More LA

Today we did a bit of culture and then mixed with the masses.

One of the big art collections around these parts is the Getty Center. It's out in the foothills of the Santa Monica mountains but don't let that fool you.

It's big and well designed. However, it's not brash or in your face. Okay, let's go through the day.

We set off with out using the satnav. It was so clearly obvious that the best route was along Santa Monica Boulevard, turn up onto I405 and come off at the appropriate exit. It was really as simple as that. The satnav would have none of that. Regardless of what settings I used it insisted on a different route. It was the same for the return journey. After arriving we parked in the underground parking ramp and made our way up. There was small platform with people waiting for a train that would take us to the Center itself. The train was similar to the ones used on the Docklands Light Railway. Our journey to the centre was quick and we had a wonderful view of I405 with all its traffic. The smog seemed poorer than yesterday. We reached the top of the ride and stepped out into a very modern facility and one that had been designed to house all aspects of art. It is a very magnificent and it's easy to access the series of buildings. The whole environment was calm and relaxed despite there being a large number of people.

The view across the LA basin was quite something. The haze from the smog was worse than yesterday and blocked the view of distant hills even more effectively.

We looked at the paintings from 1600 through to the late 19^th century. What was different was that photography was allowed, not flash though; there were no barriers; you could get really close to the pictures; it was very unusual to be able to get close to old masters and see the brush strokes they put down.

We went through the paintings and after an hour or so we went out and had a coffee. We decided that we would head back to the hotel and go to... the beach!

At the hotel we changed and took a bus down to Santa Monica beach. We went onto the pier and walked around the fair on it. This was a tame affair by UK standards but it was busy. We went down onto the beach itself and walked along for a while. Although there were lots of people it wasn't crowded as there was plenty of space for everyone. We sat on the beach for half-an-hour. The wind was strong but as it was warm we didn't mind. We went along to Venice Beach following the pedestrian path watching the cyclists, runners and skaters. After that we gradually walked back following the roads to the hotel. It must have taken us about three quarters of an hour. We went to an IHOP restaurant next to the hotel for our evening meal and did they serve large portions.

Not much today, just a peaceful wandering day. Tomorrow it's onwards to Soledad.

Hitting LA

What an interesting day! Today we hit LA.

We decided early on to go to the Griffith Park Observatory. We booked our tickets on line but there wasn't any way we could print the tickets but lucky us. I asked the man at the desk if he could print them for us and he did – excellent Best Western Casablanca in San Clemente. This has to be one of the best hotels we stayed in.

We headed north on 101 passing through Orange County. We stopped off at Laguna Beach and walked along the beach and into downtown Laguna. We watched surfers and bathers; families on the beach all under the bright blue sky and the crashing surf of the Pacific Ocean. I drove on up 101 all along the road where, in Easter2006, we had driven in torrential rain and deserted roads. Now it was brilliant sunshine and busy roads. As we reached the LA conurbation we pulled off and decided to go directly to the observatory since our tickets were for 3pm and it was now 1.30pm. We had planned to go to the hotel, book in and then go to the observatory.

I reprogrammed the ipaq satnav itinerary to take us by the quickest route and off we headed. Up onto I405 and the traffic was much denser than we had encountered before, which we didn't mind as it was quite speedy. It was when it all started to slow that the delays were anxiety inducing. The satnav took us on a route that I wouldn't have done if I had time to plan it better. We swung up through East LA(!) and on, what to my way of thinking, was a round about way of doing it. One thing that it did do though was to take around the one rotary, roundabout, in LA.

We made the parking lot for the observatory shuttle with 15 minutes to spare because of the heavy and slow moving traffic.

We took the shuttle up and for the next four hours we were fascinated, educated and entranced by the observatory. Initially it didn't look as if there had been anything done to it other than a tidy and clean up. Once inside it became apparent that big changes had happened since I was last there in 1999. The front lawn had been removed, the whole of the observatory had been dug under, underpinned with hydraulic jacks and new theatres and exhibition halls built under and in front of it. The exhibitions were really good explaining about space and the universe. We went to the planetarium show and it was highly impressive. The delivery was a live speaker and the projections here very cleverly done taking us on a journey through time. The whole thing was exceedingly professionally delivered. The effect of moving through space and was very cleverly done; real state of the art stuff.

After that we went around the new exhibition halls which were equally impressive and into the Leonard Nimoy(!) theatre where we watched a film, narrated by the man himself, explaining about the refit.

The views of the LA conurbation were amazingly good. The smog didn't seem to be as bad when I was here in 1999 or in 2002. Today was really bright and sunny which should have made the smog quite bad. The view of LA itself was much clearer than before although it's easy to see the brown smog layer.

We went to the cafe and had a very reasonably priced meal. As it was getting rather late we caught the shuttle back to the entrance. As we headed back to the car I turned on my ipaq to start up the satnav and as it started up it told me what direction to take. An American woman nearby was quite surprised that there were such things as portable satnavs that spoke! I was very tempted to say that everyone in the UK had such things!

We thought that it would be a good idea to take the shortest route to the hotel in Santa Monica. My idea of the shortest route and the satnav's idea are two quite different things. Mine is sticking to main roads and simple directions; the programmers' idea is to take as many dark, dubious and obscure roads as possible or so it seems. We had to drive through some very strange parts; taking odd turnings and managing to ignore the satnav commands quite easily on the crowded streets of LA. We did go along Hollywood and Sunset Boulevards until we suddenly found ourselves on Santa Monica Boulevard. All this was done in the dark, speeding, crowded traffic. The traffic thinned out and then looming out of the dark we could see the Best Western sign! We pulled in, registered, parked and sorted ourselves out.

Tomorrow it's up to the Getty and the La Brea Tar Pits.

On to San Diego

One of the things that I forgot to mention about when we visited Fort Laramie was that the dread West Nile Virus had been found in the area and that it is spread by mosquitoes. Luckily we had some insect repellent with DEET in which we liberally applied.

Well, back to today. What a difference a day makes! We set out at just after five for the airport and we made it with no hitches whatsoever! Hooray. We left our car at the car rental return after doing 2292 miles in it from 26^th July to the 8^th August.

We went through the usual thing at the airport with security; shoes off all bits in the grey plastic trays; who ever makes those has made a fortune as the airports all seem to use the same ones.

We didn't seem to hang about for too long when our flight was called and we were on-board and off on time. The flight took a little over two hours but we grabbed an hour back with the time difference. Landed at San Diego airport and straight out! Went to the car rental offices and we decided to up-grade from a saloon to an SUV type. This one wasn't as plush as the other one but was the same as we had when we went up to Yellowstone last October.

After a bit of a fiddling to get the satnav up and running we set off for the historic old San Diego.

It's been done really well and it's not just a recreation of the original San Diego it uses the real heart of the old town. There were people in period costume and acting their parts rather like at Fort Laramie. After a short walk around we spotted that there was a walking tour of the site. We went around with the chap who happened to be an architect and did this as a part of his community service. He was absolutely brilliant. He gave us a really good run down on the origins of San Diego and its history. We even got into British politics! If anyone reading this goes to San Diego make sure that you go to this gem. It's something that Americans do really, really well. It's probably because they don't have much history that they have to borrow so much from their originators and treasure it so much.

We set of for San Clementa after nearly two hours in the old town. We had intended to follow Highway 101 so that we could complete our voyage along the west coast of the USA. It was rather hit and miss as the satnav kept insisting that we go up on to I5. We just followed the road so that the Pacific was on our left.

Stopping along historic 101 and went to an Albertsons, a supermarket, and bought some food for tonight and a little bit for the afternoon. Pulling into North Torres State Reserve. This was a beach area and there were lots of people. It looked like Studland Bay in Dorset. After eating our sandwich we set off and walked along for about a mile along the beach. It was quite crowded near the parking lot but thinned out a fairly short distance from it. The sky was blue with clouds lazily scudding across it; little dippers played around feeding in the damp sand of the shore line as the Pacific Ocean slowly lapped and rose as the tide came in. A few people wandered up and down; some were families heading home; others were couples; there were a few anglers; all in all it was delightful. We must have spend about an hour there before heading off again.

This worked quite well until we reached Camp Pendleton. This is a large forces base and we could not work out how to get around it so that we could stay on 101. We had to concede that we would have to use I5. So up we went onto it and spend 15 miles on it until we reached San Clementa. After one more wrong turn we found the hotel.

It could not have been more different from the Denver dump. It's internet access is brilliant. It has a good laundry and is close to the beach.

Over the last few weeks we've been eating microwave meals. By buying carefully we can have quite good meals. One little trick I do to cool white wine rapidly is to put the wine in the sink, surround it with ice from the ice machine and put water over it. It works very well.

Tomorrow we head up to... LA!

Denver

Today we went into Denver. What a to-do to get there! The hotel is next to a vast interchange but trying to get on to it was a nightmare. In fact, we didn't. We ended up going all round the houses to get onto a road that would take us into the centre.

We ended up going in the right direction and in downtown Denver looking for a parking lot. Eventually we ended up using a parking meter for a couple of hours whilst we scouted around. The main drag is 16^th which has been partially pedestrianized. There's a free bus service that goes back and forth along it which makes for easier travel.

We went up to the main rail station and, like at Cheyenne yesterday, it's a wonderful building. Built at the turn of the 20^th century it shows all the features of a classic American train station. Very clean cut lines and classic light fittings. It was easy to imagine what it was like in its heyday.

We left there and did some shopping buying a few clothes and a book. Mostly we were window shopping. After the two hours had been up we had seen a parking ramp and moved the car to it. Denver has been the most cosmopolitan city we've visited so far. None of the others have had such a varied range of people.

At about five we attempted to find our way back to the hotel and used the satnav. It worked quite well and we arrived safely back.

Our big thing this evening was to repack everything ready for the flight to San Diego tomorrow. We're going to have to leave here at about 5.30 - 6 to be able to drop the car off and check in. The main problem is going to be getting to the airport but we think we've cracked it now.

Tomorrow's blog should be written from Santa Clemente in California.

and back to Denver

First I have to write that this hotel has one of the worst internet connections that we've experienced so far. That's why this is so late up for yesterday. However now we've a connection here goes.

The last part of the first part ends today, so to say.

The long distance driving ends today with a 270 mile drive to back to Denver. The connection to the Internet was flaky but obviously it got made and I uploaded the blog early this morning.

We set off heading first to Fort Laramie, not Laramie; they are two different places altogether. The drive was easy and straight forward. We ended up going little country roads and over rail tracks to arrive at the Fort.

It's not a stockaded fort but started out as a trading post and the US Army took it over and put in barracks and the like. The area was flat and open. The surrounding hills were a distance off so anyone approaching it could see it from a distance. After parking we set off and Isaw my partner stop and something was being pointed out to her on the ground. As I hurried over there was a small rattlesnake slithering away up a dusty path. Which I filmed. We've seen more wildlife, alive and dead, this time than all the previous visits together.

We went over to the Visitors Center after that bit of excitement and read up on the history of the place. This fort was one of those on the Oregon Trail when the first white settlers started heading westwards. It was quite an important place in its time but now was in the middle of nowhere, so to speak, gradually deserted as first the railway in the 19^th century spread westwards and then the roads bypassed it altogether. The site was made into a historic monument in the early part of the 20^th century.

What was there now was amazingly good. Houses and barracks were restored and outfitted. The general store/trading post had replica goods from the era. There were rangers dressed in period costumes acting parts of the locals. We wandered from building to building and through the wooden structures. The bachelor officer quarters were called 'Old Bedlam' due to the boisterous sounds that came from it at times. Strange that 'Bedlam' should raise it's head so far from it's original place (The Imperial War Museum in London, if you didn't know, is housed in the Bethel Madhouse – called Bedlam!) The day was wonderfully sunny and hot. Walking around the site was a real experience as the rangers were friendly and were only to willing to explain things. Basically the fort was a trading post and stop-off point. They didn't have any problems with the native americans and it seems that life at the fort was rather boring. No wonder that Fort Yellowstone, where they could go hunt and explore was considered a plumb posting.

There was even a laundress with her own tent and allotment. The allotment was quite genuine and they were trying to grow vegetables from the time of the settlers. The laundress could trace one part of lineage back to Wales. She was doing some quilting as she worked at doing the laundering too. We had quite a long chat with her and she told us about the conditions at the fort and her own part there. The life she described was one of great hardship and perseverance. The fort must have been hot in summer and cold in winter with very short springs and autumns. She said that the growing season was only 9 weeks so that didn't give much time to grow very much.

All in all a fantastic day at the fort.

We set off for Denver again and about half way pulled into Cheyenne, the State Capital, for a meal. A small centre was deserted but we wandered around and found the rail depot where there was the most amazing booking hall in the 1920s style; like the one that is seen in films; not huge but impressive nonetheless.

It was jolly decent meal and after a two hour stopover we made the last leg of the journey to Denver. We followed all the instructions but could we find the hotel? No! We drove around where it should have been but no sign for a Best Western. We looked again at the print-out of the booking and there was a picture of the hotel on the page and on the opposite side of the road from us was the hotel but under a different franchise... arghhhh!

We were told at the front desk that they had switched franchises and the signs had only gone up this week. We unloaded the car totally and took everything up to the room. The annoying part is that the internet access has been the worst of all. We've had it flaky but not so that we couldn't through. Here it's been dead. However it has come back but it's sooooo slow which is why this is a rather late entry.

I've had a request to put more pictures up so what I'll do is make a little portfolio of them in a separate place.

Mount Rushmore and Wind Caves

Mount Rushmore and the Wind Caves were our aim today, but what a day!

We set off amid bikers from Keystone and headed for Mount Rushmore. I've always wanted to see it since seeing 'North by NorthWest' which is one of my all time favourite films.

It was only a couple of miles from Keystone and we were soon there. We parked in the parking ramp which was deserted; well it was Sunday. The sight that greets one even from the parking ramp is quite awe inspiring. The approach is up through an avenue with all the states' flags; this does include our own fair Union flag – it forms part of the flag of Hawaii! (Check it out!) We picked up an audio tour wand for a mere 5 dollars, £2.50; the only downside was the rather over the top (to us) commentary extolling the virtues of the great America constitution. Don't get me wrong, it's a wonderful document, it's just the jingoistic attitude that sometimes comes across in commentaries. Walking along the avenue one can look up and see the four faces carved from the granite rock face. It is a staggering achievement and well worth the visit. Walking around one did hear a Ranger doing the bit about how far sighted and wonderful the founding fathers were forgetting to point out that Benjamin Franklin would have happily stayed under the British monarchy and that the Constitution was only meant to apply those of good British stock and not the natives but those things tend to be forgotten and it wasn't really an appropriate time to point out the errors in her speech or later on in the exhibition hall to point out the really big errors in the history tableau

The bickering and arguments before, during and after it had been built seem no different if they had been doing it today. The amount of rock removed and the completed effect are genuinely staggering and the effect is absolutely amazing.

I have to write that I was disappointed by one thing in particular; the concession area where Eva Marie shots Cary Grant has gone and been replaced by a modern equivalent in the 1990s. I could imagine the end of the film up on the sculptures even though it was filmed in a studio.

After being there for three hours we decided to move on to the Wind Caves. A pleasant drive including more bikers on the move.

We pulled in to the car park and went in. My partner bought two tickets for 'The Garden of Eden' tour.

We went along to the lift(!) that would take us down into the cave system. There was eight of us in the little party that headed below ground. Our guide, a ranger, was excellent. As we attempted to leave the reception area at the bottom we found out why they were called wind caves. There was a strong wind that disappeared as we entered the caves. It was all due to the difference in pressure and there was no real wind.

What greeted us an amazing series of caves with incredible rock formations caused by water evaporating and leeching the minerals through the limestone. There were thin, delicate formations called boxes caused by the original limestone being shattered, the minerals filling the gaps and then the limestone gradually being eroded leaving the in-fill as delicate sheets of minerals.

Our guide showed us what it was like in the early 20^th century down there by turning off the electric lights and using only a candle lamp. It was truly amazing particularly when she blew the candle out too. Where was the light that one sees on television when people are trapped underground?

We went through a series of caves, each one truly different to the others. The number of possible exits from each chamber was frightening if one didn't know the way out or there was a concrete path beneath ones feet. After being given a fascinating tour we ascended to ground level where, unlike the cave, it was warm and brilliantly sunny.

We had a coffee there and started on the 90 mile drive to Lusk. The number of bikers decreased rapidly as we headed south. We saw plenty of prairie dogs, a dead porcupine unfortunately, and several other unidentified creatures as well as missing several birds intent on committing suicide, or should that be avaricide or birdicide? After an hour and a half we hit Lusk. A small town with a rail track running through it which, even now, we can hear the train hooting.

We eventually found a Subway and a liquor store – they do like putting the bottles of drink in brown paper bags. We had a pizza each, a salad and a bottle of red wine.

After this I went to the reception area to make better use of the wireless internet. On the way back I fell into conversation with our 'neighbours' a really nice, ordinary couple, Steve and Pat. They had been married for 29 years(!) which must be approaching a record in the USA. They were from Pueblo in Colorado. A nicer and more ordinary American couple I have yet to meet. I suppose that we must have spent well over an hour 'chewing the fat' as they say over here. The attitudes outlook were not what one may be lead to believe from television.

Anyway it's time to sign off for today. Tomorrow we complete the last part of this journey; back to Denver for a couple of days via Fort Laramie.

Mount Rushmore and Wind Caves

Mount Rushmore and the Wind Caves were our aim today, but what a day!

We set off amid bikers from Keystone and headed for Mount Rushmore. I've always wanted to see it since seeing 'North by NorthWest' which is one of my all time favourite films.

It was only a couple of miles from Keystone and we were soon there. We parked in the parking ramp which was deserted; well it was Sunday. The sight that greets one even from the parking ramp is quite awe inspiring. The approach is up through an avenue with all the states' flags; this does include our own fair Union flag – it forms part of the flag of Hawaii! (Check it out!) We picked up an audio tour wand for a mere 5 dollars, £2.50; the only downside was the rather over the top (to us) commentary extolling the virtues of the great America constitution. Don't get me wrong, it's a wonderful document, it's just the jingoistic attitude that sometimes comes across in commentaries. Walking along the avenue one can look up and see the four faces carved from the granite rock face. It is a staggering achievement and well worth the visit. Walking around one did hear a Ranger doing the bit about how far sighted and wonderful the founding fathers were forgetting to point out that Benjamin Franklin would have happily stayed under the British monarchy and that the Constitution was only meant to apply those of good British stock and not the natives but those things tend to be forgotten and it wasn't really an appropriate time to point out the errors in her speech or later on in the exhibition hall to point out the really big errors in the history tableau

The bickering and arguments before, during and after it had been built seem no different if they had been doing it today. The amount of rock removed and the completed effect are genuinely staggering and the effect is absolutely amazing.

I have to write that I was disappointed by one thing in particular; the concession area where Eva Marie shots Cary Grant has gone and been replaced by a modern equivalent in the 1990s. I could imagine the end of the film up on the sculptures even though it was filmed in a studio.

After being there for three hours we decided to move on to the Wind Caves. A pleasant drive including more bikers on the move.

We pulled in to the car park and went in. My partner bought two tickets for 'The Garden of Eden' tour.

We went along to the lift(!) that would take us down into the cave system. There was eight of us in the little party that headed below ground. Our guide, a ranger, was excellent. As we attempted to leave the reception area at the bottom we found out why they were called wind caves. There was a strong wind that disappeared as we entered the caves. It was all due to the difference in pressure and there was no real wind.

What greeted us an amazing series of caves with incredible rock formations caused by water evaporating and leeching the minerals through the limestone. There were thin, delicate formations called boxes caused by the original limestone being shattered, the minerals filling the gaps and then the limestone gradually being eroded leaving the in-fill as delicate sheets of minerals.

Our guide showed us what it was like in the early 20^th century down there by turning off the electric lights and using only a candle lamp. It was truly amazing particularly when she blew the candle out too. Where was the light that one sees on television when people are trapped underground?

We went through a series of caves, each one truly different to the others. The number of possible exits from each chamber was frightening if one didn't know the way out or there was a concrete path beneath ones feet. After being given a fascinating tour we ascended to ground level where, unlike the cave, it was warm and brilliantly sunny.

We had a coffee there and started on the 90 mile drive to Lusk. The number of bikers decreased rapidly as we headed south. We saw plenty of prairie dogs, a dead porcupine unfortunately, and several other unidentified creatures as well as missing several birds intent on committing suicide, or should that be avaricide or birdicide? After an hour and a half we hit Lusk. A small town with a rail track running through it which, even now, we can hear the train hooting.

We eventually found a Subway and a liquor store – they do like putting the bottles of drink in brown paper bags. We had a pizza each, a salad and a bottle of red wine.

After this I went to the reception area to make better use of the wireless internet. On the way back I fell into conversation with our 'neighbours' a really nice, ordinary couple, Steve and Pat. They had been married for 29 years(!) which must be approaching a record in the USA. They were from Pueblo in Colorado. A nicer and more ordinary American couple I have yet to meet. I suppose that we must have spent well over an hour 'chewing the fat' as they say over here. The attitudes outlook were not what one may be lead to believe from television.

Anyway it's time to sign off for today. Tomorrow we complete the last part of this journey; back to Denver for a couple of days via Fort Laramie.