Sept 4, day 33 OTR

We had thunderstorms all around us last night but not on the campground in Kanab.  We left around 8 am this morning to drive to the north rim of the Grand Canyon.  Do do that we flip flopped between Utah, where we were, and Arizona, where the canyon is.  There is much evidence of forest fires on the drive in, either last year or early this year since some of the ground cover is back.  The road up to the North Rim is quite good and there was not much traffic since we are after the holiday.  Birch tree stands mix with the conifers.

At the entrance to the North Rim we were at 8827 feet and at the Visitors Center we were at 8255 feet of elevation.  We walked out to Bright Angel point and had a good view of the canyon.

the view is just gorgeous.  Before we left the park we got ice made from Grand Canyon spring water and we filled our water jug with the spring water.

We had some rain as we came out of the park, really the first rain pretty much since we started.  From Grand Canyon we went back to Kanab to us the wifi at McDonald's and then continued on to Bryce Canyon.  We are driving US 12, designated a Scenic Byway and an All American Road.  We drove through the Red Canyon before we hit Bryce.  As we entered Bryce we turned 8000 km on the odometer.

I have also added some more pictures to the link at the top so enjoy.  Tomorrow we had to Capital Reef and on to Green River, UT for the overnight.  That will truly mark the beginning of our homeward journey since Green River is on Interstate 70.

picture update

Me again.  I have such a good wifi connection I have been able to upload pictures to the link at the top of the blog.  I am again caught up to where we are today.  Enjoy!!!

Sept 3, day 32 OTR

Last night we went out after dark to see Vegas lit up.  I like to say that Vegas after dark is the reason for the Hoover Dam.

When we got up this morning it was already 31C.  This was at 8 am.  We had several hours of driving ahead of us today as we wanted to place ourselves close to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon for tomorrow.  Some of those drives were quite pretty. Interstate 15 through the Northwest corner of Arizona is carved out of the rocks along the Virgin River.  It actually looks like you are driving into the mountain.

We used Highway 9 to drive through Zion and reach Kanab, UT.  They have built almost all the way to the gates of Zion.  You now have to take a shuttle to see the park unless you are driving through.  What wonderful scenery, though.  Highway 9 is designated a Scenic Byway and rightly so.  And we had both forgotten how beautiful Zion National Park is.  It HAS been 20 years since we have been here, after all.

The pictures cannot do this park justice.

Tonight promises to be cool, we are at 5000 feet elevation.  Tomorrow we will visit one of the seven wonders of the world.  We are in an RV park tonight in Kanab, UT. That means we can't pitch our tent and will sleep in the van.  The reviews on this park said it had clean washrooms and fast wifi and the reviews were right.  It is also close to town so we may walk in after supper.

Sept 2 day 31 OTR

So, the saga of noisy campgrounds continues.  Last night we had no trains, no trucks but we did have two batches of noisy campers.  One extended Latino family and one group of Belgian students. They decided to have a campfire until 1:30 in the morning.  Oh well.  At least when I got up a six to take a shower they were all still asleep.

We drove north from Kingman to Las Vegas this morning.  We stopped at the Hoover Dam.  Lake Mead is down many feet just proving how dry this summer has really been. 20 years ago we drove over the dam and parked on the side of the road to look at it.  Now, it has become an attraction and another road passes way above it.  It seemed smaller than it did the first time we saw it.

The desert did have some colour to it this morning as there were thundershowers in a couple of isolated areas.  Amazing what a little water can do.

Vegas is crazier than ever.  When we were here 20 years ago, you could walk the strip from one end to the other, pop into a casino, never see a store.  Now, there are pedestrian flyovers - you have to climb stairs or ride an escalator or elevator to the top to cross The Strip.  Some of the major cross streets also have flyovers.  So a walk of 4 miles up one side of the strip becomes an obstacle course of ups and downs.  And the people, both tourists and those hawking things.  Like I said, crazy city.  Since it was 20 years between visits, I probably won't be back.

                                                   Just a little peak at Vegas in the daytime

Tomorrow we head to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.  I may be out of touch for a day or so.  It seems the KOA campground we wanted to stay at is no longer a KOA so I don't know if they have wifi.

Sept. 1 Day 30 OTR

Well, Needles was warm overnight, to say the least.  I don't think it ever went below 33C.  The ground under the tent was so hot it radiated heat through our three inch sleeping mats.  We did not get much sleep.  We left early to have breakfast at McDonald's since it was even too warm to break out the Coleman stove.

We got back on Route 66 at Topock.  This stretch is more scenic than the one through the desert.  It also takes us to Oatman, a ghost town that has been revitalized with burros and, you guessed it, stores but all in the old buildings.  Actually not bad.

This is Roy's Cafe at Amboy, near the Amboy volcano, extinct.

Route 66 dips and turns its way into Kingman, Arizona. Somewhere on this stretch of road we turned 7000 km on the trip meter.  And it was 36C at 9 am.  We saw a handful of cars and one or two motorcycles on the whole stretch, until we came close to Kingman and the interstate again.

In Kingman, we visited the Route 66 museum, picked up some groceries and went to the campground for a much deserved rest.  Today was a short driving day and the curves and turns were not bad.  The road is posted - no vehicles over 40 feet but after driving down The General's Highway from Sequoia National Park, no road is too much.  That was the brake eater road.  Did I mention that we descended 6000 feet in 15 miles on that one?  You imagine the curves needed for that.  Today was nothing.

We have now driven much of the drivable sections of Route 66 over 3 different trips.  The section from Barstow to Santa Monica is covered by freeway and not interesting to us.  So we have completed our Route 66.

We will vegetate here today and then visit Vegas, maybe for two nights to rest up.  Once we leave Vegas we will truly be heading east and on our way home.  Thanks for staying tuned. By the way, the museum had our car on display!! That's what we look like when we camp.

August 31st, 29th day OTR

We have arrived in Needles, California for the night.  It was another day of lots of driving but this state is so big you don't get anywhere fast.  Currently the temperature is 99F and is not due to cool down too much

We drove Highway 99 to Bakersfield and then got on the 58 to Barstow.  Much of our drive today was through the Mojave Desert, a whole lot of nothing. 

At Tehachaphi, there were hundreds of windmills on the hills.  We also discovered that this town exists for the prisons it contains.  We passed the town of Twenty Mule Team and yes, they mine borax there.  We saw lots of Joshua trees.

In Barstow, after a stop at Walmart to replace our cheap styrofoam cooler we got off the Interstate and onto old Route 66.  We drove about 100 miles of it, in fair shape, and counted maybe a dozen cars.  At times you can see the interstate on one side or the other of the old Mother Road.  In Ludlow we stopped at a Dairy Queen for ice cream and after we left here we were stopped at a railway crossing by a 121 car train.  that is about the average length for trains here.  You see them passing each other on the tracks and you sure hear them at night!!  We also drove past an old volcanic crater at Amboy.  There are lots of lava fields around us in this part of the desert.

We are on one side of the Needles campground and there is no one else over here.  The RVs are on the other side.  If you don't remember the Route 66 song and reference to Needles, it is also the place where Snoopy's brother lived!!  Haven't seen him, though.

August 30 28th day OTR

Today's planned outing was to drive up to the Seqouia National Forest.  We stayed at the Fresno KOA which is still a work in progress but it was at the right place last night after a long drive and an even better place this morning for the trip up to Sequoia.

The climb on Highway 180 is not bad, windy but not anything worse than we have already driven.  We went to King's Canyon to see the General Grant tree.

We took several short hikes, always taking Otto;s knee into consideration.  We had our picnic lunch at Museum of the Giants and then proceeded down the other side of the mountain.  Well, we were in for a treat.  And not in a good way.  198 down the other side of Sequoia is a winding, hairpin curve kind of mountain that eats brakes.  We got part way down and were stopped by construction.  Our brakes were overheating so badly that the flagman came over to tell us that our 45 minute wait would cool them down and then to use only low gear.  What a ride that was.

We got to the KOA on the downside at Vasila and Otto immediately cracked open a beer, then two.  And we went for a swim.  If you have never smelled over heated brakes, it is not a pretty thing.  After this trip is over we will have the brakes checked before our next big drive.

Sequoia was interesting, especially once we were driving through the Big Trees but I am still more impressed with the redwoods.  The only thing is, Sequoias can only grow in a very specific climate and soil and a narrow strip of the Sierra Nevadas is the only place they grow.  I am glad we went even with the brake issue.  There are claw marks in the dashboard that I will have to try to remove before we can trade the van in.

Tomorrow we head for Needles and a little bit of old Route 66 and Vegas on the weekend.