31 March

Again, despite setting the alarm, I continue to wake at about 5:30. However I resisted and went back to sleep until the alarm woke me. Then I checked email (none, except a load of junk mail in my other mailboxes), activity on my photos (a few more have been seen) and finally got up to get ready for breakfast. By the time I finally got down at 7, there was no-one there (and only one other according to the bin). I had my toast, some tea (with real milk) and orange juice, finishing off with muffins. The variety available was good, but no fresh fruit (which I have taken to using as morning tea, despite it not being the best for me.
I had a good chat with the chap on the counter. The season is stretching on too long but is now no good for winter sports but is too snowy for traditional spring or early summer activities. The occupancy rate is consequently down, so there were only a few staying last night. Breakfast proved to be a leisurely affair.
I finished my packing (as I could at the time) and then headed out, taking a few photos on the way. I was surprised that I was not long out of town and I was out of New Hampshire and into Vermont. Then I was soon onto an Interstate and the trip north and west became quicker.
I called up post offices and found one at Barton VT. As I pulled off, I filled the car with fuel (I can now get a predicted range of nearly 660 km) and then went to the post office. As I predicted, the service was 100% compared to in the suburbs. While packing the box, I was harangued by a local (who must run the local film society) about how they are showing classical musical films from DVD through a machine which projects it onto a large screen. I didn’t have the heart to say I (and many others) have the same at home. The box went off (at $37) to Fran’s, where I will pick it up late June. Then it was back onto the road and heading north (passing the 45° North parallel of latitude), and soon I was at the Canadian border. The formalities went through very quickly and I was on my way in Canada to Montreal. First thing –all the road signs were in French. Second thing it started snowing. Third, the temperature dropped from 6°C to -2°C.
I called in to have an early lunch so I wouldn’t be starving while trying to get all the essentials done at the Montreal Airport. Here I found it peculiar to have to partly order in French (OK) but to have terms like HAMBURGER and CHEESEBURGER spoken with a French accent. However I survived all that (and still have some Canadian money left, but very little US).
Back onto the road and the only problem with using a SatNav came up – I had very little idea of exactly where I was and my orientation, so while I progressed across Montreal and arrived at the airport, I could only follow the directions blindly and hope they were correct. When at one point there was no turnoff marked but the SatNav assured me I should turn, I didn’t – and suddenly it appeared as the truck in front of me passed it. So there was a little toing and froing until I got back on the correct path and found I was just circling outside the airport.
I filled the car up (and will check the fuel consumption later) and then eventually located the rental car return. The signs were so small that a quick glance meant you missed them, but I had to have faith in the SatNav – and so I returned the car not long after 1. No problem. The only thing was, with six people working there (four outside, two in the booth) it took a few minutes to get anyone’s attention. They must be used to groups leaving all the luggage at the airport and only the driver returning the car, but with no accoutrements. I had to collect all mine and remove the SatNav.
Then it was a short walk to the terminal, and here’s where the fun and games began.
I saw the sign to British Airways – go left. So I did, and ran into another sign; British Airways – go right. But no British Airways! No problem I thought, I’ll just ask someone who works here. Each gave me directions which landed me back where I had started from. Police, attendants, airline staff – same thing. Eventually I found someone who looked like an Airport official on his lunch break – ah, yes sir, he said, consulting a timetable in his pocket, British Airways will be at those checkout counters over there – but not until 5. At least now I knew. I had passed a bookstore and had seen someone a few days ago reading a new Lee Child thriller; so I thought I could get that, as airports seem to be the only places where books are sold at full retail price. It wasn’t there – none of his were there, so that left computer work and postcards as the only option.
Selecting a (faux) granite bench (which shared only its hardness and uncomfortableness with the genuine article, I called up the Internet provider, signed up at rates only an airport could charge and get away with, checked my email and then sent some out. With quite a bit of time remaining before I can even put my luggage in, but not the same amount of time remaining on charge in the laptop (and no powerpoints in evidence), I thought I could do the first draft of my blog and add to it later.
If you read this before I finish it in England (and then can post it), it will be rather like the Tony Hancock episode where the last page of a book was torn out and he couldn’t verify who the murderer was. Did I have any problems with luggage? Did I have problems with immigration? Was I able to enter on my EU passport with no exit stamp from Australia? Did the plane make it? Did I successfully leave the rental car depot and make it to visit anyone?
When the update comes in, I’ll delete this section – but on the other hand, should I just start a new blog and keep everyone wondering?
Keep tuned!
I wrote up part of my blog – evident, otherwise it wouldn’t have been posted yesterday – and put the laptop to sleep and started in conversation with an interesting fellow who had been a software IT person and was now doing a doctorate in the effect of IT on romance writing. I always though that one could research an obscure topic and that did it.
By 5:30 the tapes were out and the obstacle course set up, so I got up. I was beaten by a family returning, from a skiing holiday, to Manchester. The children had a longer than normal Easter holiday so they took advantage of it, but were complaining about the long (6 hour) flight. By 5:50 the desks were finally open and I was second up, got a window seat (for comfort more than view for that flight) and was able to head off, relatively unencumbered, to get a snack to see me through and also to be able to get to a toilet.
After all that, and another walk around the airport to see if I could find that book I was now looking for (with no luck), I went through screening (no beeps for me this time) and down to the gate lounge – and I mean down. Gate 61 seemed like it was halfway to London. I wondered why they had a little courtesy car and now I knew why. It was easy to locate powerpoints here – they had big lights on top! I plugged in and did some more work, transferring pictures over and such. While still waiting I struck up conversation with a couple from Montreal (English-speaking) and we chatted about rail trips, then the technical side as he worked for Canadian National Pacific, the freight company who owns nearly all the lines in Canada. Then, at 9, passengers were called – but only for the pointy end. Then it was the old, young and infirm, and finally us. By 8:30 I was in and seated. I met my travelling companions, Laura (one) and Laura (two), who were both French and had come over to visit a friend studying a year at Quebec University. We introduced ourselves and were talking away when, just before the aircraft started to taxi, Laura two realised she had left her laptop in the terminal (thank goodness I have the hait now of scanning to make sure nothing is left). She frantically searched her luggage and then got the attention of one of the cabin staff, who said he would ask about it. She got very distressed during the takeoff and it wasn’t until ten minutes later she got the message it had been found and she could contact them at Montreal to arrange delivery (I hate to think of the cost, but it is better than losing it). Then the meal was served, and all of those jokes about airline food came back to haunt me – they were all TRUE!
Soon after the cabin lights were dimmed and all windows closed and it was time to try to get some sleep. I listened to a story read on my iPod to drown out the noise.
My odyssey to North America had come to a peaceful conclusion.

30 March

Today I woke at my usual time, with no alarm. I tried to check mail, etc, but the Internet was not available in my room. I tried with the front desk, but no answer, so I showered, dressed, packed and was off. Just as I left I saw he had hung out the “OPEN” sign, but it was too late.
I had breakfast just down the road and then headed off. I went through the rest of Massachusetts and into Maine and into the first Visitors’ Centre I saw. There I was given fairly detailed instructions on how to see the southern Maine coast, and assured that all the good (sand) beaches were in the south. So I travelled along the roads leading to the coast and was able to see representative beaches, many resorts and many holiday buildings boarded up for the winter. It was cold out of the sun or in the wind, and reluctant dogs were being dragged out of cars to go for walkies along the beach. The coastline certainly is dramatic, with little coves and rocky headlands. I didn’t detour to see George Bush’s holiday home, but they were all of a pretty high standard (I certainly couldn’t afford to buy into the area). At one point, where there was a private beach and restricted access, three car pulled up at once – but we were all tourists, so I snapped them and they snapped me. I was going to get the two (younger) ladies to pose with me to make my students wonder, but decided not to. It was very cold!
After that, when about fifty miles along the cast had taken me over three hours, I travelled up on the I-295 and I-95 and called into another Visitors’ Centre. Here I got directions to take me along a scenic valley, past many names shared with Mediterranean places, and then into New Hampshire, Vermont and Montreal. In case that sounds a lot, it is only about four hundred miles all up.
I had some lunch and then set off along US Route 2 (and the ladies in the Maine Visitors’ Centre pronounced it the Australian way, not the American).
The drive was interesting. The road was great, with good directional signs and good views all the way along. However the road surface was terrible, with breaks in the asphalt surface and some holes over six inches (fifteen centimetres) deep – enough to rattle the Ford Escape and shake the car behind me. It seems common that there new roads being constructed but the current ones are not well maintained. Whether in states with snow or without, whether on tolled sections or not, whether very busy or fairly quite, the surfaces are uniformly poorly maintained.
The places passed through had interesting names – Mexico (so I’ve stepped there twice now), Newport, Lebanon, Canaan and many others, but presumably the immigrants wanted some familiar names around them. At one stage the warning signs (and they came thick and fast) were for: moose, school buses, school children, tractors, dairy cattle, fire engines and snowmobiles – and these were all within a few miles of each other. Must get very busy there sometimes.
Just before Mexico, at Rumford, there was a giant snowman – and when I say giant, higher than the five storey bank next to him. I have no idea of what the nose was, or how they got it up that high, just disappointed that I couldn’t get a picture of it. By this time the temperature was up to 56°F, so there were people out walking, dogs enjoying their walk, small children playing and the odd jogger.
By this stage the sun was dropping, I was starting to get a bit tired and it was after 6:30. I looked for a place and found – Cabot Inn, a peculiar coincidence as one reason I wanted to see Maine was from the backgrounds in “Murder She Wrote”. I decided to stay even though the cost was slightly higher than I wanted because it had Internet, but after I booked in I found breakfast (with TOAST) was included and there was a laundry.
After parking and unpacking, I started the laundry, did the washing while checking and writing a few emails and am writing this while everything is drying. Hopefully now if my luggage gets looked out, there won’t be any soiled articles in there. After (probably tomorrow morning), I have to sort out things so I take the minimum with me and have to post the last parcel from North America to Fran. No real souvenirs in this one – I have run out of time, money and enthusiasm at the moment but will recharge for England and Europe.
It seems funny, but I have just passed the half-way point in time tonight. It certainly doesn’t seem like I’ve been away for well over seventy days, but I have. I wonder what it will feel like after I am leaving Europe and have only ten days in Japan to go.
I must finish here (I’ll be paper writing tomorrow and writing up once I am settled in England), check the clothes and take some up, then do the photos, post this and get to sleep. Tomorrow I only have four hours to drive, so I plan to leave about 7:30, travel across into and up Vermont, post my last parcel from a country post office (I passed ten today, so I can be assured they will be thin on the ground tomorrow, but the SatNav will find them), cross the border and hand in my Visa for the US, and then have a quick look at Montreal before I put the car in, get my ticket for my flight and then have some tea before boarding the plane at 8 p.m. Although I get into Heathrow at about 8, the time difference means the flight is not long enough for a good sleep (so I’d better get one tonight!).

29 March

Again I woke at 5:45, but this time I had set the alarm for 6, so I woke again at 6, did some computer checking and was up just before 6:30, got ready and then headed out for breakfast. This time I had cereals and fruit. One family (dad and kids) came in at the same time and dad tried to embarrass the kids but didn’t succeed, so I gave him some pointers. Then it was packing and checking out. I left about 7:20 and headed off to Provincetown, the place where the Pilgrims first landed (before they decided Plymouth would be a better bet). On the way I called in at the Cape Cod lighthouse and got it before the golfers came out in force. I have had a background of it from the sea, so it was interesting to see it myself.
At Provincetown there were a few interesting sidelights. The locals were raising money by selling stones with messages carved into them; the streets are very narrow and consequently parking is at a premium (especially if you choose to pay, and there isn’t really an option) and houses were covered in shingles, clapboards and some with weatherboards. Vary few were stucco or brick, but there were a few concrete block houses (cinder blocks). Clapboards are the same profile all the way (rectangular in section) whereas weatherboards are thicker at the upper edge.
The drive back along Route 6A was extremely scenic, so much so that I left the area much later than I had planned – much of it is 25 or 30 mph. Also, the beach cottages for rent over the summer can best be described as cabins – about five metres square if you were lucky, and a few which were four by eight were double occupancy. Some of them were about the size of Brighton bathing boxes.
It was then a quick run up to the outskirts of Boston where I parked at Riverside ($3.75) and took the train in ($2 each way) with a Charlie ticket. For those of you old enough to remember, the Kingston Trio had a hit with “Charlie of the MTA” and the tickets are in his memory. The politician got in and the fare increase, in that form at least, was repealed. So Charlie still rides the MTA with each ticket sold. On the way in I heard some young people wondering why they were called Charlie tickets, but the train was soon crowded so I didn’t say anything.
The Park St station is at the common, so I visited the Tourist Centre. I rad some of the brochures, but was intrigued to be asked if I wanted to join a walking tour ($12) starting soon. I did and engaged the walker/talker in conversation and found he was a local history teacher (Mark) in his real life. I also saw some police horses which I was told were Percheron/Shire crosses, but they looked a little small for that – I would say they had been cross-bred at least once with warmbloods or hacks.
The tour started out at 1:30 and was very interesting. As we passed a stall, I got a pair of gloves – a little on the large size, so I will wear them with a liner of woollen or cotton gloves, but very warm.
Along the way things found out included:
Paul Revere did not call out, “The British are coming” because everyone was British. He called out, “The regulars are coming”, that is the army.
George Washington only joined the Irregulars after being rejected twice for a commission in the British Army.
Many of the fathers of the revolution were only joiners because of circumstance, not desire or need.
In common with many places, children were born quickly and in great number because of infant mortality rates of up to 50%.
Small incidents were taken out of context and blown up out of all proportion, such as the Boston Massacre (five deaths).
Also, the city is changing so quickly that well-known landmarks are in convenient places, not correct places.
By the time we finished we had covered most of what was on the Freedom Trail, so I had a quick late lunch and then returned to Riverside, picked up the car and headed north. The weather in Boston, like Cape Cod had been clear and sunny, but freezing in the wind (nearly as cold as being on the oval at Werribee HS doing yard duty in winter – but not quite that cold) so it was good being in the car with the heater on and music playing (I didn’t have the Kingston Trio on the iPod I’m currently playing in the car).
Over the border into New Hampshire, I stopped at the Visitors’ Welcome Centre and found myself in conversation with an attendant who was an ex-teacher (how many are around?). He suggested some different ways to get to Montreal by Monday afternoon, so most likely I will be going through New Hampshire and then Vermont. The centre had a large wood fire burning and was very warm, in contrast to outside with a lot of snow.
I stopped in at Hampton at the Stone Gables Inn, which sounds olde-worlde but is a motel. I used a coupon and am staying the night – no breakfast, but the Internet makes up for par and I will have breakfast in the town before I leave. Here there are plenty of places to eat in the morning.
So I finish my third-last day in North America, my second-last blog here (as the last will be done either on the plane or in England for Monday) and will miss it.

28 March

I awoke this morning to my internal alarm, at 5:45 and put myself on snooze, finally arising at 6:30. Then it was down for breakfast at 7, but NO TOAST! After finishing packing everything, I reflected that the cost of a room was in no way related to its quality, fittings and services. This room, with the second-lowest price so far, was a real suite with microwave, fridge, bench, sink, TV, table, couch and easily accessible power points. The highest cost room so far was the one with the least facilities.
I loaded up the car (once I could find it – a white car under white snow is not the easiest to recognise) and found how to open the back – DON’T open the boot, just the doors, and then the whole back can be opened. Then after checking out I headed off, slowly at first. Once on the Interstate, I opened it up but – I found out that sudden lane changes or steering alterations were a no-no as the whole car sways noticeably. Also, sudden braking causes a whole soggy forward movement and a hop if sudden enough. I’ve seen it before, but it’s the first time I’ve experienced it.
I called in at the Massachusetts Visitor Centre on the I-90 and ran into the most lethargic personnel so far. They may be good and they may have knowledge, but enthusiasm and activity were not in evidence. I got some material and resolved to visit Boston. Then I went to fill up with petrol and my credit card didn’t work. This was peculiar as I had just paid for my accommodation. I used my Amex and that was okay, but I didn’t have the time to try to resolve the problem there. If the same thing happened when I booked in that evening, I would try to fix in then.
When I started off, I found the predicted range had increased dramatically. This was similar to in the Pontiac, so it looks as though my driving style was very different from the previous driver. The cost is still significantly higher than I again budgeted on, but I will see how things pan out.
By now I was on a toll road. There are a number of states who have managed to put tolls onto the Interstates, so I wonder whether or not they do not receive any federal funding. If they do, then I cannot see why they can legally and morally impose a toll.
I decided by this time I would not have sufficient time to do Boston justice, so I detoured off to Plymouth. Here I ran into some interesting women at the Tourist Bureau. One was trying to find the words to “Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree …” and so I was able to help her out with the old and new words. The other was an ex-teacher who retired on 80% of her FAS – I couldn’t believe it, as that would have put me into a quite well-off bracket – the most Victorian teachers retire on is normally 67% of FAS. After discussing conditions between systems (they only do 180 teaching days a year) I found out I couldn’t see Plymouth Rock – the surroundings were under maintenance and the rock was under a box! I could visit the Mayflower II (I did) and then the Plimouth Museum (which I had to do quickly, but I got a good look around).
Then it was off to Cape Cod, where I found a place to stay at Days Inn at Hyannis. After booking in I had some tea and wanted to head off to Providencetown, but it was getting dark, I was getting tired and I wasn’t sure where the bridge to Chappaquiddik Island was, so I returned to the hotel and did the usual computer work and tried to get to sleep early so I could be up early and visit the original landing place of the Pilgrim Fathers (before they went to Plymouth).

27 March

Very reluctantly I arose at 5:45, showered and dressed and headed off for breakfast. I was in fairly early for it at 6 and had finished and got things ready by 6:30. I asked at the desk and got a map of the system (only four years old, but still accurate). Out of the front door, turn right and one hundred yards down, I waited for five minutes for a bus. The driver got frustrated as I was looking for the correct change so I was on, with a transfer ticket, for CAD$2 (instead of CAD$2.75). The bus ran straight to the (subway) station and was there by 7. There I found out which train (there are only two lines from the station, east or west and I had to go west – I was in the east and the airport, where I was going to pick up my rental car, was in the north-west. I caught a train within five minutes and had an interesting ride out to Kipling from Worden. First thing – the trains weren’t crowded, but they were full. Second thing – I got a lesson in makeup from a girl sitting opposite who did the whole works on the train. Third thing – there was no mass exodus in the city block, rather the people left in a linear fashion from a few stations before the city until the end of the line.
At Kipling I found the bus to the airport was the 192 Rocket (i.e. an express), left every twenty minutes and I had just missed one. However fifteen minutes later, I was walking onto the bus and found the fare was covered in the other fare. It was only twenty minutes to the airport and within five minutes I had filled out the paperwork and was walking over to get … not a compact, but a Ford Escape. It was the only sort they had left – a row of them! I got the keys, found out how to move the seat and mirrors, put in the SatNav and was on my way. I was back at the motel before 9:30 and tok nearly as long to gather and collect everything as to return.
After checking out I headed out to Port Hope, to catch up with Tom, a Lion I had met at Werribee at the Convention last year. I travelled out on 401, a highway with a terrible reputation but I found it no worse than the Princess Freeway and far better than the Western Ring Road. I found Port Hope without any trouble and went into the town to have a look around. The woman at the Visitors’ Centre was too helpful and gave me so much information I was almost inclined to change my plans and spend a day just at Port Hope (incidentally it was the original Toronto). However self-discipline won out and I rang Tom and then met him for lunch. Where we ate we had the added attraction of watching two cars being separated after a collision. We chatted about Lions, the area and how things were going to be. Too soon we parted and I headed off to Niagara. I arrived there about 4:30, checked out the Visitors’ Centre there and got maps and information. Five minutes later I was parking the car ($12!) and walking out to see the falls.
The noise was very loud, even though the flow was small because of the ice and small water flow. It was spectacular and huge, given the size of the falls I normally see. The spray created a permanent rain in the middle of the viewing area. I wish I had been able to spend longer, but I had to move on. The first thing was to refuel the car, when I found out that the car really was thirsty. After a few tankfuls, I’ll know precisely, but at the moment it looks to use more fuel than my venerable HJ Kingswood. Then it started to rain and I found out that the advisory speed signs really meant something now. I had picked up a coupon book when I refuelled, and selected two likely places. I called into the first, in Baldwinville, and there were rooms available so I booked in and was settling in by 9.
After the usual computer work, I finished this blog and finally posted it at 10:30. Breakfast starts at 5:30 here, but I won’t be there quite that early. However I have to go to sleep now.

26 March

I awoke at 5, thinking I could wait until the alarm went off, but of course I had not altered time on the mobile. So just after 5:30 I was up and looking for an empty shower. After that I had a look in the observation car (no-one else there yet) and had a quick chat with the attendant before heading down to breakfast. It was with the now usual companions, but opposite us, a man who had looked very elderly and frail yesterday was now looking twenty years younger and conversing well. Breakfast became a very leisurely affair because of the small numbers on the train, with the conversation covering tourism, flying and medicine.
After, it was back down to the observation car and sitting quietly, catching up on my blog. I must fix up photos today so I can upload everything tonight.
The sunshine through the window, the gentle rocking motion and the quiet let me drop off for a few minutes (which turned into an hour and a half). The scenery outside was small lakes, forest and an occasional melting section of a lake.
It was then a bit of “show and tell” as I went through the photos I had taken at Cape Canaveral for Emerson, the young boy who had seen the last shuttle launch with his father and then had the photos go off the camera. This was followed by an early call to lunch, at 11:30, so we would be finished by the time we arrived in Capreol (12:15) for a stop of about half an hour. After a very short and very brisk walk of about ten minutes, it was back into the warm train.
In the afternoon I fixed up the photos from Vancouver and the train, wrote a little more on my blog and copied the photographs which the boys were interested in, especially the crocodiles. Then I dropped that DVD off to them, and to be fair, I gave the girl a kangaroo pin. I also gave a koala pin to the lady I ha spoken to a number of times and one to the lounge car attendant. Then I packed everything up and tidied everything, took some more photos and then it was the call for dinner. I sat with the lady with the pin, another lady associated with the universities and hospitals in Richmond Hill and an engineer with Saskatoon (whose specialty is sewers).
After dinner it was an anticlimax, with the train due to arrive early and then it finally arriving late. I managed to dispose of a tissue box, so I know have a road atlas to give away and a few things to post home.
Unfortunately by the time we arrived in, the enquiry areas were all closed so I had to take a taxi to the motel I was staying at. It took quite a time (as Toronto doesn’t include the suburb name, so it’s hard to work out exactly where places are unless you have a directory). The taxi driver lived near there, and explained how public transport was really close and fairly easy to use.
I booked in, uploaded some photos and blogs and went to bed fairly quickly and to sleep soon.

25 March

Dawn came at about 5:40 and so I was up and in for a shower. The shower in these trains is a commodious affair, with a dressing room and the actual shower cubicle (stall) separated by a glazed door. The shower is the usual rotary temperature setting and a time button for the water (press it and you get a minute of water flow). After that I went to the observation car and had a conversation with Jim, who had altered his watch before the train staff (and so was ready for breakfast at 6:30 Central Time, while the train was still on Mountain time). At 6:30 we went down for breakfast and I ended up on a table with the lady from Toronto (and Vancouver Island), another lady returning to Vancouver (from Jasper) and a young girl who chose to sit away from the family. We discoursed about school and how it has changed, Australia, current life and the life some people choose to live as anachronisms in current society. I had my Vegemite on toast, but couldn’t convince anyone else to try it.
After that it was down to the Observation car and another attempt to see if I could get the SatNav to pick up satellites (no-one else could from upstairs, so we are trying downstairs). It did, and I wonder if the reason why it couldn’t yesterday is because we were so far north.
At 9:36, Rivers MB, we are at 50°01’45” N, 100°14’26” W. The train has been doing between 120 and 130 km/hr on the straights and about 100 km/hr on the bends to make up time (we’re currently around an hour behind time). I took the opportunity to catch up on letter and postcard writing.
It was generally looking at scenery and a few individual chats before we arrived in Winnipeg, just before lunch and with a crew change. Here the young girl from breakfast (who was the daughter of one of the dining car crew) left and was met by the father (as mum was still busy with finalising the details from the trip). I found a post box and posted a postcard to Kerry and a letter to Elizabeth before looking around the station and then doing a quick email check on an Internet computer set up in the lounge. Then it was back onto the train and lunch. This was with Wayne and ?.
During the afternoon we travelled past many lakes, the typical feature of the beginning of the Canadian shield, which we would traverse until reaching Toronto.
I spent some of the time with a family – mum, a Grade 6 daughter and Grade 5 and 3 sons. They were from Jasper and had a fortnight off, because it was a quiet season for tourism in Jasper and the locals went off for their holidays. I showed them photos of Australia, and crocodiles, and they showed me photos they had taken of alligators in the Everglades.
Dinner was with a lady (Sandi) from remote BC who lived on a trapline and a young man from Athens Ohio who is an environmental activist (Chad Kister) who has written three books (published in Ausutralia also). We spoke about the environment, logging, parks and politics, and extended the conversation until we were nearly again ushered from the car (but there are not many in sleepers, so the dining car was sufficient for everyone, even on one sitting.
I spoke with the lounge car attendant about the Ghan and the Indian Pacific and he showed me through the different accommodation classes in the train. Then it was off to bed and to sleep.

24 March

After a good night’s sleep (though I had to arise once and visit down the corridor, rather than lift the bed) I was up before 6, had a shower, dressed and then went up to the observation car. About 6, the sun had not yet risen (we’re travelling east, so time is going backward for us) but there were still three other people up there.
The ride through the night was very smooth. In the observation car it’s not quite so smooth, but I need to ask whether we have welded rail and wooden sleepers.
Breakfast went smoothly and leisurely, from 6:30 to 7:30, and then it was up to the observation car. Breakfast was spent with a woman from London, Ontario, returning home after helping her daughter with the birth of her second child (on Vancouver Island). The crowd had already gathered in the observation car and there was a good view of … snow! We had passed through Blue River during breakfast and are scheduled to leave Jasper at 12:30 and then start lunch. A relaxing life in first class on the train.
Morning was spent chatting to others and then we arrived at Jasper. This was a chance to get off and have a walk around, and many of the passengers departed the train here. Jasper is a snow town and is a protected area, but I didn’t see the local wildlife wandering the streets. One interesting thing was I saw a location map within the station and the “you are here” indicator was in two different positions. There is a picture of it. I also got some postcards and stamps, so there will be some written material sent home from Canada. There will also have to be a parcel as I collecting a few things – but it won’t be anywhere near the size of the ones from the U.S.
Back on the train it was time for lunch only a few minutes after we left. Here I sat with the lady returning form Vancouver Island and a new couple, returning from Jasper to Winnipeg.
After a slow lunch (I got revved on by the catering staff) it was time to leave. I asked the supervisor about the track (welded) and the sleepers (a mixture of concrete and wood) and bearing wear (didn’t know). Then it was off to the observation car. We had seen bighorn sheep during lunch but I hadn’t been quick enough with the camera. We sat on a siding waiting for the west-bound version of the Canadian (#1) to pass by.
The train consists of two locomotives, a baggage car, two cars of seating (coach or situps), a café, games, and observation car, the dining car, three sleeper cars and the first-class lounge and observation car. There are two attendants for the sleepers, three other attendants (lounge, café and situps) and four working in the dining car. Each sleeper car has a shower, toilet and different sleeping accommodation (some of which have included toilets, but not all). The situp cars have toilets but no showers.
In the afternoon the time passed gently and it was a case of watching the scenery and snoozing. We did have some drama, where a young Japanese tourist had got off the train at a stop and missed catching it before it left. When the staff at the station realised, they put him in a taxi and sent him ahead. At the station they sent him to, the west-bound train came in first and so he caught that and was headed back to Vancouver (from whence he had come).
Evening was a leisurely affair with Gerard and Maree from Toronto. After tea we sat and chatted and I showed them some pictures of Australia and sights I had seen in the US. By 9:45 all headed off to bed and I went slowly to sleep as the world rolled by.

23 March

Ah, another day!
I awoke before the alarm, at 6 when the alarm was set for 7. Reluctantly I went back to sleep and then awoke again when the alarm went off. After checking for emails and other notices, I did the usual and then went down for breakfast. Toast! And where was the Vegemite, I asked myself? Safe and secure, locked in the boot of the car, two blocks away! So with all the facilities, I went without. Then it was to the front desk to ask for the car to be delivered by 8:05 and back up to try to cram everything in or discard. And cram I did – the backpack, the National Geographic backpack and my jacket. If I tripped, I would need assistance to be righted.
Down and the car arrived just after I checked out. So fighting musicians to get out the door (their vehicle was ahead of mine) I put the backpack into the car and drove away. A quick trip to the railway station and I found that there were non-metered spots right opposite where I had sweated over not having change to park. Into the station and I checked the bags in and got another set of vouchers to exchange for tickets in the afternoon. Then I headed off to return the car – and after I finally found it (a small storefront) and parked the car, I found a unique feature – the car was checked by a receiver. Then the paperwork was finished and I was asked how the car went – my reply regarding visibility from it and having to operate in a sequence to be able to get out of the car is unprintable. Then I left and walked around Vancouver. I was pleasantly surprised by the number of parks – I estimated about one in five blocks had a park. I was unpleasantly surprised by the number of people who were apparently homeless or poor. For the first time in many years I saw someone collecting cigarette butts to use to make cigarettes later.
The contrast of building styles was amazing. Some were old, some new and some were unable to make up their mind. The range of buildings and businesses was also amazing. Ultramodern hotels were cheek by jowl with old or restored buildings. I wandered around soaking this all in and finally had my mind blown by a classical Chinese garden, walled, in the town. I had seen the Science World dome and called in there. Expecting I’m not sure what, I found a vibrant place which had been designed to educate and entertain children and which had been hijacked by adults who were trying to monopolise all the fun. Thinking I could while away an hour or so, I watched a film on the Grand Canyon and water and finally left four hours later. It was close to train departure time so I walked to the station, collected my luggage and then booked it in and, in an end to the saga of vouchers, got my ticket and cabin allocation. I tried to read the paper but got hijacked by a couple from Toronto going to the US for a holiday and talked about touring the US, Canada and Australia. Soon the lounge (for we first-class travellers) opened and I found a computer terminal I could use (my laptop was in the luggage so I couldn’t use it). After sending out a bulk email, I checked Flickr (no activity) but then was able to show the couple pictures of Australia from there. That then extended to another family, where the parents and two married children were travelling together. Then, taking photos outside, I heard an Australian accent and met a couple with a young child (and so was able to pass on the toy I had got with a meal many weeks ago now) from Ringwood.
Very soon after we were on the train and off. Here I met another two couples from Brisbane. We all sat u and watched the suburbs go by, had a little chat and then had dinner. Here I met Jim (from the US, Indiana) and a young fellow from Edmonton. We chatted pleasantly over the meal, then after had a joke with the train staff. After that, the sun had set so pleasantries were exchanged with a number of other passengers, I put my bed down, then I went to bed, wrote (I’ll transfer pictures tomorrow) and dropped off to sleep, being rocked gently to sleep.

22 March

Today I awoke for the last morning in the US. I had everything packed so it was just the computer equipment and toiletries and I was off (after a nibble, otherwise known as a isle breakfast (the smallest continent you can have).
I headed off to Seattle, refuelled the car and arrived at the depot in the Seattle Hilton not long after 9. However, by the time I had gone through everything, it was 9:30 before I got to the car and nearly 9:45 by the time I worked out how to adjust everything so I could sit comfortably. One piece of advice I should give myself is NEVER pick up a rental in a hotel multi-story car park because you cannot see the existing damage. The first time you see it is when you look at the car in the afternoon sunlight and see the dents in the door which you know weren’t done while you had it (because you haven’t been near anything) but which were not quoted on a damage report with the vehicle. Some other companies have sent someone out with the renter to look over the vehicle and sign to accept either current damage or lack of damage.
Now of course the first problem was to find the fuel filler (the picture on the dash has an arrow indicating the side) and then to fill the car. The antipollution nozzles (DON’T TOP UP) can cut out anywhere from three litres in up to the forty-odd litres the car actually took – and you can’t see when it is full!
The second thing was being a two-door compact, it was small inside. I now realise how good the Europeans are at making a small car big on the inside. The Barina is smaller than the Cobalt ouside, but has infinitely more (well, twice) the amount of space inside. With its spoiler, the rear view is similar to peering through a letter slot. Not much good for seeing what is behind. And the boot – my suitcase nearly filled it, and if I had put the backpack in as well, there would have been no room for even a plastic bag.
But enough – I got to the border at noon and waited in a car line until 12:25. Quick questions, then I had to get a passport stamp and I was off. They left the US entry Visa in, because if the weather is fine in New England, I will pop over the border and have a look there on my way from Toronto to Montreal. The Canadian Border official assured me they just had a large snow dump!
Once over the border things hotted up. Speed signs, which I thought were a maximum, apparently meant the minimum speed to travel here. In an 80 zone, sitting on 95 I felt like I was parked in the emergency lane. I eventually found the railway station and sat in a parking bay (9 to 8 every DAY, including public holidays, and I had no Canadian coins) while debating what to do. I rushed inside, got a voucher for my voucher to exchange for a ticket tomorrow (are the Canadians going to do to vouchers what the Americans did to queues?) and found out when and where to leave my luggage (from 7 tomorrow morning). Then it was to the hotel, where I found out NO PARKING (except by valet, at CAD$25 a pop). I got my key and headed off to Vancouver Island.
I had not figured on half of the mainlanders wanting to go over for their Easter. As I arrived at the terminal, the next ferry (which would have got me to Butchart Gardens in plenty of time to look over it and take some photos) was fully booked and the next one was two hours later (or nearly three hours from then). I took an alternative ferry, but it landed me so far away that I still did not get to the gardens until after admissions finished. Then, because the ferry had been so booked out earlier, I went to reserve a place on the return ferry and missed the reservation deadline (not mentioned anywhere) by ten seconds. I headed off to make sure I didn’t miss it (great way to spend a first night in Canada – stranded on Vancouver Island and having to find somewhere to stay while paying for a room I wasn’t using). On the way the overhead info sign said – already 10% booked, and I was still twenty minutes away. When I got there, guess what? I was the ONLY car there.
Havign now become accustomed to ferry travel, I just locked the car, went over to the café, got something to drink and then got something to read. Then on the announcement I headed back and was nearly LAST onto the ferry.
The trip back was not quite as interesting as it was dark – I couldn’t gaze at the rugged splendour of the snow-covered peaks, so I wrote a little and tried to get some rest.
Back on the mainland, the Canadian Grand Prix was in progress (or so it seemed, trying to keep up with the traffic) but it was still 11:30 by the time I got to the hotel. Valet knocks off at 11, so I had to park the car myself.
After that wonderful experience, I got into the hotel, got things ready, did some computer work (but it’s late now, so the quality may diminish (from low to very low, eh!) but the quantity can still be there (never mind the quality, notice the amount).
Tomorrow I have to return the car by 9:30 so I can’t really sleep in, and I can’t anyway. I’ll see how the train goes to relax me a little more. I will be there by 4:30 after spending the day walking parts of Vancouver city – so be prepared for odd photos of quirky bits in a city I’ve never seen and not even natives may recognise from what I take.
Regular computer postings will most likely cease until at least Wednesday when I am in Toronto – delays and problems excepted, but as I have already booked the room, you can rest assured some gum will appear in the works.

21 March

Today was usual rising but after getting breakfast materials I came back and checked emails, etc. Then I had some breakfast and set off to go to Mount Rainier National Park. The weather was so-so, but I persisted on the off-chance. It paid off, because by the time I had got to the first stop in the park, the sun was out (mind you, it was only 0°C). I looked around the gift shop (a fatal mistake as what I get I have to carry to England) but only bought some postcards. I posted a lot off, and have only some to England to post tomorrow. I may well beat them to England!
Then it was a quick look around the museum (interesting, but like a lot, deserving of an hour or so instead of the cursory look I could give) and the Transport Museum (I used the same sort of ancient hand pumps they had on display to fill DOUG 2 in the late 1970s in the Victorian alps).
Then I headed off to Paradise (the name of the last place which can be visited until the season opens, not my nirvana) and got some good photos there and back. The snowplough had just cleared the road, so chains weren’t needed. Parts of the surface had not been cleared properly and so the lines were not visible at all for about three miles. Going up was easier than going down, as the front slid around a bit on the return trip.
Once down, I found a church with a manse behind and dropped off the toaster. It will have a good home either with a parishioner or in the church hall. I can’t take it with me and I didn’t see a charity shop today on my travels. However I did see everything else open (and even got a haircut – US$7 from a woman who used clippers with a vacuum attached) and the radio had reported traffic problems in the morning commute. Good Friday seems not to be celebrated as a holiday (from the old “Holy Day”) as even the post offices were open and deliveries were occurring (in RHD drive vehicles, so the drivers can load the mailboxes without leaving their vehicles!).
I had some late lunch on the way home and then sorted out the washing and put that on. The other powder, not yet used, was doled into Ziploc bags for use later (so I didn’t have to carry the tub nor use that space). I wrote some postcards to England, but fear that I may reach England before they do. I had sorted out most things, but will finally pack at about 7:30 tomorrow so I will be ready to leave soon after 8 (that should get me to Seattle to change cars by about 9:30). Everything has to fit in either the suitcase or the backpack, although writing materials and vouchers can go in the little pack I got from the Grand Canyon. I’m wondering what I will have to leave.
In a few minutes I have to collect the clothes (hopefully dry) and fold and pack some, then do the photos and then I will try to sleep early so I am refreshed for leaving the US and entering Canada tomorrow. Currently I plan to visit the gardens on Vancouver Island after confirming my train booking, and have already booked my accommodation for tomorrow night in Vancouver and Wednesday night in Toronto (and knowing my luck, the train will be delayed and I’ll lose that money, but better to be safe than sorry). Sunday will be walking around Vancouver city after I have returned the car and left my luggage at the station.
Last US night – it seems surreal considering at Christmas I was talking about what I would be doing and didn’t even have the tickets then. Reality will hit when Immigration remove the green card from my passport and I get it stamped in Canada.

20 March

Today was filled with mixed fortunes.
After getting ready and going down for the continental breakfast, the continent has now shrunk to the size of Churchill Island. Those unfamiliar with it, it is an island off Phillip Island and is about twenty acres. Breakfast offerings were correspondingly small. However, I made do.
I put most of the material to be posted in the last carton to be sent to Australia from here, together with some postcards and some DVDs. Then, not long after 7, I was off to the Boeing factory. The SatNav gave me an ETA of about 8:30 BUT forgot to take into account Tacoma and Seattle commuter traffic. I eventually arrived at 8:55, locked the car and ran with myself (no jacket or camera, which all contained prohibited items, so there are no photos from within the factory itself) only and just got into the 9 tour. The advantage of being early (well, on an early tour) was there are not that many participants. So even though I arrived late, I had no problem fitting in.
There were only about thirty all up, so we headed into the theatre for the (almost obligatory) preview film. Then there was a quick commentary (go to the toilet now – yes, those were the words used – as there are no restrooms from here on) and then we were on the bus. The tour guide was an ex-factory employee.
We went through two bays in the main assembly building and saw a 747, a 777 and a 787 being put together. The place was HUGE – REALLY HUGE – and even I was impressed. We accessed the viewing areas through service tunnels and unlike the ones in the movies, these were immaculately clean and had no steam popping out through any pipes (and no Bruce Willis chasing the bad guys). The whole assembly area was also immaculate and the lighting keeps the building warm. The commentary was very good and the guide was able to answer nearly all questions, even those from a 747 pilot who came from Manchester to see how his plane was put together (he was working, going back to London, later today – what a hard life!).
After looking through the small display they have there – and theirs was one of the most fair displays I have seen, crediting all involved whether from Boeing or on – I went into Seattle to work out the fate of the rental car. After navigating Seattle’s one-way streets (oh, why can’t Melbourne learn), I got to the Hilton Hotel (Alamo’s depot is upmarket here) and finally resolved the situation. My original rental runs out on Saturday, so I return the car by 11 and then pick up another car, new agreement, and drive into Canada. Saturday afternoon (after the border crossing formalities are done with) is for touring BC – little time I know, but that’s the way things are. On Sunday, at the same time, I drop the car. Then I look around Vancouver on foot while my luggage (hopefully) is at the train station. Getting out took a little time, because all the roadworks mean that entries are not where the SatNav thinks they are, so there is a bit of guesswork involved sometimes. However, I was soon out and to a post office to post some postcards (if you miss out, there are more I haven’t written yet – perhaps tonight, otherwise tomorrow night while the washing is on, but they are mainly for non-email people), my LAST US parcel and some DVDs. Memo to self – always choose to patronise a rural post office because they are always the most helpful, irrespective of country.
I had the option of Mt Ranier or the Olympics (mountains, not sport) and chose the Olympics because it looked rainier. My predictions were verified along the way (one good point about the Pontiac is it has variable dwell wipers, so I am not driven mad putting them on and off) so the beautiful wooded hills, blue bays (they should look that way but they were grey for me), timber houses and small rural communities and holiday resorts are not recorded pictorially (no photos, but why put it simply when a thousand words can paint a linguistic picture). I went up beside the Hood Canal and returned along Puget Sound.
I have heard all the songs on my iPod – the 20 GB one – over the last forty-odd days in the car. It’s amazing what’s there, so I’ll have to listen to them next year when tootling around in my little motorhome (or the year after, if the sharemarket keeps as low as it is at the moment).
Back at the motel I got my US map out to mark all my travels in on (so I can refer to it when in other countries and remember myself where I have been – who am I – what am I doing here – has Alzheimers hit me already!) and the postcards to finish writing.
Tomorrow I will try Mt Rainier, but I have to be back in time to do the laundry, pack everything, dispose of any surplus and to get a good night’s sleep before hitting the border (and immigration and customs) of the US and Canada.

19 March

Today started out both early and late. Breakfast was on from 7, so I was ready for that. After breakfast I deviated from routine and had to empty the car out. Those of you with good vision and are gluttons for punishment and have already viewed the uploaded photos will have seen a similar car but different plates.
After I unloaded the car I went to the local Alamo depot. After speaking to the woman there, I was able to get another car (as the other required servicing) but she wasn’t able to get me to be able to drop it in Vancouver. I have to check in Seattle for that. I would like to be able to drop it ther, because that means I can choose when I cross the border and I can then do what I want in Vancouver. If I have to return it in Seattle, then I have to book a train trip and accommodation, and then look for a way t get around Vancouver at short notice. I will find out tomorrow.
When I had changed cars, I called into a KMart I had passed, to get DVDs to back up my pictures and send some discs home. Once I know they are home safely, I can free up space on drives. I took the chance to get some other things at the same time.
Back at the motel in Gresham (Portland), I then had to load the car up again. I was ruthless in cleaning ot rubbish, but still have too much and will have to cull again on Thursday when I send the last US parcel home. Thus I ended leaving the motel about 10.
I headed straight up to Mount St Helens, and called into the Visitors’ Centre. The road was not really open enough to assure a good view and so I headed up with trepidation and low expectation. This was fulfilled when it started snowing and there was already a metre or so by the roadside. I looked and took what pictures I could, then headed back down (the through road was closed).
I had lunch at Castle Rock and got a coupon book which lead me to booking a motel at Tacoma (about half an hour short of Seattle). I booked in for three nights (thus assuring I wasn’t looking for accommodation on Good Friday) at a good rate and will use the laundry to make sure everything is clean before I cross the border and so I will make it to England and perhaps Europe without having to worry.
I got the laptop set up in the room and checked all was working. Then it was off to get some stamps to post some more postcards home and get a marker to fill in my journeys on the US map (I’ll most likely do it on the train).
Back in the motel I backed up photos and will send those discs home in the last parcel I post (tomorrow, as post offices won’t open again until after I leave). I also booked for a tour over the Boeing plant at 9 tomorrow, which means I have to leave by about 7 (can do as breakfast is from 6 here). I’ll do the car query on the way back. I also have to work out what else to see in the remaining time (and that depends on the car return too).
I did the DVDs and my other computer work, wrote some postcards (I’ll do the rest while I wait for Boeing tomorrow, but I have all the addresses written in) and then settled down for an early night but with no packing required tomorrow morning.
After sixty days away and my stay in the US coming to a close very soon, I am feeling a bit ambivalent about leaving, but visas, tickets and money draining quickly convince me to move on. Will I return? Hard to say, given the distance and cost and the extent to which I would tour if I returned, but I would have an itinerary planned in my mind already.

18 March

It was the usual procedure – up, prepare, head off for the continental breakfast. However, some are from the smallest continents, perhaps as large as Phillip Island judging by what is on offer. Today it was coffee, teacake and partial muffins. Orange juice, but certainly not from the Basil Fawlty “freshly opened plastic bottle” variety. I left Eureka not long after 8. Too much of a sleepin, although I did hear the news that the A$ was 93 US cents (so my spending is not costing me as much).
I headed off up to Oregon on Highway 101. The weather was overcast and showery. I hadn’t realised the night before, but Eureka is on the coast. I followed the coast north and it was misty and breakers were visile when the mist was lighter. At the first beach where there was enough light, I went to photograph the beach and found interesting signs as well.
The weather continued to be poor, but when I saw a SkyTrain tour of redwoods I was intrigued. I stopped in and, for $13.50, got a shuttle bus to the base of a chairlift with small enclosed gondolas. I was the only one and got the first trip of the day. The lift goes up about six hundred yards and stops three times on the way up so you can see the full height of the redwoods. The view was tree-mendous and tremendous. At the top there is normally a view of the ocean and another redwood forest. With the clouds, there wasn’t much to see, but I did see a bole that the redwoods grow from and some very baby redwoods. After an interesting discussion on the growth cycle and structure of redwoods I went back down and headed into Crescent City, to the National Park information centre. Here I got taken for a Scot by an Hungarian woman, but the ranger knew that Budapest was actually two cities, Buda and Pesch. He described a short driving tour locally to see the redwoods so I headed off on that, as it was on my way to Crater National Park. Before I left, he did comment on the ignorance of some of his visitors; one of whom complained that the rangers had planted the redwoods too close to the roads. Must have been very old rangers, as the redwoods are generally two thousand years or older!
The drive was fairly short, along a narrow dirt road about eight miles long. The weather was lousy but the views of the redwoods was spectacular. Unfortunately the rain and consequent darkness meant I couldn’t really take any photos, so you will just have to experience the drive yourself.
At the end, I needed to refuel and pulled in at a little town, O’Brien. The girl rushed out to fill the car and I took some photos there – large blowflies!
As I headed to Crater Lake, I suppose I just missed the signs – clouds surrounding the mountain, snow which rose from a slight smattering when I left the main road to well over two metres as I approached the park, signs saying I should be carrying chains (I wasn’t), showers which changed into heavy rain and then into substantial snowfalls, ice forming on road and the temperature dropping from over 20 degrees to less than freezing in about ten kilometres. Just after I entered the park, I decided that the visit would have to wait for another (finer) day and I turned around. In the tradition of having strange road signs, I did not see a snowmobile (or skidoo) leap over the banks and fly over the road.
I decided to go straight to Portland, so headed up on I-5. At a rest stop I found a coupon book for Oregon, and booked a room at a Super8 motel for the night. Just after that, there was a collision on the other side of the freeway and the backup of traffic was about six miles from it.
I had to refuel again and called in at Cottage Grove. As I pulled up, an attendant rushed to the pump. I commented it was in contrast to the off-hand attitude in California and was told attendants must pump the petrol in Oregon. It’s a $15 000 fine if the customer does it (and has been for thrity years). I also found out what a panhandler is (there were signs in San Francisco prohibiting panhandling). After getting some tea I headed off and then again had the surreal experience of passing through Portland on freeways at sixty miles an hour, having absolutely no clue as to where I was or where I was going, but following the SatNav directions and ended up where I should have been at 9:30.
I booked in and set everything up and will have to empty the car tomorrow. It needs a service (I thought it would last, but it didn’t) so I will change it for another and extend the rental another day and a half. That will leave me with a car until Friday night, which I will spend in Seattle, and then Saturday morning I will go to Vancouver, and spend the night there as well as the two days before I board the train to go across Canada on Sunday evening.
Now I’m off to sleep because it’s after 11, I’ve been driving since 8 and I’m tired!

17 March

I started the day out with a complaint – the Bluebird Motel was too comfortable and I didn’t want to get up. But I lived up to my obligations, arose and got ready. Breakfast was slices of teacake and coffee (or tea, for philistines like me) – the teacake confirms my belief that a lot of Americans like a very sweet breakfast.
I left after checking out and had to fill up with petrol almost straight away. With that chore out of the road, I hit the road, ready for a big and interesting day.
The first new sight was directions to the sea lion vista. I was most surprised when I leaned over the fence of the parking area and saw – sea lions, lots of them, just relaxing on the beach. One bull, obvious by his size, was right up the beach (so you only see each end of him) and the rest of the beach was presumably his harem and any young.
Her I got engaged in conversation with a Canadian and his wife, from Victoria, BC. They winter in Yuma and were on their way back home. During a varied conversation, he mentioned that a lot of Canadians had retired to Mexico and were enjoying it and a high standard of living, certainly different from what was expected.
I headed off because I realised my time schedule was already shot – too interesting, too many beautiful little bays and coves, too many islands and rocks. I tried (unsuccessfully for the most part) to limit what I stopped at and what I photographed. There were a lot of beaches, each with their own parking area. Some were free, some had day charges – but all were relatively empty, with quite a few having no-one on them at all. But that would obviously change for holidays and for weekends.
I stopped in at Big Sur to send yet another parcel home. This one was also costly to post, but there is no other option. It was interesting that despite the popularity of the place for surfing, it’s basically just a little country centre.
Driving along, a lot of rivers had large bridges over them. Most of them were from the 1930s, another legacy of employing people during the depression to do things which would be of lasting value to the country (like at many of the National Parks). This prompted me to compare the drive I was taking with the Great Ocean Road. The type of scenery is similar, but still different. If you like the Great Ocean Road, you’d also like this. But if oceanside driving isn’t your thing, then you wouldn’t like this (especially if you get carsick, as there are many curves).
As I neared Carmel (where Clint Eastwood had been mayor), a deer warning sign with a judiciously placed reflector made it look like Rudolph. Very clever.
As I neared San Francisco, I had to stay on the main road as otherwise too much time would go for little return. Then suddenly (well, after about fifteen minutes of suburban driving) I was on the Golden Gate bridge. Going north I didn’t have to pay the toll (good news, but the SatNav was convinced I had to) and I was amazed by the pedestrian traffic. It was hard to tell if they were tourists or just locals out for a stroll in a spectacular part of their backyard on a very pleasant day.
I continued up on Highway 1 and it quickly became a narrow, winding and rural road. Something triggered me off and I realised it was the smell of eucalyptus – there were gum trees everywhere (one of our less successful exports, as they contribute greatly to the severity of Californian wildfires). After a time on this road, I had to go inland, because I was down to an average of twenty-five miles per hour (40 km/hr) and I have to be in Seattle on Thursday late morning.
I was very amused to see a warning sign – Slow : Oysters crossing, complete with graphic. I don’t think it is a standard road sign!
Once inland, the pace became quicker and I had to refuel again. I took the opportunity to ring up and confirm a booking in Eureka at a coupon price, then settled down to driving to arrive at a reasonable hour (the SatNav said 10, but I made it by 9). The road (Highway 101) varied from freeway standard through to a very narrow road with redwoods right next to the pavement (just like near Marysville in Victoria) – and these fairly big trees present an interesting picture when they loom in the headlights of a tired driver, after twelve hours on the road.
So I arrived at the motel in Eureka, booked in, set the computer up and unpacked, transferred the pictures, went and got some tea (not enough time in the day to do that, and very few places beside the road where I was driving today), then completed my usual stuff and got ready for bed (gee, the spa in the bath is looking good, but I don’t know if I would stay awake – but then again it may put me to sleep more quickly – but then again, I’m tired enough now. Decisions, decisions!)

16 March

Last night was the first real disturbed sleep I have had since arriving. About midnight there was an altercation between some people and the staff of the Days Inn in the corridor outside my room. It quietened a few minutes later, but then became loud at about 12:10 from outside (as I was on the third floor, it must have been loud). That was of course topped off by the alarm going off with the radio on, full volume, at 4. Fortunately both times I was able to get back to sleep quickly.
After waking for real, I prepared and started breakfast about 7:10. It was in the restaurant, with the “continental makings” to the side. I had my toast with Vegemite, but again no-one commented. I wonder why? Just an eccentric tourist?
After packing and checking out, I left just after 8. As it was Sunday morning, I expected it would be quiet, but the roads were fairly busy. I decided to head south and then aim for the coast, so that I could travel up the most scenic areas and get a good look. It took a fair time to get south and about 1 I ended up in a little town called Cambria. A few motels said the offered a good deal for this evening, so I enquired at one, The Bluebird, and decided on it. While completing the formalities, the manager recommended Hearst Castle and noted it was only a few minutes down the road.
I went down the road and decided, as I was there, I would take the tour. $20 lighter I went through the obligatory picture-taking (so it can be offered for sale later) and went onto an earlier bus (so really had hardly slowed down from walking in). On the ride up, I was sitting next to a Californian from just down the road, only there because he and his wife were taking a friend form Texas there. We chatted about Australia and visiting, on and off because of the narration, as he had been but his wife hadn’t.
Once up we did a fairly good tour. Not using flash cramped my style a little, so the interior photos may appear blurred (I haven’t seen them yet). Here I ran into a family from Castlemaine, over for a fortnight. The tour kelpie (at the back, rounding us up) had visited Australia and has friends in the Ulladulla-Mollymoke area (which I had visited last year with David Lowrey). There was a lot of incidental chatter as we went around the mansion. In the end I decided it was worth it, and watched the movie in the Imax theatre as well. Once finished, I headed back to the motel, parked and walked along the town. There was a fish-and-chip shop advertised, but it was only in name, not in practice, and was closed anyway. I got some fruit to have then, from the market (mini rather than super), then walked back to the motel and had that while doing this blog and the photos. I also checked emails (note – don’t feel you have to write something, but if you do I will try to respond. Most nights it takes between one and two hours to complete the computer work, so “extra” emails come after that.
Hopefully tonight will have no dramas and I will set out about 8 to drive up the coast to Seattle (but NOT in one day – as well as the coast, there are still some parks to visit). It will be slow because I will be stopping to get coastal shots very so often.

15 March

Toady started out as normal, getting up, preparing, having toast, then getting coffee and pastries to have for a late breakfast. I arrived at the Sacramento Capitol Air Show about 8:30, parked and stood in line. I didn’t expect tickets to be sold until at least 9:45, so I was ready and had postcards and letters with me to write. In the main, these went to those without computers and Internet connections, so don’t expect any. I stood in line and wrote.
When I had nearly finished, I heard a couple behind me mention the rabbit-proof fence. As there isn’t one anywhere else than Australia, my ears pricked up and I spoke to them. They had just received the DVD of the movie and and wanted to know if it was like reality/ We talked about that for a while, while the organisers made announcements about security (USAF) being late. After we parted and went our ways to see the displays, I looked at a range of aircraft and spoke to a few personnel. I found out the Blue Angels pilot I was after would be here today.
Then I was standing looking and got run over by a small boy. His father apologised and we ended up talking about the US, Australia, politics, monetary policy, oil and a whole range of things. His children got my photo site address to see Australian things. Then I spoke to a U2 pilot (we had U2s at RAAF Laverton when I was there). Then I saw a Camaro (Holden Monaro) painted up in CHP colours so I spoke to the officer there. The instruments were nearly the same as mine, BUT had all four (which I could not get!) gauges.
Then the flying started. I couldn’t get a good position so some photos include backs or sides of heads as well as aircraft. Then I decided to take some movies, but still got heads.
I did get to meet Dino, who remembered Akko, so I got an autograph and then left. I booked into the same motel (Days Inn, Oakland) as I had been in before so I knew I could get Internet and the washing done. A relatively quick drive to Oakland (a suburb of San Francisco) and I was in the motel and the mashing was on. Some tea, a bit more unpacking and then it was time to put the drying on. While waiting I finished my writing and chatted to the next in line, who had been a Phantom pilot in the USAF during Vietnam and done R&R in Sydney. After that he had been an airline pilot, but is now retired.
Then it was back to the writer’s garret (Room 322) and writing up my memoirs (whoops, I meant blog) and processing photos. I’m not sure about the movies so they may have to wait.
Then it was to bed about 10:30. I want an early start, after breakfast here, to see the Golden Gate park and then head up Highway 1.

14 March

Today began in Fresno at 5:30, so I waited until 6:30 to get up, prepare and then hop next door to McDonald’s for breakfast. I still find it difficult to call a patty in a plain scone as “sausage in a biscuit”, but that’s what I had (with an egg). Then it was pack up, but this time I didn’t even have to check out as one of the motel staff took my key on the way. Last night was a power blackout, fortunately AFTER I had finished my computer work, but it did make me try to get to sleep earlier. I had just fiddled with the automatic light sensor for the bathroom and thought I had blown a fuse until I looked out and saw the whole motel and street in darkness.
Then it was out of Fresno and up to Yosemite. The first part was okay, on freeway, but again as I turned off onto the highways and smaller roads, the traffic was slower and the roads less friendly. An interesting aspect was that going into Yosemite, the 55 mph zone ended – no other restrictions until a few miles down the road. I wonder what the legal speed would be there?
Into Yosemite, armed with my map and newspaper, the trip had only begun. The actual park didn’t start for a long time after entry – nearly half an hour. Then I saw my first view of Yosemite, which looked nothing like the promotional material, but beautiful nevertheless. I stopped to take some photos and ran into a couple from Minnesota (if they read this, it’s the one who’s father embarrasses by wearing long johns with shorts!). We had a very pleasant chat about weather, photography and places to see in the park. I had things to do, however, so had to move on. My resolve to get there quickly was stymied by the sights along the way. When I finally did arrive, just finding the parking areas was a job in itself, as a lot of signage was hidden by snowbanks, put there as the ploughs cleared the roads. Once the car was parked, I went into the village and looked around and then proceeded to the Visitors’ Centre. Looking around in there, again I couldn’t help myself as I overheard a teacher explaining how Yosemite used to look just as I was looking at the photo of what she was talking about. After pointing that out, we then got into a discussion on how to teach geology and astronomy. Again I had to get away and went into the bookshop and purchased a DVD and some postcards. As each park which is large seems to run shuttles to diminish the impact of cars on the park, I took the shuttle to have a look around and also to get off and walk the mile to Mirror Lake (which took me fifteen minutes, not too bad as part was uphill and it’s all at an altitude of greater than six thousand feet). I was captivated more by the creek than the Mirror Lake, as the water flowing through means it is not really a good reflective surface. On the way back I had to wait for the shuttle, so I wrote some postcards out (mainly for people who aren’t in on this mass email I send out each day). Back at the village I had some lunch and then travelled to a spot to get some good pictures of the half dome and arches and coincidently got a coyote (in a picture, not with the car). After that it was to the waterfall, where a couple from France helped me get a photo of myself in front of the waterfall.
After all this exertion it was time to head out, as I wanted to be in Sacramento for the evening. I had found a place to stay (from one of the coupon books, Internet and breakfast, for $39.99 plus tax) so rang them up and booked on the way. I filled up with petrol, then had some tea at Stockton, and then drove into Sacramento to finally arrive at my accommodation by 8. After booking in (and finding I saved $20, but breakfast is only coffee and pastries, so I’ll finish off my toast in the morning) I went to my room, did the usual and hope to be in bed and asleep by not long after 10.

13 March

Day 54, where were you?
This was almost my cry as I woke at after 7 and still was not sure I wanted to get up. The mixture of a late night (midnight by the time I finished all my computer work after returning from Las Vegas), a good meal and quite a bit of driving had made me tired enough to snooze for a little longer.
Finally I rose, got myself ready and left. I had the satisfaction of knowing I had just had most likely the cheapest night of my entire time away from home, but the problem that I had now lost the second thing – a nail brush. The cost is not important, but knowing that I had forgotten something even though I had checked the room was annoying.
I headed west on I-15. Just as an aside, two days before when I left I-40 to go to the Grand Canyon West and posted a parcel home from Peach Springs, I had gone along Route 66 to do it. Any of you who have seen the movie “Cars” and remember the map scene, the route of both I-40 and Route 66 where I went was identical to the movie – I wonder if that part of Arizona was the inspiration?
I continued along I-15 until I went north. Both roads had some good and bad points, but travel was relatively quick. As I wanted to cover distance, I just kept going. Finally, I pulled up at a Rest Stop which was trialling wireless Internet for travellers. It worked like a charm and I could not only check my email (NONE!) but upload my blog and photos while I walked around and looked at the information there.
Then I went sideways across to see the Sequoia forests. Immediately travel ground to a halt (or so it seemed – traffic, traffic lights, speed zones down to 25 mph) and so progress became interminably slow. However I ended up at the National Park about 2. Knowing the procedure now (just as I am finishing my visits – only a few more to go), I show my pass with my driver’s licence. Then, after getting the newspaper for the park, I ask how to see as much as possible in a restricted time. The message was: Visitors’ Centre, Museum, Sherman Tree, drive out of the park to Fresno. However, while all was okay to the Visitors’ Centre, after that my time plans got shot.
The views were stunning. I tried to drive past rivers, mountains, views of the road, but found I couldn’t. A fifteen minute drive became one hour, but I managed to make it to the Museum in time, just before it closed. Then I got to the Sherman Tree, which you will see me in front of, courtesy of a couple from Cornwall who will be in Australia in July. After that it was a slow but scenic drive down the mountain and then into Fresno. I still find it hard, despite plates on the road giving advice to use the correct gears, to see drivers going downhill with their brakes on either continuously or at every corner. No wonder cars have brake failure, when items meant for intermittent use are used continuously. I really wonder whether anyone still is taught that you should descend in the same gear you used to ascend.
However, enough of that. I had got a coupon booklet and decided to try a motel in Fresno which advertised Internet and a hot breakfast. I found it quickly enough, the offer was still open and I booked in. Breakfast was a voucher for McDonald’s (next door, literally two steps away) and as they open at 5, it seems okay. You’ll hear tomorrow if it wasn’t.
I set up and found the wireless Internet worked okay. ONLY ONE EMAIL (thanks, Peggy!) but I will email out soon. The room has a microwave and fridge, so if breakfast hadn’t been available, I could have made myself toast anyway. It has a couch, desk and, more importantly for me, a spare powerpoint right next to the bed (so I can plug the computer and the battery charger in). I got down to the usual computer work and then got some tea next door while the computer was doing its thing for me. I hope to write some letters and postcards and post them tomorrow, but also get to bed early and catch up on sleep before I head off to Yosemite tomorrow.
My only regret so far is that I wasn’t in Arkansas long enough to get someone to correct my pronunciation (Ar–can-saw) and then I could say I wanted to visit Can-saw City (thanking them for helping me pronounce Kansas correctly) and thus totally confusing them.

12 March

Because I only had to travel a small distance, I arose later than normal, got ready and dressed and went down to have the $2.99 special breakfast. Naturally it worked out dearer after tax, but it was still cheaper than many others. After, I packed, checked out and was at Boulder Dam just after 9. After parking and walking across, I purchased a tour ticket (unlike Glen Canyon, it wasn’t free) after passing through a detector which didn’t go off, even with all the change and other metal I had.
The first thing was to see a movie on the making of Hoover Dam, which was explanatory, but also a little gung ho. Then we went down to see the penstocks, the tubes which take the water from the dam to the turbine. After that, it was off to see the turbines and then up to see the dam from an observatory. The past thing was to visit the old exhibit centre, which had been set up with a relief map of the whole Colorado River basin. There was a show which combined narration with lighting up parts of the relief map, putting each part of the system into perspective. Although official figures give the death toll for making the dam about 190, it was more like 400 when those who died away from the site, but from injuries incurred at the site, are taken into account.
It is/was a marvellous piece of engineering, moreso because it was “first” in a number of ways.
I left and went into Boulder City proper. I called in at the Visitors Centre, couldn’t connect to the Internet through their “hot spot” but did show the people working there Bryce Canyon. I also booked in for a room at Jean, just south of Las Vegas, for this evening for less that $40, which made me happy in a number of respects. I didn’t have to search, I got a good price and it was close, but not too close, to Las Vegas.
I set off for Death Valley, determined to see if it would live up to the hype. Getting there was an exercise in watching the terrain change and become far more inhospitable, and seeing the elevation drop and the temperature rise. By the time I got to the Visitors Centre, the elevation had dropped to one hundred and ninety feet below sea level and the temperature was up to nearly ninety degrees Fahrenheit – in contrast to fifteen degrees only the morning before. I was disappointed I couldn’t get a tea towel (embossed with “Using this for its purpose is worse than perishing in Death Valley”, for other people to use when drying up) but got a T-shirt with a motto which makes it obvious which of my nephews it is for (and I’m not going to say, for that would spoil the surprise).
I went to my hotel, the GoldStrike, in Jean via an abandoned mining town of Rhyolite. Many of the buildings were still standing and obviously substantially built, in contrast to many of the homes I saw being constructed while driving today (Jerry was building them). At the hotel I went to book in at the price quoted and couldn’t – the clerk saw my heavy vehicle licence as ID and gave me the “Trucker rate” which was $25, tax included. Why didn’t I know about that earlier? After finding my room (an exercise in itself, as it was on the first floor which was one BELOW the lobby and casino area) I went and had a buffet tea – that was I could get food that suited me, rather than the ninety-nine cent shrimp cocktail that had others going.
That taken care of, I headed into Las Vegas. I have got used to driving on the urban freeways at night and just move around and keep up with traffic as required, unless it’s moving too far above the speed limit, in which case I stay in the lane I need to for the next mile or so.
In Las Vegas I cruised. It was interesting, because the lights made the place. It definitely had more show than substance, but I found that I was disappointed that the material fuelling the town (water and power) had come from the Hoover Dam, where people had put in ideas, effort, skill and in many cases their lives, to have all this used for show. However, I suppose we all have different priorities, and many of those who have invested in Las Vegas have had their priorities repaid many times over.
Driving to return, I followed the SatNav but came across an accident. Ambulances arrived just before I did, but prior to that cars had been entering the freeway via the “on ramp” by going around the cars (and people) involved in the collision. The SatNav was determined I should use that entrance, so I had to detour a bit before it would calculate another path. Even then, on my way back, an ambulance came down the road, a little over the speed limit, in the left lane, and it was being passed by drivers who simply moved to the (slow) right lane.
The road surfaces on all the roads I have used are showing signs of either wear or poor maintenance, as travelling in the wear patterns creates an awful judder in the car. Moving slightly out of these wear areas allows the car to travel smoothly, but then I am very close to the lane edges (too close for some other drivers). But not much longer to go in that regard – although I am now able to get over 450 miles from a tankful, so the car is responding to my driving.
The hotel has no Internet, so both the photos and this won’t be posted until tomorrow sometime.

11 March

Well, today started out brisk and early, as I turned up at the correct time (6:30) for breakfast. Then it was a quick pack and check, check out and leave before 7:20. Then on the road I went, headed to Grand Canyon West.
Normally the SatNav tells me if the road is unpaved, but this time, for some reason, it didn’t. I arrived at the parking area within four hours of leaving (it had estimated the travel time as nearly six hours) and parked. Now the cost is something I baulked at, but knowing that the local people were running and making the profits from the enterprise made me less inclined to be upset.
To itemise the prices: $20 for parking; $29.95 for an entry permit and shuttle bus ticket; $29.95 for the SkyWalk; $49.95 for two pictures of myself on the SkyWalk. However, the shuttle bus takes you around to the two different spots and the view and sensation on the SkyWalk are unique and the view from Guano Point is really breathtaking.
After arriving I got my tickets and boarded the bus. At first, the views looked disappointing and the driver pointed out one place. Once out of the bus, with an Indian display, it looked more promising. No cameras of any sort allowed on the SkyWalk, but there were three set up to take photos (as noted above). I elected only for the one with the river in the background, but will have to wait until after I get home to scan them and put them in the collection. After putting my stuff into a locker, I put on my protective booties (like surgeons’ booties) to protect the glass from getting scratched. There were five separate layers, sandwiched to make a very strong laminate. The view through to the floor below (over three hundred metres) was exhilarating but not scary. Some stuck to the oblique edge as they walked around.
One of the locals, there in headdress, had been a criminal prosecutor and chucked it in to return home and perform. He was chatting with a girl about to become a nurse (she said about eight years training!) and then me. I got my photo and then went on the next ride to Guano Point. Someone with less knowledge than a sense of humour called the café there Guano Café, which makes one wonder at the quality of the food (no, I didn’t have any). The view of the river from spots around Guano Point was fantastic – far clearer than at the National Park, but also closer.
I had a chat with Oscar and Friole. Oscar may be out in Australia working on a plant to make gas from brown coal to burn in the generators in the LaTrobe Valley.
Then it was back into the car (after the shuttle ride back) and down to Meadview. This recreational resort is part of the area of Lake Mead, formed by Hoover Dam. When I filled up with petrol, the attendant knew of Holdens (I use a Holden MasterCard) and the Monaro and the Corvette. A group of Japanese had followed me in to get petrol and asked whether the SkyWalk was worth it – my answer: “It’s expensive, but you can’t do anything else like it.”
Then I drove over towards Hoover Dam. We were stopped at a roadblock, but I have no idea of why. Then I decided to call it an early night and booked into a casino just past there. It was a little more than advertised, but convenient as I want to go back and see over Hoover Dam tomorrow morning.
After lugging my stuff up to the Tower (Room 753), I tried to get a phot from the window, but it wouldn’t open (perhaps a good thing in a casino) and was too dirty to focus through. I did my computer work, now waiting for the photos to upload and will go down to see around before I go to bed and to sleep.

10 March

Well today I really was up at the crack of dawn, waiting and rearing to go – but still on Utah time, so at not long after 6:30 I rocked up for breakfast to find – it was only 5:30! The perils of state hopping.
At the “real” 6:30 I was there and ready, and so were about thirty others. This was the largest number up early for breakfast at any establishment I have stayed at. A woman recognised my accent and chatted away while my toast was being gently ambered (three goes to make it brown), but didn’t think any of her family would like to try Vegemite. After breakfast I decided that I could combine an active and rest day so booked in for another night. I didn’t have to pack up and check everything, so I headed off to the Grand Canyon National Park. I showed my pass, got some literature and headed in. Nothing was open except the grandeur of the canyon. I parked at Mather Point and started looking around and taking photos. After that, a quick walk to the display centre and I was first to take the shuttle bus. Because of the amount of traffic and limited road and parking spaces, there are large parking spaces in centres (including Mather Point) and then shuttle buses come around about each fifteen minutes, stopping at central points and also at the lookouts. I would like to tell you I walked the south rim, but I didn’t (partly because my shoes are starting to show the signs of walking and will need resoling if I do too much more cross-country walking). It was good to get off, look around, take a few photos, have a chat and then get back on the bus.
I worked my way along to the Hermit’s Rest and then went straight back to the Village and had some lunch. I had already booked a helicopter flight for the afternoon, so figured an early lunch would help it stay down (the food, not the helicopter). After, I went further out on the south rim to Grandview Point, then back to the motel, copied the pictures over to free the card up, then went out to the airport. I wrote a little while waiting (I don’t get any time to write individual letters, but I should as not everyone is on computer), then was offloaded to another airline as they had overbooked (not really – passengers on a tour had not previously paid for the flight but still wanted to go on it now). The flight was the same – over the canyon to the north rim, but to the west of the walking tracks. The view put the canyon into perspective because we were looking straight down into it. If you get the chance to see all the pictures, you will see how the rim shots are oblique, but some of the aerial shots are nearly vertical – and you will see the Colorado River better (it’s the dirty brown streak you see, at about 100 feet (30 metres) wide) and realise the size.
After, I got a photo of me at the helicopter and then went back into town. I decided to see the Imax movie and then ran into an Australian girl there (whose mother had taught at Springvale long ago and who now came from Brisbane) who had been working in Philadelphia and was now sightseeing before going to Ireland. We watched the movie (very good) about a little of the history of the Grand Canyon and then she went off and I did some shopping (agh; the postage will kill me!), then returned, did the normal computer work and then went to bed. I was back not long after 6; it’s now nearly 8 and will be after 8 by the time I can say all the “normal computer” work is finished. I will have ot pack tomorrow, butI will get up at the correct time.

9 March

Today I woke promptly at 6 (DST) and then thought I could wait a little longer, so by 6:30 I was up and had made breakfast. By 7 I was ready, packed and CHECKED the room and was leaving.
Although it was cold, there was no snow. By the time I reached Bryce Canyon National Park, it was cold. It had snowed overnight and the entry road had just been ploughed. At the Visitors Centre, only the first few places in the park were open according to the board. I set off and found that was correct, so started to look at the places which were available.
To say it was breathtaking was an understatement. It was one of the few places where I could have just stood and looked – the hoodoos and other formations were absolutely beautiful and the snow just finished them off to perfection. I imagine in spring and summer the picture would be equally entrancing but in different ways.
I met up with a very chatty group of Americans and we were talking away about the spectacle here and seeing sights in Australia and New Zealand. I took their photo and promised it would be on the web tonight. Of course, the server I am working through in the motel is going very slowly and the pictures are going out oooonnnneeee by oooonnnneeee.
On the way back to the Visitors Centre I saw a snowplough at the closed road, so checked – yes, all the roads were now open. So I went to the far point and met up again with the German couple from the motel. At this point the wind came up and it was lightly snowing, so I took as many photos as I could (some would say too many, but I doubt I will have the chance to be back again, so I will have to relive it through memories and photos). Then it was off to Zion (the national park in Utah, not the place in Israel). Once in there I looked around, but it was a case of being “rocked out” – like Mick Jagger and Keith Williams, rocking so much had taken its toll. I was becoming blasé about things I would have raved about a week ago. After three hours I had seen as much as I could and I was off to Arizona and the Grand Canyon. However, despite the Visitors Centre being less than one hundred miles away, it was nearly a two hundred mile trip there as the road cannot go directly. I arrived after dark and ended up booking into a motel just outside the park. After unpacking and checking the computer was working through the wireless link, I copied the photos for today, got a drink for tea and then started on my usual work.
The process was marred by finding out that one of my ex-students, from Derrinallum, had passed away from leukaemia, at just 28. Her mother had also died from cancer.
I waited (and waited) for the photos to upload and went to bed.

8 March

Today it was up at 6 have a little breakfast in my room (none included), get ready, pack, check out and off. So by 7:30 I was heading down the highway – and at 7:35 I was heading back, as I had forgotten my mobile. In an effort to have the alarm wake only me, I had the mobile under the pillow and therefore didn’t see it on my quick scan of the room.
When I was checking out, the young man on the desk knew my room number. I asked him how, expecting to get a rundown on the secret ways of the Navajo and their ability to read minds, but he had just seen the room number on the card.
It was a quick run down to Page in Arizona (all these places yesterday, today and tomorrow are around the Utah-Arizona border, so I am changing states almost each time I turn on the road) and so I decided I could post off my second (very heavy) parcel of material I have picked up. Naturally I forgot it was Saturday, so wondered why hardly anyone was there. The Post Office only opens on Saturday AFTERNOON – not in the morning! Equipped with this vital piece of information I went off to the dam – a concrete structure over two hundred metres tall and holding back twenty-four million acre feet of water (I’ll find that in gigalitres later). All the time spent finding the opening hours meant I arrived just as the tour of the dam left (damn!). I spent two hours looking at the exhibits and watching the films in the theatrette. The tour was down to the dam wall, along it, down to the power hall and then a look around there and finally a return to the top. The dam does not have a fish ladder and the operation of the turbines is controlled from there (and also for seven other smaller dams upstream). They also are in a drought and the water level is down thirty-four metres from full. They are hoping the current snowfall melt will raise the level considerably.
Then I went back to town to try to post the parcel but – they were only open to give out parcels, not take them. Another good idea has to wait.
I headed off on Highway 89 (all the roads have numerical names, but everything else is named in honour of some person – why not the roads?) and soon came across a Visitors Centre south of the road. I called in and they had some wonderful material on dinosaurs and the formation of the whole Colorado Plateau. After a chat with the ranger, it was back on the road.
In Kanab I had a break for some food and refuelled the car. After that, as I headed to Bryce Canyon, the snow began to fall. I was just able to get some pictures in Red Canyon (and the rocks really are red!) before visibility dropped. By the time I got to the canyon turnoff, visibility was low and I couldn’t read the road signs. I headed into Tropic, which fortunately is at a much lower elevation and had no snow falling (mind you, it was cold enough!). Here I booked in to the local Inn, one of the America’s Best chain, and got a reasonable room and even better with an RACV discount (10%). After unpacking the car and recognising some German tourists I had seen in Kanab (and helping them work out how to lock the room door) I went over to the local store and got some food for tea (and breakfast in the morning – cheap WalMart toaster to the rescue!), then came back, had that while fixing up the photos and writing this blog. After all was posted it was into bed and hopefully enough sleep to keep me going tomorrow.