Under Construction …. pics to follow …

USA Road Trip …

Sat, 18th May: Bobby and Anita’s, Denton, Texas

Today we Leave Hawaii ….. for our visit with Bobby and his family followed by our epic USA/Canada Road Trip! It’s an early start as we get ready and meet Dave in reception for the 4.45am taxi. We are all going to the airport together as Dave’s flight is at 8.30am and ours at 7.20am … Or so he thought PMSL!

As we are flying with different airlines, we have to check in to different desks so we agree to meet up once we are through security. However, Dave does not appear. We try to check the departures board for his flight but we can’t find the details. Neil makes further enquiries but these prove fruitless. So, after much deliberation, we decide to head for our departure gate where, should Dave check the departures board, we could be found. One hour later he strolls through having arrived 12hours too soon for his flight pmsl … his flight is at 8.30pm tonight … ha ha ha the numpty. He is not too disheartened as he has been able to change his flight to mid-day which means he can stay in the airport now that he is here. However, it’s a long journey home with three layovers !

We finally say our goodbyes and board our flight with American Airlines (miserable lot) for the 5.5hr flight to Los Angeles. Then it’s a really quick baggage pick up and, within the one hour layover time, we walk over to Terminal 3 to check in for our 5.15pm flight with Virgin America, go through security, grab a sandwich and get to Gate 34 just minutes before we are called to board … Phew! Then we are airborne again!!!!!! on the 2.5hr flight to Dallas, Texas … arriving local time 10.30pm. Bobby meets us and it’s a 45min drive to his house where we eat pizza and go to bed.

Sun, 19th May: Bobby and Anita’s, Denton, Texas
Jet lagged we have an extremely late morning and enjoy lazing around facetiming and catching up with the family back home 🙂

Bobby and Anita three sons and during our stay we get to know Miles (12), Cameron (10) and Vaughn (3) and their 18 month old pooch, Bella. Cameron is at a football tournament today and his team wins which means that him and Anita are gone for most of the day. Neil spends some quality time with Bobby catching up and by the time Anita arrives home we are sitting in the garden. All of us are shattered – for one reason and another – so the boys go out to the local BBQ Restaurant and bring a splendid BBQ feast back for us.
Once the boys are in bed, we tentatively make a plan of our road trip before hitting bed for the night.

Mon, 20th May: Bobby and Anita’s, Denton, Texas
After a bad night’s sleep – waking up at 2.20am and not getting back to sleep until gone 5.00am – we finally make it downstairs just before 11.00am. Taking it really easy, we have breakfast before freshening up. On checking my electronic devices, I see that I have received an email from Angela about her upcoming visit and immediately Skype her landline for a good long proper chat. She is extremely excited and emotional about her visit and is really looking forward to it … so are we 🙂

Cameron and Miles are at school today and Neil and Bobby head out, with Vaughn in tow, to Bobby’s chiropractor appointment. Neil also has a session to see if it will alleviate the back pain he has suffered since learning to surf!

Anita and I stay home and have a lazy time sorting out insurance and stuff for our trip.
The boys arrive back and we all head into the garage to sort out the camping equipment and practice setting up the temporary tent … yay! The one Bobby really wants us to borrow is having its zip repaired and he wants to send it on to us … bless! It is a job well done and after a late lunch its not long before Cameron and Miles return home from school. A pool session is the order of the day before sitting down together to enjoy some good home cooking … thank you Anita! A beautiful pork hotpot with mashed potato … something we haven’t had for a long time … NOM NOM!

We spend the rest of the evening packing the car, finalising the route and packing our bags before we all slump into our beds after another busy day 🙂 We are excited to be heading off tomorrow to some wonderful places …

Tue, 21st May: Santa Rose Lake State Park, New Mexico
Today we leave the Butlers behind and, ever grateful to them for their assistance, start our 18 day USA Road Trip – all 2320 miles of it! We head off with the Butler’s camping gear and Bobby’s car at around 9.30am. Today, we drive 480 miles in total going across Texas from Denton (Dallas) passing through Wichita Falls, Childress, Amarillo (where we joined Route 66) and Tucumcari all the way to Santa Rosa in New Mexico!

Coming out of Texas, east of Amarillo, the land is so flat that you can see for miles around and, as we enter New Mexico, it becomes very rugged. For the most part, the weather was beautiful although we were worried as we passed east of Wichita Falls near the Oklahoma state border. Here we hit torrential rainfall … possibly the build up to the tornado forecasted in the area today. Or the last part of the storm that hit Oklahoma yesterday killing at least 51 people 😦

At this point we hadn’t decided whether or not to camp tonight but both agreed that it would be best to find a motel when we were ready to stop. However, we came through the storm safely into bright sunshine – just like in the Wizard of Oz!!!! Lol – it ended just as quickly as it had started.

As we approached 6.00pm and neared Santa Rosa, we did a quick check of our map and decided to check out the Santa Rosa Lake National Park and were glad we did. Initially, it looked desolate but we soon found a number of campers and immediately felt content to test our camping skills and got busy setting up home for the night on Site A15! What a wonderful home we made 🙂 Nature all around us coupled with the decent camping gear the Butlers loaned us made for a first class camping experience.

We soon had everything sorted and set about making tea … the camp stove did us proud! The little time we had left was spent tidying up before a nice cup of tea and bed. We were both shattered and ready for our $10 bed for the night. Oh well, 488 miles down, 1812 to go …

Wed, 22nd May: Blanco River Campground, San Juan National Forest, Colorado
After a good night’s sleep, Neil was up bright and early. I followed a while later having been kept awake by his snoring! The birdsong and rise of the sun were our alarm call this morning and as we opened the tent door to the beautiful scenery, we were reminded again of how lucky we are to be doing what we are doing. We immediately set about showering, clearing up and packing everything away and were back on the road by 10.00am. What a team 🙂

Our 220mile journey today takes us through some dramatic landscapes and stunning clear sunshine … leaving Santa Rosa on Route 66 we initially head to Santa Fe. After one and a half hours drive we make a stop here to stock up on groceries and essential camping gear at Walmart. After a Subway lunch we re-packed the 4×4 and started the long drive ahead of us to Durango in Colorado. Passing through Espanola and crossing the Rio Grand in Chama just South of the Colorado border we caught our first glimpse of the Southernmost part of the Rocky Mountains… whoop whoop! Just over the Colorado border in the San Juan National Forest, tiredness got the better of us and by pure fluke we came across an idyllic camping spot – Blanco Riverside Campground.

Michael and Shirley, the proprietors were very welcoming and we loved the site immediately. They did warn us about the Black Bear (wtf!) … in that we should not leave any remaining food around camp, nor should we have it in our tent. If a bear decides to come into camp, then he will forage for the food not giving a hoot that we are there!!!! Oh and to add to this, Bobby Butler’s advice was; if it is a male bear then bang a couple of cups together as it will deter him … however, if it is a female with cubs then we’re f**cked! Helpful, lol.

For $24.00 it was a steal … the facilities were excellent and the location perfect. We had the field to ourselves and our ‘home’ for the night was nestled between the river on one side, mountains on the other and the forest acted as a backdrop. After settling into our new surroundings we embraced them and got our gear super organised before setting about making our tea. Neil cooked up some great fajitas and, bellies full, we spent the remaining hours of daylight chilling and deciding the route over the next few days.

To end a perfect day, it was a nice cuppa around a ‘Neil Pitkin fire’ burning by the riverside … how lucky we are 🙂

Thu, 23rd May: Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado
We have a god damn awful nights sleep in this gorgeous place!!!!! It was freezing … we just couldn’t get warm … we saw 2am 4am 5am and at 7am just got up!!!!! Neil, bless him, immediately set about putting the stove on and making a nice hot cup of tea and we only started to warm up once the sun had risen above the mountainside! We warmed our milk for our cereal which helped too.

Once back in the land of the living we freshen up, pack up camp and head to the lounge area to make use of the wifi for an hour. We make our reservation at the Grand Canyon for our stay on the North Rim and mark out a route for today. After a fond farewell to Shirley and Michael, we embark on our journey to Mesa Verde National Park. I take to the wheel initially and en route pass through a small town called Pagosa Springs – named for the sulphur springs located there, including the world’s deepest geothermal hot spring – before continuing to Durango, a small college town nestled in the Animas River Valley surrounded by the San Juan Mountains. Stunning! We stopped here to pick up a few supplies from good old Walmart!!!

Our journey once again took us through breathtaking scenery which surrounded us 🙂 There were many forested mountain areas and outstanding rock formations today and, once again, we had beautiful clear sunshine. 15 minutes outside of Durango we stopped on the side of the highway for our lunch. This consisted of wraps which we made up from our tea last night. They were delicious and the stop took in yet another view no restaurant could match. We finally arrived at Mesa Verde nice and early where we immediately set up our camp on yet another fabulous campsite … this National Park is everything we have been told and more … Mesa Verde National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Montezuma County.

The park was created in 1906 by President Theodore Roosevelt, to protect some of the best-preserved cliff dwellings in the world. It features numerous ruins of homes and villages built by the Ancestral Puebloan people, sometimes called the Anasazi. There are over 4,000 archaeological sites and over 600 cliff dwellings of the Pueblo people at the site. In the late 1190s, they began to build the cliff dwellings which are structures built within caves and under outcropping in cliffs for which Mesa Verde is famous. The Spanish term Mesa Verde translates into English as “green table”. It is considered to contain some of the most notable and best preserved archaeological sites. Mesa Verde National Park spans 52,000 acres. Its canyons were created by erosion from receding ancient oceans and waterways, and the terrain in the park is now a transition zone between the low desert plateaus and the Rocky Mountains.

Our camp is a 4mile climb up the mountainside from the Visitor Centre and there are views in all directions as far as the eyes can see over the canyons and valleys below. You could spend a few days camping here to take in all that there is on offer. There are trails and hiking routes to explore but Mesa Verde is best known for cliff dwellings, which are structures built within caves and under outcropping in cliffs — including Cliff Palace, thought to be the largest cliff dwelling in North America. The Spanish term Mesa Verde translates into English as “green table”. There are over four thousand archaeological sites and over six hundred cliff dwellings of the Pueblo people at this site.

Intrigued by these dwellings we go off to explore and since they are at an altitude of 7000feet we drive for an hour from our camp through the winding cliffside roads before arriving at the dwellings at the top. In the limited time available to us we firstly take a self guided tour of Spruce Tree House, the third-largest village which is within several hundred feet of a spring … in its day it had 130 rooms and eight kivas (a chamber, built wholly or partly underground, used by male Pueblo Indians for religious rites). It was constructed sometime between AD 1211 and 1278. It is believed anywhere from 60 to 80 people lived there at one time and because of its protective location, it is well preserved and is very intriguing. Yet another example on our journey around the world of how people once lived.

We also book on a ranger-guided tour of Balcony House …. set on a high ledge facing east, Balcony House with 45 rooms and 2 kivas, would have been cold for its residents in the winter. We enter the dwelling by climbing a 32-foot ladder and crawling through a 12-foot tunnel. The exit, a series of toe-holds in a cleft of the cliff, was believed to be the only entry and exit route for the cliff dwellers, which made the small village easy to defend and secure. One log was dated at AD 1278 so it was likely built not long before the Mesa Verde people migrated out of the area.

The sun is setting as we are driving down the mountainside and, once in camp, we set about making our bangers and mash with onion gravy NOM NOM NOM. The moon is in the sky as a couple of deer amble through camp, as they do. Neil then gets the fire burning and we clear up and settle for an hour before hitting the sack. We’ve had an amazing day; one which was totally unexpected. When we set off this morning, we didn’t think the trip could get any better. However, we have been totally surprised by the ever changing scenery today and the icing on the cake was the unique cave dwellings. The world is certainly a very interesting place … I don’t think you could ever get bored of it 🙂

We clocked up another 150miles of our journey today … bring on the next 1500!!! Lol!

Fri, 24th May: Grand Canyon RV Camper Village, Grand Canyon, Arizona
Neil is up bright and early today (5.40am!!!!!) and enjoys the sunrise as I ‘sleep in’ lol. We’ve both had a good night’s sleep and, after a lovely bacon and mushroom cob brekkie, we set about cleaning and packing up our camp. As we depart the campsite we make use of the showers before embarking on our journey today when we will leave Colorado behind to explore the state of Arizona 🙂

We finally leave the National Park at 11.00am making our way down onto the state highway 160 to drive the short distance to Cortez where we fill up with fuel. Theresa did her normal cleaning of the windscreen with the squeegee at the station, lol, whilst tantalising Neil, leaning across the windscreen in her tank top and short skirt !!! (Pmsl, Neil made me put this in!!!!).

Leaving Cortez on the 160 heading for Arizona we came across the Four Corners Monument … a strategic point in the USA where four states actually meet. These are Arizona, Utah, New Mexico and where we left this morning, Colorado. Neil posed for his picture at this point with each of his arms and legs in each state. From here the landscape changed dramatically and we found ourselves driving along mile upon mile of straight flat roads. We actually drove through the Painted Desert (Navajo Nation), aptly named because of the amazing colourations of the changing landscape unfolding in front of us. We arrived in Kayenta and treated ourselves to a Maccie D … unique in its location as it was alongside Monument Valley with awesome views. I took over the driving at this point and continued on the 160 through the Painted Desert towards our goal – the South Rim of the Grand Canyon! We briefly stopped at a small town called Cameron and enter the wonderful world that is the Cameron Trading Post. For over a century this has been a Grand Canyon lodging haven for travellers, traders, vacationers and explorers who come from all points of the globe. Established in 1916, the Cameron Indian Trading Post has become a showplace for fine Native American art and Southwest art. The Gallery, with its beautiful and unique Native American Indian decor, houses some of the finest Native American Indian art in the Southwest, both contemporary and antique Indian art including Navajo rugs, Hopi kachinas, and Pueblo pottery. Outside we find the suspension bridge spanning the Little Colorado River Gorge – the river pathway to the Grand Canyon and delight at the view.

45 minutes later we arrived at Desert View in the Grand Canyon National Park WOW! A powerful and inspiring landscape, the canyon overwhelms your senses through its immense size. Unique combinations of geologic colour and erosional forms decorate the canyon which is 277 river miles long, up to 18 miles wide, and a mile deep.

At Desert View we were hoping to camp but we were disappointed to find out that the campsite had been fully booked since mid-day 😦 Undeterred and, despite it being late in the afternoon, we proceeded to explore the South Rim of the Grand Canyon!!!!! Our first view of the Canyon was at the Desert View Watchtower … unbelievable! From the Watchtower we drove along East Rim Drive stopping at many stunning vantage points of the Grand Canyon. These included Lipan Point, Moran Point, Grandview Point, Yaki Point and Mather Point at the Grand Canyon Visitor Centre. There are no words to explain this wonderful place nor can they describe the senses as you overlook this mammoth beauty! An apt phrase from a visitor to Grandview Point in 1898 inscribed at one of the vantage points says it all :-

“No language can fully describe, no artist paint the beauty, grandeur, immensity and sublimity of this most wonderful production of nature’s great architect. The Grand Canyon must be seen to be truly appreciated.”

Reports like this from early tourists aroused curiosity and stimulated Grand Canyon tourism.

As the sun was setting, we left via the South Exit of the park to search for a place to stay the night. We didn’t have to go far as just out of the exit we stumbled upon a camper village with room for a small tent 🙂 This was perfect for us as we are a 5mins drive away to further explore some more of the South Rim of the Canyon… happy dayzzzz 🙂

Shattered after setting up ‘camp’ I give Neil the night off from cooking and we head out of the camper village, past the two Elks in camp (as you do, lol) to the small town here. We ‘fall’ into Yippie-ei-O Steakhouse … and after a couple of Grand Canyons (American Pilsners) and a massive American sized steak dinner which we shared, we were grateful for the bed already set up and waiting for us 🙂

Sat, 25th May: Quality Inn, Flagstaff, Arizona
Following a chilly night, we were up with larks this morning – on another absolutely glorious sunny day – so we decided to pack up camp, grab a MaccyD Coffee (bypassing the Elks again!) before heading back into the Grand Canyon National Park where we have another absolutely amazing day !!!!

We make the short journey to the Visitors Centre Car Park and, arriving at 8.00am we jump aboard the Shuttle Bus … these run from 5.00am in the morning!!! It’s still nice and quiet despite it being Memorial Weekend and we make the most of this. The initial route we take is the Village (Blue) Route which takes us around the lodges, hotels and campgrounds and of course to views of the canyon itself. We then transfer to the Hermits Rest (Red) Route which takes in nine overlooks on an 80 minute round trip. Travelling along Hermit Road, this is a scenic route along the west end of Grand Canyon Village on the South Rim which follows the rim for 7miles out to Hermits Rest. The shuttle buses run every 15mins and we hop on / hop off and walk between the stops as follows:-

Boarding the Village Route Transfer, we journey 1.4mile before our first hop off at Maricopa Point. In addition to stunning vistas, Maricopa Point looks out over the former Orphan Lode Mine, claimed in 1891 by miner Dan Hogan. Originally mining copper, Hogan switched to uranium ore in the 1950s.
Back on the bus, we journey a further 0.8mile where we hop off at Hopi Point. The Colorado River comes into view to the west, where we can clearly see its rapids. Hopi Point is one of the most popular viewpoints for watching the sunset and sunrise because of its wide vistas.
It’s not long before we are back on the bus and after 0.8miles jump off at Mohave Point. Another spectacular point for watching sunset and sunrise, Mohave Point also offers views of the Colorado River deep in the canyon below.
We then walked the 1.1mile route to The Abyss. This viewpoint provides an almost vertical view down into the canyon, looking down into the Monument Creek drainage area where backpackers often camp next to Monument Creek or on a small beach along the Colorado River at Granite Rapids.
At this point we decided to hop back on the bus and stay on until the end of the Hermit Road (3.7miles) which is as far as we are allowed to drive on the South Rim. Here, at Hermits Rest, we have a sandwich as we have not had any breakfast this morning and stock up on some snacks as we have decided to walk back along the Paved Greenway Trail (2.8miles), a non-motorised bicycle and pedestrian trail along the West Rim. Walking back on the trail we first arrive at Pima Point (1.1mile). Pima Point is one of the best places on the rim to see and sometimes hear the river. The splash and grind of Granite Rapids below can be heard echoing up the canyon walls on quiet days and here we could clearly see the rapids of the the river once again.
We continue walking and our next stop is Monument Creek Vista (1.7mile). Here we have a picnic and a rest before hopping on the next bus going back to the village and we hop off at Powell Point (3.1miles). The Powell Memorial at this viewpoint commemorates the 1869 and 1871-72 exploratory trips down the Colorado River by Major John Wesley Powell and expedition crews. Stunning vistas can also be enjoyed from Powell Point.
We decide to walk back from Powell Point to the village (1.9mile) taking in Maricopa Point again before arriving at Trailview Overlook. This viewpoint primarily offers good views of the Bright Angel Trail switchbacking through the canyon below, as well as the Historic District of the village, including the prominent El Tovar Hotel. Several sets of stairs access two main viewing areas here and it is amazing here to see the Bright Angel Trail so clearly. The people on the trail look like small ants from our viewpoint … given more time and planning we would have loved to trek into the canyon down this route. It is from here that we can see the San Francisco Peaks 60 miles away and also directly across to the Grand Canyon Lodge and Cabins on the North Rim, a distance of 9miles!!!! It is where we will be staying overnight on the 27th May 🙂 how exciting !!!!!!

Discovered in 1540, the canyon was declared a National Monument in 1908 by President Theodore Roosevelt and became a National Park in 1919. It has an area of over 19,000 square miles, is about 190 miles long, and contains 280 miles of the Colorado River. It is probably the world’s most spectacular example of the power of erosion – a chasm 277 miles long (measured by the river course) and up to 18 miles wide. The canyon bottom below Yavapai Point is 2,400 feet above sea level, about 4,500 feet below the South Rim and 5,400 feet below the North Rim – making an average depth of about one mile. Scientists estimate that it has taken 3-6million years to cut the Grand Canyon and the work is by no means finished. The powerful forces of the rushing river, of rain, snow, heat, frost and wind are still sculpting the fantastic shapes of these precipitous bluffs and towering crags! Five Indian tribes still live in the region today; the Hopi, Navajo, Havasupai, Paiute and Hualpai. It is the Navajo and Havasupai Reservations that sit either side of us on the South Rim where we were today.

On our journey today we’ve seen beautiful flowers, desert brush and forests as well as the biggest insects ever, a huge hare, chipmunks, cheeky Albert squirrel, many swallows and birds soaring amongst the captivating scenery. However, we did not get to see one of the 200 condors left in the wild. The Grand Canyon is nature at its absolute best … no words can describe this experience, nor would they do it justice !!!! The Grand Canyon isn’t just spectacular, it is one of the seven natural wonders of the world along with Mount Everest in Nepal, Victorial Falls in Zambia, Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, the Northern Lights, Paricutin Volcano in Mexico and Harbour of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. The Canyon attracts 4.5 million visitors from all over the world annually.

We are very much looking forward to being on the North Rim and staying over on 27th May 🙂

What a long day … it’s after 3.00pm when we get back to the car park and we still have to get to Sedona …. only a meagre 100 miles away, lol. However, our spirits are not dampened as we have had an absolutely awesome time.

We passed through Flagstaff – a great little college town – and finally came upon the beautiful stunning Ponderosa Pine Forests signalling Sedona! Strategically situated at the mouth of spectacular Oak Creek Canyon, it is a unique place. Characterised by massive red-rock formations, as well as the contrasting riparian areas of Oak Creek Canyon, the surrounding area is considered at least as beautiful as many national parks. We marvel at the scenery before us but start to get a little concerned as we pass ‘earmarked’ campsites which have a ‘FULL’ sign over the driveways. At 6.30pm we arrive at a small roadside Tourist Information Hut and, upon enquiry, are told that there is no accommodation available tonight in Sedona. Well, it is Memorial Weekend after all !!!!!!

After some deliberation we decide to head back to Flagstaff in the direction which we need to travel for our onward journey and look for somewhere overnight on the way. Well, that was an adventure in itself lol; as we attempted a first try at ‘primitive camping’ i.e. driving into the National Forest and setting up camp wherever you want as long as it is more than 30 feet away from the main highway. Our first attempt was like a scene from the film Deliverance pmsl. Unfortunately for us we stumbled into a small camp of motor homes where the tenants looked a little unkempt, dogs were running free, men chewing tobacco and dirty young children were roaming around unsupervised. One toddler even looked like she was tearing the upholstery of the car she was playing in!

Needless to say we ended up driving back into Flagstaff where, at 7.30pm, we just pulled in to the Quality Inn and, as luck would have it, took their last room. This luxury did cost us … $150 to be precise … more than the total of the last four nights camping!!!! Anyway, every cloud and all that … we did so enjoy the luxury of the bedroom and a hot bath 🙂 and after a shattering and awesome day we slept soundly in this room.

Sun, 26th May: Kaibab Camping Ground, Grand Canyon National Forest
We make the most of the Quality Inn this morning and, after breakfast, use the wifi to do some research and facetime Kieran, Lauren and Mum n Dad. It is great to ‘see’ them after what seems such a long time 😦 Reassured that all is well in their worlds, we check out at mid-day and set off towards the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. We have decided not to venture back down to Sedona again … it is something that we will have to forego in an effort to make some progress today.

Wow! What an adventure we have … yes, another one!!!!! On our way out this morning we see Flagstaff in all its glory. It really is a very interesting college town stretched out along historic Route 66 – yeh baby! The fairly small (about 5 blocks square) downtown is on the western side of town, near the base of Mars Hill, and is the route we take of the town. the location of Lowell Observatory. Both I-40 and the BNSF railroad tracks run roughly parallel to Route 66. Northern Arizona University is located south of downtown and the tracks, but north of I-40. Here the north-south oriented Milton Road, which becomes I-17, is the main thoroughfare, with Route 66 heading west north of the railroad underpass.

Heading North on Highway 89 passing the Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument and the Wupatki National Monument – rich in Native American ruins, the monument is administered by the National Park Service. The many settlement sites scattered throughout the monument were built by the Ancient Pueblo People. Skirting the Navajo Nation we stopped at Cameron Trading Post again where we made some grocery purchases. It is here that we made the acquaintance of Neil, the biker. He had been to a bike convention and his Honda Goldwing had been converted into a 3 wheeler superbike complete with trailer. Whilst admiring his colleague/s bike he offered us to sit on his and take pictures … a really nice guy.

We then continued up Highway 89to the junction of Bitter Springs where the 89 was closed due to a massive landslide last winter which caused the road to subside dramatically. Therefore we continued on the 89A, the alternative highway, towards Marble Canyon. This is where we came upon the Navajo Bridge which crosses the Colorado River’s Marble Canyon near Lee’s Ferry. Apart from the Glen Canyon Bridge a few miles upstream at Page it is the only roadway crossing of the river and the Grand Canyon for nearly 600 miles. Spanning Marble Canyon, the bridge carries northbound travellers to southern Utah and to the Arizona Strip, the otherwise inaccessible portion of Arizona north of the Colorado River, which includes the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.

Prior to the construction of the first Navajo Bridge, the only river crossing from Arizona to Utah was at nearby Lee’s Ferry, where the canyon walls are low and getting vehicles onto the water is relatively convenient. The ferry offered only unreliable service, however, as adverse weather and flooding regularly prevented its operation.

In 1990, however, it was decided that the traffic flow was too great for the original bridge, and that a new solution was needed. The sharp corners in the roadway on each side of the bridge’s approach had become a safety hazard due to low visibility, and the deficiency in the original design’s width and load capacity specifications were becoming problematic. The bridge had also become part of Route 89A.

A new bridge was built immediately next to the original one although the original Navajo Bridge is still open to pedestrians and a Visitors Centre has been constructed nearby to showcase the historical nature of the bridge and early crossing of the Colorado River. The original bridge has been designated as a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on 13th August 1981.

From here we had stunning close up views of the magnificent Colorado River and the Marble and Glen Canyons in all their glory. Taking the advice of the Ranger at the Visitors Centre we took a 5mile detour down to the base of the river. This access to the river is the only one within a 400 mile stretch. Here we parked up at Paria Beach and watched an abundance of people trout fishing … brilliant! We dipped our toes in the Colorado River OMG!!!!!! Nah nah nah nah nah 🙂

Further along the river we saw the entry point for all the rafting expeditions that venture down the Colorado on excursions anywhere between 3 and 18 days long! This area is Lees Ferry … a site with a lot of history and which historically served as an important river crossing due to its unique geography – the only place in hundreds of miles from which one can easily access the Colorado River. Starting in the mid-1800s it was the site of a ferry operated by John Doyle Lee, for whom it is named. Boat service at Lee’s Ferry continued for over 60 years before being superseded by the bridge in the early 20th century!

Expeditions start here as the wake is calm due to the Glen Canyon Dam, a concrete arch dam on the Colorado River which was built to provide hydroelectricity and flow regulation from the upper Colorado River Basin to the lower. Its reservoir is called Lake Powell, and is the second largest artificial lake in the country, extending upriver well into Utah. The dam is named for Glen Canyon, a colourful series of gorges, most of which now lie under the reservoir

We drove out of the Glen Canyon back onto the 89 and alongside the Paria Plateau towards Jacob Lake. As part of Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, the Paria Plateau boasts uncommonly high biological diversity and significant cultural resources. The plateau is at the centre of the effort to reintroduce the endangered California condor in Arizona and is home to the desert bighorn sheep and over twenty species of raptors. The majestic Vermilion Cliffs embrace the gnarled piñon and juniper trees, shifting sand dunes, and swirling bands of coloured sandstone of the Paria Plateau. This was probably one of the straightest and most desolate roads we have travelled on and we have travelled on many long stretches!!!! Turning onto Highway 67 towards the Grand Canyon National Park and the North Rim we come across our final destination today …. Kaibab RV Camp. What a find!

Just 45 miles away from the North Rim 🙂 Kaibab is a superb location … off the beaten path! Quiet and secluded, surrounded by Kaibab National Forest land. Nestled in tall pines with a beautiful meadow surrounding Jacob Lake. Gorgeous 🙂 We settle on a site on the edge of the camp bordering fields and forests … simply beautiful. We are soon seated and eating our spaghetti bolognese and soaking up our surroundings. Our ‘dining rooms’ have never had such a good ‘windows’. After dinner, we relax around our camp fire, drinking chatting, reminiscing and star gazing. The sky here is full to bursting with them…. magical. This journey just overwhelms us at every stop 🙂 To top a perfect day, our ‘neighbour’ Lisa gives us a packet of marsh mallows, a hershey bar and some honey biscuits. She then proceeds to educate us in the art of S’mores … NOM NOM NOM … you put the chocolate on the biscuits then roast the marshmallows. Once the marshmallows are crispy on the outside, you pop them on top of the chocolate then place a biscuit on top and, hey presto, you have a delicacy!!!! Simple and delicious!!!! The evening comes to an end listening to good old Lionel Richie. We’ve come a long way since the days when we listened to him in my bedroom in our courting days … now here we are looking at the stars sitting around a camp fire in the Grand Canyon National Forest. Who would have thought it 🙂

A final blog of today’s experiences and we are ready for bed. We are hoping that we have this camping malarkey well and truly sorted tonight … the days have been beautifully hot and sunny but the nights have been god damn cold. We’ve managed wrapped in our thermals and down jackets but tonight we actually have a sheet on the blow up bed and a throw to go over us. Hopefully this will keep us warm and, if so, ‘by jove’ we’ve conquered it!!!!! We’ll feed back in the morning ….. good night.

Mon, 27th May: Grand Canyon Lodge, North Rim, Colorado
Well, it was better lol but I still needed my down jacket … good job the days are bloody gorgeous!!!!!

We awake this gorgeous morning and start our usual routine of clearing up and after a bacon sarnie brekkie, we start our journey to the North Rim 🙂 On arrival we park up and check out the Grand Canyon Lodge … a stunning location with beautiful views from the huge windows inside the quaint building. As we are not able to check in until 4.00pm, we decide to get our walking gear on and go for a hike down into the canyon on the North Kaibab Trail.

After driving 2miles from the Visitor Centre to the trail head we join the trail which is steep and is the only maintained trail into the canyon from the North Rim. Our short hike down to Coconino Overlook (1mile) is pretty and very dusty providing gorgeous views above and below us. Mules are ridden along this trail also – another popular way to journey into the canyon … just as they did in the olden days. I for one would not like to be sat on one at this height and on this narrow steep trail!

We continue down the canyon on the zig zag track until we come to Supai Tunnel (2miles) – a tunnel through the rocks just after the water station fed by the canyon’s natural spring where we fill our bottles up. On the way we meet up with various people … in fact, just past the tunnel we meet three ladies who are on their way back from the South Rim, having walked there yesterday!!!! 20plus miles each day. Other people were concluding a three day trek having camped at Phantom Ranch and Cottonwood on the way.

We continue on through the tunnel and decide to head for the bridge we can now see at the bottom of this descent before the trail climbs and bears right towards Roaring Springs. Time is against us and we decide that once we are at the bridge we will eat our picnic and begin the steep climb back to the top. What a challenge this was … I certainly felt it! It took us 1hr 50mins to get down and 3.5hrs to climb back up again!!!!! Given more time and a little more preparation, we would have loved to do a hike to Roaring Springs – an extremely strenuous trek which takes a full day. However, our hike gave us an appreciation for the canyon’s rich natural beauty and immense size.

Thoroughly exhausted we arrived back at the Lodge and check into Cabin 400 🙂 Very dusty and sweaty we shower change and, once fully refreshed, we head for the west side of the Lodge to try and catch the sun setting in the canyon from the Transept Trail, a 1.5mile trail which follows the canyon rim from the Lodge to the North Rim Campground.

It wasn’t a perfect sunset as a cloud hung just above the plateau. Nevertheless, it was a beautiful moment. After yet more pictures of the amazing views of the canyon on this side … its colours, shadows and formations … we retire to one the plush comfortable leather sofas in the massive Lodge Lounge to recharge and relax. Here we have a few tipples, share stories with fellow trekkers and meet a variety of people before being called to the Dining Room for dinner. By this time (9.45pm) we are ravenous and thoroughly enjoy the steak / portobello mushroom dinners served to us. Accompanied by glasses of red wine, this was a very sophisticated and worthy way to finish our last night at the Canyon. All warm and content and ready for bed (a proper bed!) we walk the short distance to our timbered room. The North Rim has been as spectacular as the South Rim but less touristy, more remote and full of rugged solitude.

Tue, 28th May: Zion Canyon Campground RV Resort, Springdale, Utah
After a wonderful nights sleep in a ‘proper bed’ lol, we woke early and walked down to the Bright Angel Point Trail, a short walk on a paved trail to a spectacular view of the canyon. It is on this outcrop that we take pictures of the Bears to commemorate their visit to the canyon lol.

We then check out of the Lodge and decide on having a cereal brunch on the edge of the Kaibab National Forest which is just outside of the exit of the North Rim. On the side of the road we get our camping chairs out and have our cereal brunch … yet another wonderful ‘dining room’ experience on this adventure of ours!

We continue on the 89A North to Zion National Park. At the entrance gate, we chat with the Ranger and, when we tell him of our plans and where we have been, he informs us that it would be beneficial to purchase an annual pass to the National Parks. So that’s what we did … the Grand Canyon cost us $25, Zion was going to cost $20 and there would also be similar charges to enter Yosemite, Redwood, Jedediah and Yellowstone. So, now we were the proud owners of a USA National Park Annual Pass !

The drive into Zion National Park from the eastbound entrance point was truly spectacular 🙂 On the approach to and inside Utah’s First National Park, we marvel and gaze up at massive sandstone cliffs of cream, pink, and red that soar into a brilliant blue sky. As we do so, we travel along the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway and at one stage go through a 1.1mile tunnel that was blasted through the rock in the 1920s!

On discovering that both camp sites in the park are full, we call in at the Visitors Centre and are advised of a campsite just one mile outside of the south entrance in Springdale.

Springdale is lovely …. a small town on the Zion Boulevard and the gateway to everything the park has to offer: rugged, challenging hikes, brilliant wildlife and breathtaking vistas assisting travellers on their way to discovering the incomparable beauty of Utah’s natural landscapes. At the site, we set our tent up and return to the National Park to explore.

Back at the park we catch the Shuttle Bus which takes us along Zion Canyon Scenic Drive as no cars are allowed along the route. There are nine scenic lookout points and we decide to head straight to the end of the route to a point called The Temple of Sinawava. All along the route there are stunning vistas and rock formations in the sandstone of Zion Canyon. We walk along a trail called the Riverside Walk a 2-mile round-trip stroll at the farthest end of Zion Canyon, in the natural amphitheater that is the Temple of Sinawava. The well-travelled path, with birds, squirrels and mule deer, ends where Navajo Sandstone walls close in and the water of the Virgin River is forced into the narrow walls of the world renowned Zion Narrows.

The river has carved a spectacular gorge in the upper reaches of Zion Canyon – 16 miles long up to 2000 feet deep and at times only 20-30 feet wide! We decide to take the plunge and although it is nearing 6.30pm we step into the Virgin River and begin a one mile trek upstream wading through the river just below knee height. Wading upstream we see a bit of the magnificence of the Zion Narrows, a trail in the water which follows the route of the Virgin River!

This was an awesome experience and we only wish that we could have spent more time here and possibly done the whole 16mile hike … this would have been amazing. If we had done the hike, at least 60 per cent would have been spent wading walking and sometimes even swimming in the river ! There is no maintained trail because the route is the river … the current is swift, the water may be cold and deep and the rocks underneath are slippery. Flash flooding and hypothermia are constant dangers … we really want to do this !!!!!

After one mile we turn around and, once back on land, join the Riverside Walk and stroll back to the Shuttle Bus to head back down to the scenic route to the car park. En route we see wild turkeys and more mule deer whilst stopping at:-
Big Bend where we see views of the Virgin River and Angels Landing, of the most famous hikes in all of Zion National Park. A 2.5 mile strenuous climb this is not for the squeamish or those easily affected by vertigo. There are places, such as the Hogs Back, where the trail is little more than an ascending groove cut into the almost sheer slope of the geological fin!!!!
Great White Throne – a tremendous majesty of towers over Weeping Rock.
Weeping Rock – a short but mildly steep, paved trail ending under a rock alcove with dripping springs. The destination of the hike is the moss and fern-covered eave of an overhanging cliff. Dozens of tiny cascades of water drizzle their way over the edge of the precipice, making their way down to the pools of water below. Weeping Rock is famous for the trickling streams of water and the hanging gardens of ferns and mosses that turn an ordinary sandstone canyon into a green paradise.
The Grotto and Zion Lodge – a short stretch that connects the Grotto picnic area to Zion Lodge a good place to rest, eat and fill water bottles for further exploration. Short and easy, it gives visitors a nice taste of the spectacular canyons.
Court of the Patriarchs – at this stop we get views of the Abraham, Isaac and Jacob Peaks, Mount Moroni and The Sentinel rock formations.

After another perfect day, we return to the campsite where we indulge in beans on toast having tried out our ‘camping toaster’. The rest of the evening is spent around another Mr P camp fire. Before we know it its 11.50pm and we are forced to go to bed. We have a long days driving ahead of us tomorrow … a small price to pay for a fantastic few days!!!

Wed, 29th May: Gray Meadow Campground, Ipon National Park
This morning we woke to a stunning sunrise over the mountains of Zion National Park. The camp was bathed in sunlight as we opened the zipper … another beautiful day! We got up, tidied the camp away, had breakfast and showered before setting off on a full days driving … 10 hours!!!

I started the first shift of the driving following Highway 89 for a short distance to Freeway 15 to Las Vegas … a mere 104 miles away! After just under 3 hours we saw the Stratosphere in the distance and before too long the whole strip … this was very surreal, we were driving into Las Vegas baby!

We got off the Highway at Exit 39 and drove down Las Vegas Boulevard past all the familiar sights we’ve walked before. It was fantastic … all the hotels looked as amazing as ever in the heat of the day! We just had to do lunch before leaving 🙂 We took a left off the Boulevard and pulled into Hooters Hotel and Casino car park where it was free to park (shock, horror!) and decided to eat in the restaurant here. A couple of portions of chicken strips and curly fries later we were on our way again … after a couple of photos of course!

After lunch Neil took the wheel and we headed South of Las Vegas past the gorgeous Mandalay Bay and headed west on the 160 to Pharup and the Death Valley National Park and, of course, another state; California!!!!!

We entered Death Valley just 45 minutes later and over the next 2hours of driving through this amazing barren wilderness we were totally amazed by the dramatic scenery and changing landscape … from arid desert to salt plains and rocky mountains. Death Valley was given its forbidding name by a group of pioneers lost here in the winter of 1849-1850. Even though only one of the group died they all assumed that this valley would be their grave. They were rescued by two of their young men, William Lewis Manly and John Rogers, who had learned to be scouts. As the party climbed out of the valley over the Panamint Mountains, one of the men turned, looked back, and said “goodbye, Death Valley.” This name, and the story of The Lost ’49ers have become part of USA western history.
Death Valley is about 140 miles long, from the head of Last Chance Canyon in the north to where the Amargosa River makes its big bend near Saratoga Springs in the south. Driving through the barren dry landscape to the only viewpoint we got out at, we come across a coyote trying to cross the road … he stayed long enough for us to take a picture lol. Once at Zabriskie Point and the sand dunes we saw the first people for a long time! Getting out of the car we immediately felt the heat of the desert. The car thermometer at this point read 104 degrees The drive through the park was extremely dramatic taking us from an elevation of 3000 feet to -150 feet below sea level and back up again! The roadway was unbelievable in itself and quite scary at times.

Death Valley is the hottest place on Earth. In July 1913, five consecutive days of 129°F or above were recorded … indeed on 10 July, 1913 a reading of 134°F was taken – the world record hottest air temperature!

Not long after leaving Death Valley ahead of us lay the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range and we literally drove alongside them for about 15-20miles. This was especially scenic as, at 6.20pm, the sun was setting behind them and casting magnificent shadows onto the J Inyo mountain range to the right of us. A totally unexpected treat in our travel today. Turning onto the 195 towards Yosemite National Park – our destination. However, after a brief stop at McDonalds in Lone Pine we discovered that Yosemite was another 2-3 hours away and, as it was already getting late, we decided to camp at the next town, Independence, at the base of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Darkness fell as soon as we’d set up camp at the Gray Meadow Campground in the Ipon National Park so it was an early night for us. In this small secluded camp, we can hear a river cascading nearby and look forward to investigating our surroundings in the morning 🙂

Thu, 30th May: Rodeway Inn Motel, Redding, California
We have a great night’s sleep in this secluded foothill of the Sierra Nevada and the sunrise casts a beautiful haze on the mountains. Having assembled all our belongings we are ready nice and early to start our onward journey. We left Independence at 7.30am and joined the Highway 395 North passing through Bishop, Tom’s Place and Mammoth Lakes before arriving at our destination today – Yosemite National Park, Arizona.

Yosemite is not just a great valley, but a shrine to human foresight, the strength of granite, the power of glaciers, the persistence of life, and the tranquility of the High Sierra. First protected in 1864, Yosemite National Park is best known for its waterfalls, but within its nearly 1,200 square miles, you can find deep valleys, grand meadows, ancient giant sequoias and a vast wilderness area. We enter the park at the East Tioga Pass gate. The Tioga Pass cuts the park in half from the East exiting approximately 40 miles later at the Big Oak West Entrance. This road is closed for 9 months of the year from early winter until late Spring. We were very lucky as we learned that the road had only been opened two weeks previously due to snowfall.

Inside the park we are immediately overwhelmed by the peaks of the snowcapped mountains and, after a 30min drive we stopped at the Tuolumne Meadows Visitor Centre where the ‘helpful’ Ranger, Margaret, furnished us with maps of the park and interesting information. Many of the 13 campsites were still closed from the winter and the only opportunity to camp was at a site called Tamarack Flat. However, later we found that this camp was fully booked. Continuing west on the Tioga Pass we passed many snow-fed lakes as well as rivers surrounded by beautiful granite cliffs and pine trees. At an elevation of about 9,000 feet it was cool but the whole area was basked in sunshine. We made a stop at Olmsted Point where we had sweeping views of Half Dome Peak and Mount Conness at 12,590 feet tall!

From here we drove approximately one hour to the West Exit having decided to push on coupled with the fact that we couldn’t stay here and the campgrounds outside were on our way forward. Unfortunately, this meant we didn’t get chance to do the Yosemite Valley Loop and the Scenic Drive to Glacier Point. I am sure that we will return at some stage in the future to complete this. On exiting via the West side we were grateful to have driven through the park in the direction that we did … by doing so we certainly experienced the best part 🙂

We picked up Highway 120 and headed west towards Interstate 5 passing through Oakdale and Manteca before picking up Highway 99 North to Sacramento. Neil had originally thought about popping in to see his old boss at SIP, Marco Ipasso, who lives in El Dorado Hills, a mere 45 minute detour from the highway. However, after many text messages and being made very welcome, we decided it was not the best time to visit. It was his daughter’s graduation tomorrow and he was in the throes of a big family occasion. Meanwhile, back on the ‘concrete jungle’ highway we bypassed Sacramento and picked up Highway 5 Northbound … having decided to drive all the way to Redding to stop in a motel for the night as we were tired, smelly, dirty and wanted the luxury of a bathroom and a nice bed.

Arriving in the town of Redding at about 7.45pm and, after a journey of 450 miles, we found a quaint little motel called the Rodeway Inn and checked in …. a real treat after a huge journey.

Fri, 31st May: Elk Prairie Campsite, Redwood National Park, California
After a free continental waffle DIY breakfast and a last minute catch up on the internet (facebook/viber/facetime) we left Redding on the 299, a scenic road to the coast and Redwood National Park. However, after only 30mins we came upon major roadworks which delayed us by approximately one hour. This was due the straightening out of the bendy highway – a total waste of money in Neil’s opinion. This highway was probably one of the prettiest drives of our journey to date … it meandered across the Whiskey Town / Shasta / Trinity National Recreation Area and was simply stunning as it followed the route of the Trinity River and the pine forests all the way to Willow Creek. The scenery was simply stunning as we were constantly ascending and descending various valleys along the way.

We stopped for lunch on a high embankment of the river where Neil climbed down to dive in the freezing cold water. As Neil does, he started to play around diving and swimming in the current and came out totally refreshed as did his boxer shorts … bet they were pleased lol!

Back on the road we eventually hit the 101 coastal route at McKinleyville and proceeded north for approximately 45mins to the Redwood National Park – a mere 150 mile journey today. Redwood National and State Parks are home to the world’s tallest trees, icons that inspire visions of mist laden primeval forests bordering crystal clear streams. As we met with the coast, it was fantastic to see the swell of the ocean once again as we had not seen it since Honolulu and the Ginger One 🙂

After stopping at the Kuchel Visitor Centre and getting our campsite directions we proceeded to the Elk Prairie Campground where we set up camp at approximately 3.00pm to chill out (smoking pot/drinking bud/blogging) whilst sitting in the gorgeous sunshine overlooking the Redwood Forest for the rest of the afternoon and evening … a truly gorgeous setting. During the afternoon we also planned the next 5 days journey which will eventually take us to Vancouver to meet our dear friend Mrs Angela Jones 🙂

Sat, 1st June: Jessie M Honeyman Memorial State Park, Glenada, Oregon
After a very cold damp night indeed, we woke early, dried the tent and tarpaulin out before packing them away and drove to the Visitors Centre of the campsite. Here we found a short 4mile walk, the Prairie Trail, which allowed us to explore the wonderful Redwood Trees in this vast forest. We hiked along crystal-clear Prairie Creek with many breathtaking views of sloping redwood forest. A short spur trail leads past the Corkscrew Tree, an excellent example of a “fairy ring”—a single tree with numerous trunk reiterations. On this trail we also come across the famous tree called Big Tree, aptly named as its dimensions are 304ft in height; 21.6ft diameter; 68ft circumference with an estimated age of 1500 years!!!!! WOW!

Walking through a redwood grove is an unforgettable experience. Sounds are reduced to the musical gurgle of water trickling amongst ferns and mossy rocks. Light ebbs with the somber mist and shafts of sun hang like cobwebs. Stillness and peace weave their spells … 🙂

Did you know ???? There are 3 types of Redwood Tree; Giant Sequoia, Dawn and Coastal Redwood. A redwood cone is the size of an olive. Each cone contains 60 to 120 seeds. One tree may produce 10 million seeds but only a few will reach maturity. If a seed settles in just the right place it may grow into a tree that will live more than 2,000 years. Amazing!

We continued through the park on the Newton B Drury Scenic Parkway for a distance of 10miles through the heart of the old growth Redwood Forest in Prairie Creek Redwood State Park. We then proceeded North on the 101 past Jedediah Smith Redwood State Park, another park famous for its towering Redwoods!

We followed the 101 out of California, just North of Crescent City where we entered into the State of Oregon. The 101 is a coastal road and for the next 100 or so miles we meandered around the hills and over the bridges closely following the coastline. This offered many beautiful views none more so than at Battle Rock Beach, Port Orford where we stopped for coffee at Redfish Restaurant. A stunning location with a panoramic view of Battle Rock, Redfish Rocks, and Humbug Mountain. This also had wifi so we took advantage of this to update our electronic devices and catch up on any messages that had been sent to us.

Approaching tea time we began to look at where we would like to stay the night and stopped for supplies in a small town called Reedsport where Neil also took the opportunity to buy some firewood from one of the locals. Leaving Reedsport we continued for a further 10minutes before coming across a campsite called Jessie M Honeyman Campground … this looked ideal and especially beneficial as we discovered that America offers free camping on 1st June! Happy days! We found a beautiful sunny spot in the glade to pitch our tent. We soon set up camp and Neil started cooking a glorious steak dinner ….. al fresco dining at its very best NOM NOM NOM.

After washing up and showering, we went off for a walk onto the dunes of Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area (or NRA) is located on the Oregon Coast. They stretch approximately 40 miles north from the Coos River in North Bend, to the Siuslaw River, in Florence and are part of Siuslaw National Forest. Adjoining Honeyman State Park, the Oregon Dunes are a unique area of windswept sand that is the result of millions of years of wind, sun, and rain erosion on the Oregon Coast. These are the largest expanse of coastal sand dunes in North America. Some dunes tower up to 150 meters above sea level, providing numerous recreational opportunities including off-road vehicle use, hiking, photography, fishing, canoeing, horseback riding, and camping.

Back at camp we looked forward to relaxing around a nice fire as per usual. However, this was not to be as the ‘local’ firewood would not light … nor would any kindling … very strange indeed. After a valiant effort by Neil for over an hour we called it a day and crawled into the tent at 10.00pm. We were both tired and in need of the early night anyway 🙂 … we have a big drive ahead of us tomorrow.

Sun, 2nd June: Koa Campsite, Mount St. Helens, Washington
After our one and only rainy night so far, we had to dry out the tarps and the tent … this was after my Sunday morning lie in and a bacon and mushroom sarnie cooked by my wonderful chef Neil Pitkin 🙂

Today was a BIG drive day (a mere 215 miles) and not long after leaving the campsite stopped in the seaside resort of Florence where we bought our morning coffee from McDonalds and used the wifi to facetime loved ones to update them that we were okay lol 🙂 Kieran was working but seemed okay, Mum n Dad were sound and Loz was in Grantham with Kirsty and seemed very happy. We proceeded for a further hour and a half up the gorgeous 101 The Oregon Coast Scenic Byway – secluded beaches and bountiful state parks with charming atmosphere and diversely active towns along the way.

Just past Lincoln City we headed inland and joined Highway 18 towards Portland, a major metropolis in Oregon. We hit the I5 and bypassed Portland crossing the beautiful Columbia River into the state of Washington. We followed the Columbia River for about half an hour before briefly exiting the I5 to visit the small village of ‘Carrolls’ yay!

We continued North until Castle Rock where we decided to camp at our first Koa Kampsite called Long View North @ Mount St Helens. This is on a road which is the gateway to Mount St Helens a famous active volcano and its last major eruption was in 1980!

After tea we had our nightly meeting to plan the rest of our USA route (we pick Angela up in Vancouver on Friday !!!!!) and have decided to stay here tomorrow night as well … we are going to take the hour drive down Highway 504 to explore and trek the area around the volcano … as you do!

All that was left to do today was while the beautiful evening away around the firestarter’s camp fire … happy dayzzzzzz 🙂 Oh, and have a couple of S’Mores … NOM NOM NOM.

Mon, 3rd June: Koa Campsite, Castle Rock, Mount St. Helens, Washington
Having decided to stay at this campsite for a second night, we relax during the morning and catch up on some laundry before heading off to explore this wonderful area. Leaving Castle Rock we drove along Highway 504 to our first stop which was Mount St Helens Visitor Centre as the starting point to our exploration of the volcano that is the Mount St Helens National Volcanic Monument.

Mount St. Helens is an active stratovolcano located in the Cascade Range. This volcano is well known for its ash explosions and pyroclastic flows. The volcano is most notorious for its catastrophic eruption on 18th May, 1980, at 8:32am, the deadliest and most economically destructive volcanic event in the history of the United States. Fifty-seven people were killed; 250 homes, 47 bridges, 15 miles of railways, and 185 miles of highway were destroyed. A massive debris avalanche triggered by an earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale, caused an eruption, reducing the elevation of the mountain’s summit from 9,677 ft to 8,365 ft and replacing it with a 1 mile wide horseshoe-shaped crater. The debris avalanche was up to 0.7 cubic miles in volume. The Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument was created to preserve the volcano and allow for its aftermath to be scientifically studied. At the Visitor Centre we watched an awe inspiring short film detailing the 1980 major eruption resulting in the biggest landslide in recorded history:-

“On Sunday morning, 18th May 1980, the power of nature came to life as Mount St Helens erupted, causing the largest landslide in recorded history. Wind, fire, heat and debris swept down the Toutle River Valley and left a barren, grey landscape behind. Today, the grey is turning to green, bright flowers are taking their place amongst ash and mud and seedlings are reaching up from the bottom of barren trees”

After leaving the Visitors Centre we pass through the small hamlets of Toutle and Kid Valley before stopping at Hoffstadt Bluffs Visitor Centre …….. which had a veranda with stunning views of the volcano. Here we stayed for a coffee and sat on the deck admiring the awesome views before us. It was from here that helicopter tours to the crater were constantly departing and we contemplated taking a tour but decided against doing so.

Another few miles brought us to the Elk Rock View Point …….. and a little further along was the Castle Lake View Point …………. followed by the Loowit View Point all of which offered more stunning views of the volcano and the devastation area around it which is still recovering to this day!

We finally arrived at the Johnston Ridge Observatory ……. at an elevation of 4314ft. It is here at the observatory that we watch another amazing small movie which graphically detailed the initial landslide, lateral explosion and subsequent eruption. Following the film we set off on the Eruption Trail …….. which was only a short 1mile hike. However, we linked up to another hike – the Boundary Trail – which took us towards Spirit Lake. After approximately 2miles we came across a section called the Devil’s Elbow, a perilous walk across a narrow track with vertical drops to the valley below just inches away. This 500metre section of track whilst exceptionally risky and dangerous was just breathtaking and rewarding in its views of the volcano, the tree damage and the hummocks in the surrounding valley. At the end of the walk we were rewarded with the beautiful site that was Spirit Lake ………… Even today, 30 years on, its shores were littered with the debris of fallen tree trunks as far as the eye could see. It is hard to imagine that this lake actually changed in appearance, having grown larger and actually rising by 200ft from its original depth.

We were also rewarded with magnificent views of the snow capped Mount Adam. It was here on the fateful day that some climbers at the summit witnessed the eruption and felt the temperature rise up to 30-40 degrees from an astounding 30miles away!!!!

We had a wonderful time in and around Mount St Helens and started the 50mile / one hour drive back to camp at 6.30pm. En route we came across Patty’s Kitchen ……….. Hungry, we decided to stop here and were so glad that we did. It was an idyllic end to our day as we sat on the balcony in the sunshine overlooking the river eating our burgers 🙂

Back at camp we freshened up and prepared for our onward journey tomorrow. It is another early start as we head from here to Anacortes in the San Juan Islands. This is where Bobby’s friend lives and where we hope to pick up the extra tent in time for Angela’s arrival on Friday.

Tue, 4th June: Fletcher and Angela @ Guames, St Juan Islands
We left Castle Rock around 9.30am and headed north on Highway 5. We had contemplated taking Highway 12 towards Mt Rainier National Park and Mt Rainier the highest peak in Washington State. However, we pushed on towards Seattle but were still rewarded with magnificent sights of the towering peak in the distance. We drove through the exceptionally pretty city of Seattle with towering mountains on all sides … the Olympic Mountains to the west and the Cascade Range to the east.

Approximately 30 miles north of Seattle we took the 526 towards Mukilteo and the ferry that would take us to the San Juan Island of Whidbey. We crossed the Saratosa Passage, a 15min journey on an old car ferry, arriving in Clinton, Whidbey. We continued on the 525 for about one hour passing many beautiful small towns, stopping in Oak Harbor to fill up with groceries, before continuing on to Anacortes at the very northern tip of the island …………….. Just before Anacortes, we drove over the two bridges of Deception Pass State Park which link parts of the island. It is in Anacortes – on Commercial Avenue – where we find Dad’s Diner………. and Fletcher McLean, a very close friend of Bobby’s 🙂

Neil is soon sampling the local pilsner whilst we wait for Fletcher to close up the restaurant. Once the restaurant was locked up, we followed Fletcher to his and Neil’s (yes, another Neil but this one is Fletcher’s partner and good friend) mobile snack wagon. Powered by a meat smoker at the rear it is an awesome set up and the food smells great … we soon learn that it also tastes fantastic as we take home the remains of the days bbq.

As Fletcher lives on one of San Juan’s smaller islands called Guemes (approximate population of 700) ……… We waited in line for the ferry (which runs between 6.30am and 8.30pm) to take us on the 5min crossing to the other side. We follow Fletcher to his home … a really fairytale secluded house high up on the island. It is here where we meet his wife Angela and their daughters Lalon (8) and Iona (4) … and Dipper, their one year old dog. We spend the evening getting acquainted, eating / drinking / making S’Mores on the open fire. Before we know it, it is 10.00pm and, with the girls already in bed, we follow suit and retire for the night. Angela kindly announced that she had set the sofa bed up for us and we fall gratefully into the warmth of the spare room and have an amazing night’s sleep.

Wed, 5th June: Fletcher and Angela @ Guames, St Juan Islands
What a busy household the McLeans is … before we are up, Fletcher has left for work (6.00am) so has Angela with Iona in tow, after seeing Lalon off to school! Phew! When we have showered we head off to Dad’s Diner where we catch up with folk back home and have a wonderful cup of coffee or three lol! Within 10mins there is a postal delivery … the tent has arrived … well done Bobby! … Angela is now guaranteed some privacy lol.

Stopping off in Guemes to wait for the tent, we’d already decided that I would get my hair tidied up and Neil would do some more research for the weeks ahead. I get an appointment next to the diner at Opulence for 2.15pm so we head off to explor for a couple of hours with Iona in tow 🙂

We go back to the crossing between the islands which we passed through yesterday – Deception Pass …………………. We have a breathtaking breezy walk over the bridges and take the steps down to the beach. Iona delights in playing for a while here and loves it when Neil shows her how to skim stones across the water. She loves her name being written in the sand and before leaving we fill it with stones … it’s great messing about with a toddler again 🙂

Back at the car we head back to Commercial Avenue where I chill out at my hair appointment and Neil washed and tidied the car in anticipation of Mrs Jones’ arrival. He has lunch at the diner and brings mine around to the hairdressers … unique eh! lol!

We end the day with Fletcher at The Tavern … Hal’s place … where Fletcher was meeting a friend of his who owned a micro-brewery. He was putting on a special event at the pub showcasing some of his brewery’s beers. It was a brilliant couple of hours (I say couple beacuse here you need to wrap it up by 8.00pm for the 8.30pm ferry home!!!!!) and we met some lovely warm people … Hal and Cheryl the pub owners and Amy – Neil’s girlfriend. We made the last ferry and, a little worse for wear, managed to get ‘home’ where Angela and the girls were already in bed … needless to say we were not long to bed ourselves. Another great frickin’ day 🙂

Thu, 6th Jun: Heading to Vancouver …
This household wakes earely again for another busy day and we make an effort to get up and say goodbye to Lalon before she heads off to school. Angela and Iona then head off to the Diner where we will meet them for a coffee later on before setting off to Vancouver. We pack up and before leaving the island of Guemes we hike the well talked about Guemes Mountain …………

Refreshed we make the 10.45am ferry crossing to Anacortes and Dad’s Diner for the final time 😦 We have a lovely breakfast … pancake for me / biscuit, bisket hash, gravy and poached eggs for Neil. NOM NOM NOM… the food is really good here … the constant steady stream of customers is testament to that! Great food and the nicest people you would ever meet!

We take Iona out for a walk down the street to get a thank you gift for the kind hospitality shown to us since we arrived and, on the way back, head into Read Me A Story – Iona’s favourite shop. Here she picks out a cuddly toy black cat for herself and we get a voucher for Lalon so that she can pick something out for herself 🙂 Then its back to the diner for fond farewells and an exchange of email addresses before we head off for pastures new …