3.5.08

DEATH VALLEY

This is one of the national parks that we really wanted to see, it was formed about 3 million years ago and is a place of great extremes. There are mountains, valleys, salt flats and sand dunes. It is really hot getting up to temperatures of 131 F. It is the most consistant hottest place on the planet. It is home to some life though, there are Kangaroo rats, Chuckwalla (large lizard) and if you go hiking (which is not a good idea and one we passed on) you have to watch out where you put your hands and feet as there are Black Widow spider, Scorpions and Rattlesnakes. (Emilia did not stray far from the RV). We got out to take photos and video along the way, and you could feel the heat burning into you within seconds. We were told stories by the rangers about people coming into Death valley without water and even going hiking. (They suffered the consequences) Its not called Death Valley for nothing. It has the lowest point in the USA at Badwater which is 282ft below sea level.

LAKE TAHOE

We headed toward Lake Tahoe which we though would be fairly flat after going round all the scary mountain bends of Death Valley, but we were wrong, after climbing up hundreds of feet and Nora guzzling petrol like its going out of fashion we reached Lake Tahoe. This lake is beautiful and was very calm as its not main season here yet. We stayed on a campsite right next to the lake and we were the only ones there (everyone had gone they had obviously heard about Brian's habit of entering others campervans).   The ranger told us to go for a swim, but after paddling our feet ached with cold, so we passed on that. He also told us this was area for black bears so to put all food in bear proof lockers. We unfortunately did not see any bears this time though.

REDWOOD NATIONAL PARK

We carried on driving up the Pacific coast highway and entered the Redwood national park, this is home to the very tall redwood trees that grow along this coastal area. They grow to an average of 370ft and can live to 2000 years old. They grow taller than the Sequoia tree but do not live as long.  They have a lot of Elk that live in these parts and also a revolting thing called a banana slug, that has 3 different colours from bright yellow to dark spots that look like a banana going off. (hence the name).

15.6.08

SEATTLE

We have driven through Oregon and entered Washington state. We stayed at several campsites along the way making our way towards Seattle area. We arrived on Sunday 15th fathers day (the same as the U.K.) mothers day was May 27th but I wasn't allowed a 2nd one. We stayed on a campsite for the week, which was about 7 miles out of Seattle and caught the express transport into Seattle.

Space Needle

On the Monday we went into Seattle and made our way downtown looking at the shops as we went towards Seattle Centre to the Space Needle. This is 605ft high with the observation deck being at 520ft. It took only 41 seconds to go up this high with a lift being on the outside. Brian and Emilia had to pluck up courage to go up and were very quiet in the queue for the lift. (I got some peace for once) and would have made any excuse to not go I think. But once we were in the lift (Brian had his back to the window) it felt very safe and solid so they were ok once up there. The 306 degree view was spectacular as we were fortunate to have picked a sunny clear day. Mt.Rainier was clearly visible topped with snow and this is 90 miles away. The view over Puget Sound was lovely, seeing the ferries and the cruise ships. We could also see float planes taking off and landing on Lake Union. The Space Needle was built in 1962 as a symbol of that years world fair, but it soon became the symbol of Seattle. Well worth a visit.

Pike Place Market

Pike place market is public market overlooking Elliott bay waterfront in Seattle. It opened in 1907 and is one of the oldest continually operating farmer's markets in the U.S. It occupies over 9 acres on 3 levels. The world famous Pike place fish market is on the street level. They ship seafood all over the world, and there is a  crew of fishmongers who sing and throw fish to entertain customers. The market has a great feeling to it, the place bustles and you can get anything there.

First Starbucks

The first Starbucks is situated in Pike Place opposite the market. From here they sold coffee beans in bulk. This was opened in 1912 and the interior of the shop still has the shelving and counters from that time. It now sells the drinks that it has become famous for, but the first retail shop was opened in 1971. The staff in the shop were really friendly and the atmosphere just outside was lively as they had a band playing. We all had to have a drink from the first Starbucks of course.

Ride the ducks

We went on a ride around Seattle streets and in Lake Union, this vechicle is an ex military vechicle that can go on land and sea. The 90 minute tour took us around all the places of interest in Seattle from the old part to the new part. It also took us in the water on Lake Union.  (You can read more about this trip on Emilia's page).

27.6.08

We have left America now for a short while and entered Canada into British Columbia,  we were pleasantly surprised to find that straight away it was so pretty, we had been told it was.  We are going right through British Columbia and heading north to Alaska. We have stayed in some very nice campsites so far in Canada.

Brian has been behaving himself and not breaking into anyone's campervans, but he found a very large beautiful campervan and was taking photos when the owners pulled up in their car. (most Americans tow a car behind their RV as the RV's are so long). He got chatting (which dosen't take him long as you all know) and he managed to get us all invited in to look around and we ended up having a drink with them. They were a lovely couple who were retired and touring the states themselves.  Brian also got really excited as he found a Dollar shop (50p) and those who know him will realise that we had a job getting him out when he filled his shopping basket with all sorts of wonderful things!

Mileage update for those who are asking.  First 2 weeks in the car we did 1600 miles. Since buying the Campervan we have added another 3000 miles to that figure, bearing in mind a lot of this has been mountainous and reducing speed to 10 mile an hour soemtimes.

ALASKA

Well we have finally arrived in Alaska after a very long drive and sometimes a very bad road.  (They only have about 3 months a year to reapir them as they are covered with snow the rest of the time).  Everyone we spoke to on the way through the lower part of America and Canada said it be well worth the journey and it is.  It is very difficult to put into words how very different it is to the rest of America and Canada. One of the first things was that the first day we did not wear a hat and got sunstroke. We found it hard to take in as to how hot it was and we had to have the air conditioning on in Nora.  The second was that it does not get dark in the summer, they have the midnight sun and it was strange to wake up in the middle of the night and the sun still be high above us.  The landscape in stunning and very different from region to region, There were mountains, valleys, glaciers, Fjords and tons of trees. All of it was beautiful and took your breath away. The wildlife is amazing, we have seen Moose (mother and calf) these are huge creatures and can be very agressive. Also we have seen Caribou (Reindeer), Black bears and Brown bears (Grizzly), Dall sheep (they live on the side of mountains, Foxes and Bald Eagles. We had a fantastic experince, we managed to see a Black bear on the side of the road, we videod it and it was only 2 metres away, it was eating the plant roots, we got some amazing pictures also, it looked up and I did wimp and shut the window a little but then it looked down again and carried on eating. Black bears can run very fast and have very sharpe long claws.  We were very fortunate to see this in its natural environment doing its own thing.

We went to a little town called Seward on the southern side of Alaska, it is surrounded by the Kenai Fjords and we stayed on the waters edge in Nora, the scenery was stunning with the Fjords and mountains. We took a trip out to see the glaciers and on the way we were lucky to see Humpback whales and Killer whales, Sea Otters and Puffins. The Killer whales were swimming together as they tend to stay in pods. There was a mother and baby also. The Killer whale is about 30ft long and very sleek, shiny and fast. The Humpbacks were very big, they are 45ft long and weigh about 25 to 30 tons. They were brilliant to watch as we saw them blow, breach and dive so the large tail was in the air just like on the nature programmes. We saw alot of them on the way to the glaciers which are in the gulf of Alaska. The  glacier we saw was 1 mile wide and we went through ice in the sea and got to go right up to it. The ice was blue in the deep parts of the glacier and we heard like a thunder sound before the ice fell into the sea.  It was so beautiful  and mystical to look at.

We have found that we have been in all areas of Alaska and the people have been very friendly, and wanted to help and give us advice on where to go and what to see..  We have really enjoyed our experience of Alaska and would recommend it to everyone.

Don't get confused as to the part of Alaska that the cruise ships go to as this is just Juneau and this is nearer Canada and not the true Alaska.

22.7.08

CANADA

We left Alaska with sadness as we could have stayed there as we all loved it. We travelled back on the Alaska highway and put Nora through it again on the rough road, we have been told by locals that at least we can say we did the Alaska highway and survived. The journey back brought us through the Yukon Territory in Canada, this is another vast wilderness that seems to have millions of trees and a road just cut through with trees and mountains on each side, they are very tight with signs, or they don't want to upset you with how far you have to go. The wildlife is brilliant though in The Yukon and Northen British Columbia, you are definately in their territory as the signs all say the wildlife has the right of way. We were very lucky again as we saw another Black bear on the side of the road just eating the flowers, we managed to pull over and get some great photos, this one was black and the other one we saw was a cinnammon colour although it was still a black bear. We also saw wild Buffalo, these were all just sat in the grass on the roadside, Brian decided that he needed a close up so he went over to them, the huge male then stood up to make his presence known, he only sat down when Brian moved away. There were also Caribou running down the road in front of us, they look so awkward running as you will see in the photos, we also saw some Stone Sheep that can stand up to a metre and half tall.  This area was very scenic with beautiful lakes, mountains and flowers all over. We also stayed at a campsite in the woods at a place called Laird Hot Springs in Northern British Columbia. These were natural springs from the mountain and were very relaxing. They were quite hot when we first got in and as you moved up they got hotter, there was one point you could not even put your foot in.

6.8.08

We left Laird hot springs and travelled along highway 97 which is still part of the Alaska highway, we made our way to Dawson creek which is mile 0 on the Alaska highway. Dawson Creek is in Alberta which is the state next to British Columbia in Canada. We had a look around Dawson Creek and Brian decided that as we coundn't get Phil to fly out he had better get his hair cut as it was growing outwards and Emilia was close to disowning him. We then travelled to Jasper and Banff national parks. In Jasper National park Emilia and Brian walked up a glacier (I was too chicken) they said it was really weird as the ice crunched then it went thinner and water was running underneath. They made it quite away up and saw a large crevice which was very deep. Along the highway between Jasper and Banff National parks were several waterfalls that we stopped off at. Jasper town itself was very nice and quite pretty, the Canadian rocky mountaineer train stops here. ( they all must be rich to travel on Canadian railways as its really expensive). We called in to see Lake Louise which was very pretty with mountains behind, but a litle too touristy for our liking.

We eventually left Alberta and Canada and crossed over the border into America (we felt like we had come home) we arrived into Montana which we really enjoyed. The people were so friendly and nice. This is one of the real cowboy states and there were ranches all over. The highlight of our time in Montana was a Rodeo which was held in Helena the capital of Montana. It was in the evening after the fair that was held in the daytime. We saw real cowboy roping, bareback and saddled bucking horse riders, steer riding which was done by some as young as 11 yrs old, sheep racing which the average age was 5 yrs old (this is what they start with apparantly) and the best was the bull riders, they were amazing, some stayed on but were eventually thrown and the bull tries to get them. We had Montanan people on either side of us and they were quite willing to explain what was happening at each stage. It was great, Emilia was even a cowgirl for the night, but most went with their cowboy hats on as thats what they usually wear.

While in Montana as we were making our way through the state, which still has black and grizzly bears wandering in the wild, we visited a ghost town called Pony, we drove to this little town which was only 6 miles off the highway and saw a bank that was left just how it was. The owner came by as we were taking photos and very kindly let us have a look inside. The bank was just how it had been left and so were the living quarters. They were a lovely couple who invited for a drink in their lovely home set in the Montana hills with a stream running at the bottom of the garden.  We left Montana and made our way to Wyoming which is another cowboy state and stayed in Cody which is the the home town of Buffalo Bill (his real name was Cody so the town was named after him). Emilia loved it as they had shops for the cowboys to buy anything from the ropes to a saddle or a new stetson. The town looks like its staright out of the wild west.  Travelling through Wyoming was very different, you went for miles and miles without seeing anything just typical cowboy country from the films. We then went to Buffalo Bill's dam and made our way across the state to Yellowstone  National Park.  The park was very busy as it is a popular place for the Americans to come on holiday. There is abundant wildlife in the park, Elk, Buffalo, Mule Deer, Wolves, Moose, Black bears and it is Grizzly bear country. yellowstone was America's first National park in 1872, it is home to Old Faithful probably the world's most famous geyser.  We waited till we could see it erupt, it was fascinating to see. When it erupts it can reach up to 180ft in height and expell between 3,700 and 8,400 gallons of water with a temperature of 204F (95.6 C). The park is full of thermal springs and geysers, also though it has lakes, mountains, canyons and vast acres of wilderness. We left Yellowstone after spending a couple of days there and made our way through Shoshone national forest towards Idaho, we stayed a night in Idaho state which is famous for its potatoes and crossed over into Oregon.

7.8.08

We arrived in Oregon and made our way to Salem to the house of Brian's sister Wendy's penpal Marie.  We had contacted Marie and she very kindly invited us to stay at her house for a few days (well she said as long as we like), It is a lovely big bungalow in 15 acres of land in a quiet village near Salem. Marie has 2 gorgeous dogs, Sage and Lazurus (sorry Marie if I have spelt their names wrong). Sage very quickly attached herself to Brian and would sit with him whenever he was in the room. Lazurus took to Emilia, he is a sweety and an old man now.  Marie very kindly took some time off work and showed us some sites and took us to some great shopping areas which Emilia and I loved, but I think Brian tolerated.  We went to the Columbia river gorge and you can only access this by car as its a narrow steep road to the top, giving way to fantastic views of the gorge and surrounding countryside. There was a restored tower so you could go even higher to view.  We then went to Multnomah falls that was on two levels, the first fall went into a pool then tumbled into the 2nd fall. There was a bridge to walk to between the 2 falls.  We also visited the Bonneville Dam, which was a very big dam, this has a fish hatchery attached to it and had Rainbow trout in pools and Sturgeon. There is one huge resident Sturgeon called Herman and he is 10ft long.  At the side of the dam they have fish ladders that allow the fish to swim and leap upstream to spawn, you could go underneath and view the ladders under the water and see the fish swimming against the current, then go up top to see if any are leaping. Emilia really enjoyed this place. Staying at Marie's house was lovely and it was a treat to stay in normal beds after living in a campervan for a while (although we love Nora). We sadly left Marie after 3 nights (it was hard to drag Emilia away) and are travelling through Oregon.

13.8.08

Crater Lake

We visited Crater Lake which is in Oregon. This lake rest inside a caldera that was formed approxiamtely 7,700 year ago when a 12,000 foot tall volcano collapsed after a major eruption. Later eruptions formed Wizard Island a cinder cone near the southwest shore. Today there are forests and open meadows on the volcanoes outer slopes, but you can see quite clearly the shape of the callapsed volcano. It is the deepest lake in the United States and is fed by rain and snow ( but not rivers or streams), it is considered to be the cleanest large body of water in the world. It has an intense blue colour, and is 1,043 feet deep and 4.5 to 6 miles wide.

Bonneville Salt Flats

After leaving Oregon, we made our way across Nevada, which was a very long boring stretch of road, It was across high desert and mountains. The towns along the way mostly had casino's in a little like a mini Las Vegas. We went through one town and called for fuel, it was like a ghost town, everything shut up, nobody around. We heard from a local that it had suffered an earthquake that had ruined the town and collapsed most of the buildings, they had also had one the night before as well.  We carried on and did not stay in Nevada but carried on to Utah. As you leave Nevada and enter Utah you get your first glimpse of the Bonneville Salt flats. It looks really weird as desert gives way to just whiteness, from a distance it looks like snow. We drove into Utah and made our way to the Bonneville Speedway. You drove down the road about 3 miles and the salt flats were both sides. At the end it just opened out into the full Salt flats and the Bonneville Speedway. It seemed endless and you could not see the end it was just vast whiteness. There were people on the speedway having fun and driving at whatever speed they wanted. There were cars and a Triumph Bonneville motorbike came of the speedway after driving flat out, the bike was covered in salt. We decided against putting Nora on (plus it wouldn't look quite so good in a camper).  It is famous for its land speed records.

16.8.08

Utah and Arizona

Saturday 16th August we collected my sister Mandy and her husband Darran from their hotel in Salt Lake City, they had flown in the previous day late and had stayed overnight in a hotel (Darran is not good with lack of sleep) saying that sleep deprivation must be his preferred form of torture as that's what we had to put up with for the next 5 nights ( I will explain), it was great to see them both though after 3 months and they brought all sorts of goodies that we had been missing. Emilia was delighted with walkers crisps and caburys chocolate and I had my Marmite.  We had booked into a nice Rv site for their first 2 nights and had a nice time having BBQ's and swimming in the pool, it has been scorching hot here all the time ( we don't know what rain is anymore) so this was lovely for them to have some heat. We all settled into a routine, Darran sleeping like a baby, but souding like a grizzly bear, all us 4 wandering around with zombied expressions though lack of sleep. (sorry Boz, it had to be said). No we did all settle in well and we moved on towards the South of Utah and Canyonlands and Arches national Parks. We stayed in a campsite just outside Canyonlands, it was very hot and the sunset looked stunning on the red rocks. We lost Darran for a while and he was found to be with 2 blokes chatting away. (we call them bobly socks as they always have long socks, sandels and shorts). Anyway he returned to us and the next morning we went into Canyonlands, it has trails that were originally used to drive cattle, that run deep into the canyon, it was very stunning. We then drove onto Arches national park, we found that we could not go right into the park with Nora as the road was steep and narrow and had a drop. We got the idea though as there were smaller arches all along. 

We then crossed over into Arizona and came upon monument valley straight away, it is well known as this has been used in the wild west and other films and also adverts over the years. We had to have the famous picture with it behind us. The area was very different each bend you went around, there were monument like pillars, desert with red rock, and moon like crators. We all thought the scenery was stunning. We then headed towards Phoenix as we had a buyer for Nora (sad time), no Darran hadn't driven us to the extreme of selling the camper, (although it was close some nights) we had got a dealer that we were happy with and we would have had to sell her by the end of September anyway. It was a very sad time for me and Emilia sorting out and finally seeing her driven away, as she had been home for the last 3 months and we had become attached to her. We could never have done Alaska without her, she did us proud and we are sure Dave will find her a good family. We were able to keep her number plates as a souvinier as she had to change from Califonrina  plates to Arizona ones. We stayed over night in Phoenix.

The next day was Emilia's 10th birthday, we were woken up at 5 am by an excited little girl and she then went to Mandy ad darran's room at 6 am (I think she was getting her own back), Aunty Mandy had brought balloons, banners, candles and a birthday tree.  We left Phoenix and headed to Williams which is on historic route 66 and where Emilia wanted to spend her birthday. It is only 50 miles from the Grand Canyon south rim. We had a swim then went for a lovely meal at a themed restaurant, Emilia had a huge steak and they made a real fuss, they brought her out an ice cream face and all the waiters and waitresses sang a military style birthday song, she went very red but loved it, we had a great night all of us. Williams is a lovely little town, very old west style and very friendly. We went the next day to the Grand Canyon south rim. We had booked a helicopter ride over it, as Mandy and Darran had never been and had always wanted to see it. They thought it was awesome, its so vast and kind of draws you near the edge, We got some good pics and then went to the helicopter, you are each weighed and have to sit were they tell you. Mandy got to sit ext to the pilot, (we are still not sure how she wangles that one, was the wink or the bribe earlier, we will never know), us other 5 lowlifes (Carl came) had to sit in the back, we all looked the part with earphones on and enjoyed it enormously. The views are magnificent and so different, it is a mile deep in one part. The next day we went to the Grand Canyon north rim, which is over 200 miles away around it. The north rim was very different to te south, it had a lot of greenery, trees growing up all along the sides and it was very red and deep.

Over the next few days we visited Zion and Bryce and Red Canyon, these 3 parks were all very different.  We went through Zion and the rock formation looked like it had been poured on, you went through a mountain tunnel a mile long to see the rest of it, it changed all the time. Bryce canyon was different again, it had these samll columns everywhere they are called Hoodoos, they looked really good looking down onto them. Red Canyon speaks for itself, the rock was very red and stunning. We also drove 130 miles over desert to Great Basin National park which was just in Nevada. This park covered a vast area and you went up to 1000ft to look down into it.

By the 28th August we had to make our way back to Salt Lake city, as Mandy and Darran were flying back home on the 29th. We stayed overnight in Salt Lake city. We had a farewell meal and the next day they left for home. We had a tearful goodbye, the two weeks seemed to have flashed by. We had a great time having them over. Thanks Gertie and Bozzy we enjoyed having you both, so thanks for coming out to see us.  We then left Salt Lake heading towards LA, we arrived a few days later, and swopped the car for a smaller one and had a night in LA. We drove through Beverley Hills, saw the Hollywood sign and Emilia loved it all.

20.9.08

Orcas whales in abundance

We went on another whale watching trip, as we had really enjoyed seeing them in Alaska. The day we went out on the boat was another hot sunny day and just the right temperature for being out on the Pacific ocean.  The Skipper of the boat was very knowledgable about the Orca (Killer) whale.  We went right out and the scenery was lovely, he got news from the planes that observe the whales as to which location they were. They were heading south which was towards us, so we made our way there near an island that they like to feed near.  We were very fortunate as we got to see lots of Orcas.  There was one large male that was 35ft long and weighed 8 tons. He was showing off to a female and flipping over, side slapping his fin and diving. We got see them breaching also. We saw 7 of them in a line and this was because they were resting, they do this by coming close together and swimming really slowly for awhile. It was great as we got to see them close up.  The best part was seeing a mother and baby, the baby had only been born the day before, they swam side by side. The other whales were very protective of them. There were 3 pods of whales there that day, which was over 80 whales. one pod is resident and stays in that area year round, the other two are transient pods, they come back in June and leave in October, they are not sure where they go. It was an amazing site seeing so many whales together at once.

24.9.08

San Francisco

We decided to spend a few days in San francisco,  we drove into the city and made our way to the Golden Gate Bridge, it was really busy, we went around a bend and the bridge was suddenly there in front of you and we were driving over it.  The Golden gate bridge is 1.7 miles long (2'737m) and 90ft (27m) wide. It was opened in 1937 and now has an average crossing of 40 million a year. There are 38 painters that work continually to keep it right.  It looked like it was golden with the sun shining on it, and when we crossed it in the morning it had the mist around it like in the films. We crossed over it 5 times. It is a great view of the bay when you are on the bridge and you can see Alcatraz island in the bay. This was the famous prison.   We went into the centre of San Francisco and down to the famous pier 39 and fishermans wharf.  This is where the Sea Lions congregate on the edge of the pier, they are really loud. There are also some very different shops and lots of nice restaurants where you can get great fish and chips fresh.  From the end of the pier it was a fantastic view over the bay.  Probably one of the best parts was that we rode on the cable cars up and down the streets. This looked like the films as they travel up and down the steep roads to the centre of San Francisco.  They have been running for about 100 years and some of the cars are the original ones. They are all operated by hand and its quite hard work for the operators. It was a great San Francisco experience. There are lots of shops and restaurants in the centre, and we had a lovely Japanese meal.

19.10.08

Los Angeles once again

After we left San Francisco, we headed back dow south to LA again, we had to change the hire care as we had kept it long enough and they like to service them regular, so we headed back to the crazy centre of LA.

The other main reason for visiting LA is that we went to see some relatives of mine who I had not seen since I was 12.  They are from my mum's side of the family and it was great to finally catch up with them and stay with them for awhile. They are my Uncle Sam and Aunty Anna and my cousin Olin.  They have a very beautiful house in Bel Air and it was a lovely area to stay in.  They also have a great German Shepherd dog called Lexy.  They moved over to Canada first from India and after 14 years in Canada, came to LA and have been here for about 25 years or more. We are going to stay with them again in November before we leave America. 

Universal Studios

While we were staying at my uncles house we went to visit Universal Studios, they have a theme park and you can go on a tour of the studio. We went on this tour in the special trams, and saw the special effects for the movies. The way they produed fires, bridges collapsing, we  where on the tram and stopped in a village scene and all of a sudden water came rushing down the road like a dam had burst, its very realistic, they also show how they did rain and we went in another studio and they had a train crash and lorry turning over, you felt like it was going to hit you. We saw stage scenes for several films that we knew and drove around the street where they film desperate housewives. There were also the bungalows and trailers that the stars stay in while filming in the day.  We went on the different rides, the new Simpsons ride was the best, but we also went on the Jurassic park ride and saw a show that had some of the animals that star in the films (babe, Ace Venturer etc). We also saw The Terminator show and Shrek in 4D which was brilliant.  Shrek took a liking to Emilia as you will see in the photos.

Sequoia National Park

Sequoia National Park is the second oldest national park in the U.S.. This park is home to the giant Sequoia trees and in the cathederal like giant forest stands the 275ft-tall General Sherman giant Sequoia tree. This tree whose trunk weighs an estimated 1,385 tons has a circumference at the ground of 103ft. The General Sherman is estimated to be 2,200 years old. It is amazing to stand near and think about all the people that have passed by this tree. Sequoia's don't die of old age and are resistant to fire and insect damage. Mature trees produce in a year about 2000 egg sized cones and these cones can hang on trees green and closed for up to 20 years.  We went on a 3 mile walk through these giant trees, it was really quiet and peaceful to walk through them. They are so big its awesome to just stand and gaze up from the base.  The sequoia National park is home to Mule deer and these are prey to the Mountain Lion, but this creature is elusive to most. They also have Wolverines, Marmots, Coyotes, Gray Fox, Bobcats and Black bears.

Joshua Tree National Park

The Joshua Tree National Park is in California and its where the Colorado and Mojave deserts converge. The Eastern half of the park below 3000 feet above sea level, lies within the Colorado desert.  This part of the park is home to the Kangaroo rat and Kit Fox, it also has ocotillo plants, Jumping cholla cactus also called teddy bear cactus.  The Western half of the park with elevations above 3000 feet is in the Mojave desert. This part of the park looks like you could be on the moon and the area was used years ago to film the series Lost in Space. There are boulder stacks, Pinyon pines, Junipers, scrub oaks. The are also Mojave Yuccas and prickly pear cacti. The park is named after the wild-armed Joshua tree. It is a species of the Yucca. The Joshua tree can grow over 40 feet tall at about an inch a year. It blooms in February through to April with clusters of cream flowers. Whether the trees are alive or dead they are home to many animals. The birds are the Loggerhead Shrike, red-tailed Hawk, Ladder-backed woodpecker, American Kestral and the western scrub Jay. Hiding in the rocks you can find the red diamond rattlesnake, and desert lizard.  When we visited we were told that the male Tarantula may be seen crossing the roads in search of the female at this time of year. Also it is home to the dersert Tortoise.  The park was extremely hot, it was best to drive through, you needed the air conditioning on and plenty of water to drink. The temperature was 100 F plus.

Palm Springs

After leaving Joshua tree national park, we headed to one of our favourite places in America, Palm Springs and the best hotel there The Chase. We decided that after all our travelling around that we needed 2 weeks to chill and what better place to do this than at The Chase in Palm Springs. The temperature each day was between 85 F and 100 F, so after a leisurely breakfast that is wonderful, with lots of fresh fruit, the most taxing thing we had to do was decide which sunlounger we wanted for the day. We did excercise in the lovely pool, but as it was so hot it was great to go in and cool off. Then later in the day there were fresh baked chocolate chip cookies available. The owner Craig and his staff, especially Rick, Jonny and Karl made you feel very welcome, we felt very at home and were sad to leave. (Have I pushed the hotel enough Craig).  Craig has set Emilia on as you will see in the photos, her job is lined up for March. Carl espcially seemed to like The Chase and made friends with Rick and enjoyed all the facilities. Check his photos.

Disneyland

We left Palm Springs and headed back towards LA and to Anaheim, so we could go to Disneyland. We stayed at a lovely hotel next door to the park. We went in at 9.30 am and left at 8.30 pm after having a full day in Disney. We walked our legs off.  Emilia really had a great time as she was tall enough to go on every ride. We hardly had to queue as it was quieter at this time off year. The rides were excellent, but as I don't like fast rides with steep drops I screamed on them all., Emilia was fine and loved them the faster the better. Carl had a great time too, and got to meet a few characters, Mickey Mouse included and got in all the photos, he even went on the rides. The effects on the rides were amazing. We stayed and saw the grand finale parade when it was dark, which is always lovely. The park was also decorated for Hallowean, which is celebrated big time in America and canada.