Yosemite Valley up to Glacier Point a famous lookout. We just got in before they closed the road and made everyone take buses because of limited parking. We could see Half Dome and Vernal and Nevada Falls where we had been yesterday. You could even see climbers at the peak of Half Dome through a public telescope. On the bus to the Awahanee we overheard a young chap who was planning to take the Four Mile Trail up to Glacier Point.  It may only be 4 miles but it rises 3,000 ft!

Merced River Valley with Vernal and Nevada Falls.

After Glacier Point we planned to stop back at Sentinel Dome/Tafts Point to await a Ranger walk at 2 pm, but when we got there we decided to walk to Taft's Point anyway. We parked alongside the road beside another Mustang, but this one had the full 5 litre V8 motor not our puny 3.5 litre V6. We had seen loads of 'stangs in the park; in fact they were the most common model of car, but this was the real McCoy.
Taft's Point was even more spectacular than Glacier. It gave us a bird's eye view of El Capitan the 1 km high rock face that has climbers on it all summer long clinging to the sheer rock face. We could see some ant-like climbers half way up the climb.

Half Dome - one of Yosemite's icons.

Taft's Point over looking El Capitan.

The point was actually a rock overhang with 3,000 ft to the valley floor. A base-jumper had attempted a jump off this ledge and was killed when he was blown back against the rock.
We decided to skip the Ranger walk and head off to Wawona Lodge (now Big Trees Lodge).  It was a big place with two large wings and several smaller cottages. We were too early to take our room so we visited a Pioneer village down the road. It was a bit underwhelming, but it had a covered bridge over the creek, which was interesting.

Covered bridge at Wawona Lodge.

The hotel had a swimming pool and even a 9 hole golf course. We had the cheap room without a bathroom, but we could hear a French family doing their ablutions through a party door, just to make us jealous. There was a large bathroom behind the golf shop for us. Our room was at the end of the annex over looking the forest and we played cards on the veranda after dinner.

Wawona Lodge a 19th Century gem.