26-27 May-Zion NP

Route-Zion National Park

In our typical South African way we were in the car park ready and waiting to ensure we got a campsite at 5.45. Little did we know that we have moved to mountain time which is 1 hour ahead. So thinking that we have more than enough time we took the park shuttle for a scenic drive as no private vehicles are allowed into the park. These regular shuttles driven by friendly intelligent and informative park rangers do the 80 minute round trip throughout the day, allowing you to hop on and off to take the various walks and hikes.

Fortunately we got back in time to secure one of the few sites left. This is done by locating an unoccupied site (not an easy task), then occupying it, by parking your car, thus securing it. You then go and self register and pay by placing your money into the supplied envelop and dropping it into the box, at the entrance kiosk. Another obstacle to adapt to, but at least we can stay put for 2 nights

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We did the 3.4 mile Pa’Rus trail that winds along the fast flowing Virgin River. This river is responsible for the dramatic scenery in the park. The sandstone monoliths rise steeply from the narrow canyon floor making it hard to photograph. The sheer beauty will have to be filed away in the memory banks.

The full moon rose shortly after sunset, which at this time of year is about 21:00. The bright ball illuminating the peaks around the campsite.

27 May

Route- Zion National Park

We enjoyed the Pa’Rus trail so much we decided to walk it again up to Canyon Junction, were we caught the shuttle bus to Weeping Rock. This the trailhead for Angles Landing and the West Rim trails. Listed as strenuous, we headed out, not sure of what to expect. The trail climbs very steeply, through many switchbacks. As we climb higher the view becomes more dramatic.

We pass through the very aptly named Refrigerator Canyon, which is a narrow, sheer cliffed ravine, that seldom sees the sun. Knarled Pine and Cyress trees grow from between the rocks, how they manage to survive I do not know. We exit the canyon, ahead of us lies Walters Wiggles, which are 13 short, very steep switchbacks, cut into the rock by the parks then ranger, whose name was Walter.

Out of breath, but exhilarated we arrive at Scout Pt, just below Angels Landing. We decide to forego the final half mile, which traverses at times a 1 metre wide track with vertical drop offs of 800 and 1200 feet either side, and head further up along the West Rim Trail.

All along the concrete path, spring flowers grow in amongst the rocks and beach like sand. We stop and a lovely viewpoint for a picnic lunch before tackling the steep decent, to the valley floor, more than 1200 feet below us. We once again cross the Virgin River, which has carved away at the sandstone for centauries, removing approximately 5 000 000 kilograms of a day during heavy rains and snow melt

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After all the excursion we decide to indulge in a double scoop of Huckleberry and Chocolate Bear Claw Ice cream, served in a waffle cone.

As the weather report for Bryce Canyon, which is only 85 miles away, but 2000 feet higher, shows temperatures of 30 degrees cooler, we decide to buy Lorna a pair of $96 Organic Merino Wool Leggings…………….. R800 long johns!!!!!!

With all the progress and development in the US, strangely there are no showers in the National parks. We end up waiting over an hour for the only private shower in town. Not a bad business to be in at $5 each.

25 May-Tehachapi to Zion NP

Route – Tehachapi – California City – Barstow – Las Vegas – Mesquite –Hurricane – Springdale – Zion

We made an early start as we realized that miles take a lot longer than km’s. The countryside along the route reminded us very much of Namibia, very dry, gravelly and mountainous scrub. We crossed the California-Nevada border and suddenly out of the desert sprung casino hotel complexes every few miles. Massive concrete billboards advertise rooms at $24-99 and prime rack of ribs at $4-99. Why anyone would want to drive all this way out here to gamble is beyond us. Fortunately, although the highway passes directly through the centre of Las Vegas, aside from the five lanes of traffic in each direction, we managed fine. Bright pink domed buildings and gold glassed hotels vied for our attention. On the outskirts vast tracts of featureless rows of small low slung houses looked out of place compared to the glitzy city centre.

After Mesquite the road leaves the flats of Nevada and heads up through a awesome pass that cuts through sheer mountains, and into Utah. We confidently head to Zion campground only to be turned away. Apparently if you want a site you need to be in the campground between 8 & 9 on the day. Fortunately 100m from the gate we found a campsite / RV car park. These massive rigs pulled by even bigger ute’s and their pronking owners have to be seen to be believed. These behemoths come equipped with dual AC’s and bathrooms towing an F250 sized vehicle loaded with bicycles, quad bikes, mopeds, dog trailers and every imaginable gizmo. We think the attraction for these testosterone yanks is showing off their chromed rigs. Each RV site has a hook up for power, water and sewer. On arrival portable sewerage pipes are laid out on plastic stands to allow a positive fall. We even saw a couple of Harleys with colour coded trailers which folded out into a mini caravan.

Nonetheless nothing could detract from the awe inspiring red and white rock monoliths of Zion.

24 May-Julia Pheiffer to Tehachapi

Route – Julie Pheiffer Burns State Park – Big Sur Coastline – Morro Bay – Guadalupe – Santa Maria – Maricopa – Tehachapi

Travelling along the Big Sur Coastline is absolutely magnificent. The towering cliffs plunge into the aqua Pacific ocean. Large chunks of rock break the surface of the sea along the coastline. The only unfortunate thing is that we have not managed to buy a US plug adaptor but good news is we have managed to master the gps. We also re-gassed the car for the first time using the American system of pay first (which necessitates you guess how much gas you need, because we do not have a zip code) and then pump the gas yourself, luckily the Flex has a capless fuel tank!

We had a wonderful picnic lunch overlooking the crashing sea below, while Brown Pelicans sailed past us in the wind. As we underestimate the distance and time, we decided to skip Los Angeles and headed inland just past Santa Maria.

The road wound its way through grass covered mountains, which soon become very dry, flatlands. The area is very intensely cultivated, huge farms line the road.

When we got Tehachapi, we decided to overnight at the Best Western. We meet, what I imagine a typical Southerner to be (Stetson, bootlace tie and waxed moustache and all) who warns us of the perils of hiking without a 6’ pole, as Mojave Green Rattles abound, and they apparently strike at least their bodies length!

23 May-Carmel to Julia Pheiffer Burns SP

We awoke to an absolutely perfect morning and headed off Highway 1, on the scenic route to Carmel, home of the rich and famous, Clint Eastwood amongst others. We walked along the sea front not only admiring the natural beauty but the stylish bungalows that fit so perfectly into the landscape.

The homes are relatively small, built out of rock with timber shingle roofs which blend into the surroundings perfectly. Lorna’s promised herself that if she wins the Lotto she will buy one of these beauties. The road continued south to Point Lobos State Reserve. We walked a number of the trails admiring the cliffs and deep blue sea from above. The park protects one of only two small grove of Monterey Cypress which have been shaped by the weather into beautiful gnarled giants.

The parks main vegetation is Monterey Pine, which is only found in 4 places. We were fortunate to see a group of southern sea otters with their pups floating on their backs amongst the sea grasses. The pups have white heads which they rested on their moms stomachs while floating and warming themselves in the sun. We also saw Harbor seals with their pups on China beach, a short walk from the car park. Large colonies of Brandt’s Comorant nest on the domed rocks just of the shore. We saw American Black Oystercatcher, with its red bill, it could easily be mistaken for our Black Oystercatcher.

Just before Hearst Castle, there is a stretch of beach were literally hundreds of Elephant Seals, like sardines in a can, bask in the sun. The females & sub adults come to shore at this time to moult all their fur.

We made a picnic breakfast of oats, on our new Jetboil, this amazing cooker boils a litre of water in 2 minutes.

Continuing along the Big Sur Coastline to the Julia Pheiffer Burns State Park where we set up our new tent, instructions and all under the towering Redwoods. Lorna would prefer at least a 5 degree increase in temperature. Holding thumbs that our new air mattresses with built in pumps live up to their price tag and we have a good night.

Tonight we have our first home cooked meal, Pasta ala Safeway!

22 May-San Francisco to Monterey

A nice clear start to the day, we decided to head out to the San Francisco bridge. This iconic red bridge that spans the bay is supported by two 3m diameter cables, that constantly require painting to prevent rust, hence the red colour. Took a brisk walk across the bridge along with many joggers and bikers. The four lane bridge is flanked by 2 wide pedestrian/cycle lanes.

In the gardens in the car park we got to see our first humming bird a mere metre away. He then went on to display by zooming straight up in the air approximately 60m and then with a kamikaze dive came hurtling down past the female. It created a buzzing sound we think probably with its wings.

We then caught our final Muni bus downtown to pick up our wheels for the next two months. Surprise, surprise it’s the ugliest SUV in the parking lot, a low slung silver and chrome Ford Flex. It has a Range Rover look, but being low slung it looks like a hearse!! As ugly as it was on the outside, it is plush and luxurious inside, fitted with every conceivable techno gadget you can imagine ie; gate and garage door remotes fitted in sun visor, voice activated gps, seat warmers, dvd player, satellite radio, reversing camera, peripheral security, keyless entry and easy capless fuel filler to name a few. Suffice to say the instruction manual is at least 2 inches thick!

Placing our faith in our new gps we head out on the “wrong” side of the road into four lane traffic. We blindly followed as the gps took us on a route through the centre of town picking the tram route to make Marc sweat even more. We turned into the Travelodge with a sigh of relief, loaded up all our purchases and headed out to the country, but not before stocking up at Safeway. We traveled along Highway 1 S which hugs the Pacific coast line. As the wind was blowing a gale and icy cold we decided to spend one last night in a motel in Monterey.

19 -21 May-San Francisco

With the excitement and stress of Tyron and Maria's wedding behind us, we head for OR Tambo. 30 hours and a couple of sleeping tablets later we hit the streets of San Francisco running.

As always we like to do things the hard way, so we lug our bags onto the local train called the BART and then catch 2 Muni buses to our hotel near Golden Gate. The Travelodge turns out to be an excellent find, well situated with helpful staff. The internet is amazing, having planned all this from so far and traveling the route care of Google maps, we feel like we have been here already.

Within in 30 minutes we have located an Apple store & purchased the all important Mac Book, now we can find all the shops we need. The majority of our time in SF is planned for shopping, more than we had imagined. Suffice to say we spend a good few dollars kitting ourselves out with all the camping gear we will need during the next 10 weeks.

Obviously we make some time for the touristy things, visiting Fisherman's Wharf for clam chowder, riding the cable cars, eating Mexican food and shopping at Macy's & Saks.



We are impressed by the excellent public transport, the super clean streets and sidewalks (notice the Curb Appeal High Pressure sidewalk washer)and amazed at the amount of Hispanic influence so far N and the massive cars


And then there are the crazy cars................