New Mexico

Got into New Mexico today, so far a little more to my liking than Arizona and Nevada. I like the red rocks and sheer cliffs along the highway. Don’t get me wrong, Arizona was nice but New Mexico is more my style.
Little story from yesterday. I saw a car with a sign that had the triangle and Recycle Rite on it. I carried on and went to fill my water bottle from the spring tap. On the way back to my car there was a woman opening the car. Turns out the Recycle Rite company is her son’s because their community doesn’t have curbside recycling. He wanted to provide the service and help to make sure things were recycled properly. Here is the link to his site if you want to check it out. http://www.recycleritecf.com/index.html
Back to today, I didn’t sleep well last night for some reason so I was really tired and decided I better stop in Albuquerque so I didn’t fall asleep driving. No way to sleep in the car during the day in the desert so into a motel I went. Still got 400 kms in today and more than 800 yesterday. I’ll make it into Texas tomorrow, Enjoy today’s pics.

Canyon

As I suspected the WIFI was hard to find last night. I got to the Grand Canyon and toured around. It was mostly cloudy and hazy so the long shots weren’t what I had hoped they would be. I found I spent as much time shooting wildlife and flowers/trees as I did the canyon. The squirrel pictured below actually ran right between my feet. The squirrel I saw earlier was much more timid. There were condors, ravens and even some elk along the road.

It got dark very early here, it was fully dark by 9:00 and I was asleep by 9:30. Up at 2:30 but I went back to sleep until 4:30. Heading into New Mexico today. More later.

Desert Rain

Yes please. In Arizona about to go to the Grand Canyon. No pics yet today but figured I should post in case I have trouble finding WIFI later. I never thought I would be so happy to see clouds. It was still really hot but the lack of direct sun helped a lot. As I gained altitude and neared Grand Canyon Park the clouds got thicker and the rain showers got longer. The first shower was about 15 seconds. Now they are lasting a whole minute. There is lots of lightning activity in the distance, cross those fingers that I’ll get a Canyon and lightning shot.
When I was planning this trip I tried to find Route 66 on the maps and couldn’t so I gave up. Today I discovered that it runs almost parallel to I-40. I thought about getting off the Interstate and heading along the 66 but then I started thinking that I should keep this as my adventure and not follow the path of those generations that came before me and traveled Route 66 when that was the only/best way to travel. I’m part of the Divided Highway Generation, we drive at the speed we want and don’t watch for oncoming traffic. We are awesome! All of the Route 66 travelers have my respect and thanks for giving me something to emulate but not copy.
Might be pictures later.

Happy Birthday?

You bet it was! Not really sure if I can say best birthday ever. I’ve had some pretty good birthdays what with Royfest being a real event and all. Hard to top the first Royfest with the spontaneity of it all, the great friends and accoustic Damhnait Doyle performance. But this was on par with that. I headed for Venice Beach and the first area I pulled into was the Santa Monica Peir… way too crowded for this cowboy. So I went south and missed the street for the parking lot I had meant to park at but found another even further south. Got the cameras out and headed for the sand. Walked south for a while then headed north again because I needed some breakfast. Had a sammich and Gatorade in the shade of a palm tree as cyclists and roller bladers zoomed by. Then I continued north to the big lifegaurd headquarters and designated surfing area. The waves weren’t big but they seemed to be beginners so that was probably a good thing. Started south again to the peir for a little visit then I figured I should get out of the sun and on the road.
Hit another In-N-Out Burgers for lunch on the way out of the LA area and now sittin’ at a Starbucks in Barstow. The I-15 going into LA was pretty much packed to a crawl when I pulled in here but traffic out of LA was moving smoothly. I think my theory about Los Angelinos going to Vegas for the I-405 closure may have been correct. Or this is a weekly thing. Either way the I-405 was opened by lunch time today. The only traffic I ran into was right by the shore with people trying to find parking. Overall a pleasant LA experience and a great birthday!
Even though I passed the halfway point two days ago it is just now that I feel like I’m starting towards home.
As a birthday present for you there are lots of pics today.

Yes, you can live right on the beach. Don’t think I’d want to see the price tag though.

The main street into the parking area. Surrounded by restaurants and gift shops.It was hard to get a shot without a bike or bikini, this shot has both.

These ones were geese.

The couple that owned these were nearby tanning. There were some great bikes all over the place.

More Relaxed

I do a lot of thinking when I’m driving and today was no exception. As I was going through the Nevada desert, before the camera problems, I was thinking about all of the dating sites (not to mention friends and family that try to match you up). I think a significant other is a friend that you want to spend time with and even live with. There is lots of pressure (and money to be made) to get people together in a romantic relationship.
Yet there is no pressure or web site for when you are down a friend for whatever reason. Maybe they moved or you grew apart, or had a big fight over the last toaster pastry. The point is you move on with your life and if somebody comes along to fill the void left by the absent friend you accept them. If nobody comes along you fill the time with other friends or hobbies. No pressure, just life.

So to all of my friends past, present and future, I’m glad I got to know you and we didn’t have to meet through a web site.

Now that I’ve been all deep here is a picture of my multi-coloured driving arm.

The really dark spots are where it hasn't peeled yet. The white spots on my knuckles and elbow are the dry spots that are always there.

Vegas Baby!

Parental/Kid warning: Not a good day so I’ll delete the bad words and replace them with a star (*). Parents, you can insert whatever word you want in there. Kids, when you see a star yell out “He Swore!” as loud as you can.
So I got up this morning not loving the desert overly much but determined to push through and see Las Vegas. Drove for a while and saw an IN-N-OUT Burger sign so in I went and came out with a pretty good burger and home-style fries. Man it was crowded. I think everybody from LA was fearing the freeway closure so they went to Vegas for the weekend. Because of the crowds there I was debating if I should go to the strip and battle more crowds or just keep on trucking. (Hold on, we’re getting to the good part.) I finished my food and took a few shots around the parking lot and of the crowd inside, refilled my drink for the road and went out to get a couple shots of the building on the other side of the freeway. Took my first and only shot of the buildings and my * * camera died of heat stroke. The * mirro locked up and would not come down. That answered that * question. Guess I’m hitting the road to get some wind blowing to cool down the camera and me.
When the camera cooled down a little it turned on but the mirror kept opening and closing. I had remembered it doing that once before but I didn’t remember if I did something or if it just stopped.
Got checked into my motel in Ontario (California not Canada) and started to download the pics and find a firmware update to see if that helped. While I was unloading the pics the mirror continued to flip up and down.
To do the firmware update I had to copy a file to the CF card using a card reader. When I took the card out and put a different card in the mirror stopped flipping. Did the firmware update anyway since I had 1.0.2 and the new one was 1.0.8. Camera seems to be OK again and the point of this story is I don’t like the desert and I’m glad I had a backup camera. The Rebel isn’t quite as good as the 50D but he has saved my * a few times, plus he was my first digital SLR so I’ll always love him. He took the blurry(not his fault, I zoomed way in on a wider pic) shark shot and the alien shot from Baker.
In LA now getting rested up for my birthday on the beach tomorrow. When I’m done at the beach I’ll be heading out of town on the way east. No more west on this trip unless it’s slightly north-west to get to a stop.
Forgot to mention yesterday was the half way mark in both days and kilometers. Day 15 and just over 9,000 kms. Tomorrow we will hit the 10,000 km milestone and I’ll take a picture for y’all. Two days of worrying, let’s hope the rest of the trip is all good eventfulness.

Notice it’s on a Saturn. Took this for Robyn, she loves a good bumper fish.

I should have put the wider lens on. Where the guy in the white shirt is on the right is where the line loops around to.

Now go to bed, it’s after 10:00 on the east coast. Unless you’re reading this in the morning, then you should probably get to work… or the kids should get outside and enjoy the sunshine/rain. Miss you all.

Yosemite and Aliens

Sorry for the delay getting this post up but I got really high today. According to the sign it was 9965 ft above sea level. 🙂 Before I get ahead of myself yesterday I made it to San Francisco and got a shot of the GG bridge from the lookout just before you get to the bridge. Then I headed east across the sexiest bridge I’ve ever been on, away from the city to find a place to sleep.

When I got up I continued east towards Yosemite and Nevada. I knew there were mountains in the park but I was hoping that the road used the passes instead of going over the top of them. Boy was I wrong. Before I actually got to the national park I had breakfast and got a tip on some waterfalls from a great waitress, we were having a rough morning with cutlery but it was a delicious meal and the smiles were a good way to start the day. Then I met the first stranger to be included in the blog. I forget her name but she looked so peaceful sitting there so I just had to go interupt. 🙂

I hit the waterfalls and some other sites in the park. You guys can make up whatever story you want to about the abandoned flip-flops.

I had a little episode coming down from 10,000 ft. Carl’s brakes got hot and mooshy and when I pulled over they were smoking. Then when they cooled off and I pulled out to finish the rest of the hill(came down 3000 ft in about 6 miles, 8% grade) there was a lot of blue smoke coming out the back. I freaked! So I pulled over to check the oil, clean but a little low so I filled it up. Then I remembered that when he idles there is a little leak by on the valves which then burns out of the cylinders when I press on the pedal. We had just rolled down a six mile hill where my foot didn’t touch the gas once so when the build up burned out of the cylinders everything was back to normal.

So we continued into the desert… and more mountains in search of aliens. Below you will see a picture of the first town I came to. This is where I want to film my movie.

Apparently cows are allowed to roam free in Nevada, sometimes they get off the road, sometimes no. I saw two that had been hit and killed.

Then I got to the A’LE’INN and got my souvenir shot glasses, had a chat with the guy working there and wandered around the yard. Then off to the main goal for today. If you don’t know what I’m looking at in that picture, shame on you and go rent “Paul”.

Into California

Today’s theme is “silly”. The dune and sunset pics are from yesterday.

Today we stopped to check out some dinosaurs.

Then we went into the redwood forest for a little drive. I pulled over for a shot of Carl then decided I should add some perspective. Nobody has ever called me a “tree hugger”, at least not to my face. Now you may if you wish. Your assignment for today is to thank at least one tree for all of the fresh air you breath.

Then I was feeling frisky so I drove through a tree. Didn’t stop to look for Bigfoot though.

Keepin it short cause I want to get through San Fran before dark.

Enjoy!

Oregon

Made my way to the coast this morning through the mountains. There was nowhere to pull over for pics of the trees over the road. I did shoot some video again and will hopefully get it on here for you.
I dipped my toes in the Pacific for the first time ever! The drive along the coast has been great so far. Beautiful views, lots of wildlife, quiet little tourist towns and twisty roads. Awesome! I will definitely by coming back to the coast and mountains. I liked my city visits but nothing compares to the great outdoors for vacation time. So relaxing. Even sitting at the laundromat is making me feel all calm like. Oh yeah, I finally had to break down and do laundry. Maybe more later today, if not I’ll be back tomorrow.

This was the best I could do. Clouds blocking the view and the visitor center was closed so I couldn’t even take a picture of a picture (like I had planned).

Newport

Day 12 Update

So I made it as far as Albany OR. 700 km today but almost half of those were diverting up to Seattle and back so I really only got about 350 km south of where I started this morning. Tomorrow morning I’m leaving the Interstate to head west to the 101 (Pacific Coast Highway) for a cruise along the coast to San Francisco. Then inland to search for aliens. Then back to the coast to search for other things. Then the trek back to the east begins.

Loving the trip, having a great time both in my wandering solitude and spending time with friends across the land. I am missing home too so I will be happy to be home when I get there and sad that the trip is over but happy again that I got off my butt (figuratively since when driving I’m on my butt) and took this trip. So many beautiful places and interesting things to see. I hope my pictures are doing them justice.

And if you are ever in Washington state and see a Papa Pete’s Pizza stop in for a meal. I went to the one in Castle Rock (Yay Stephen King reference) and had the meat eaters. There was more meat than dough. Mmmmmmm, meaty.

Good night y’all! or Good morning since most of the east coast is in bed now.