We come for a week each year and I have to wonder why we bother. I'm flat out getting him to hit the slopes for more than three days. He absolutely refuses to ski two days in a row. I'm sure this isn't the man I married!
Thredbo Village - without the snow!
It is that time of year again - D and I are in Thredbo. David is a total ski-wuss (see my post 'Skiing, not cycling' - click here to read it).
11 tips for Australian travellers to the US
1. Don't forget to apply for your visa waiver, you won't be allowed to board the plane without it. https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/
2. Fix your exchange rate before you go. Our experience is that the Aussie dollar only ever goes one way after you have left the country. If you travel frequently to the US consider opening a US bank account, and move your holiday money across when the exchange rate is favourable. Make sure the account doesn't pay interest though unless you want to start worrying about how to navigate the US tax system. With a US bank account those horrible ATM fees are a thing of the past, just stick to ATMs for the bank you have the account with.
A holiday in Walmart - Denver Colorado
Our first full day in the US and we spent most of it in Walmart. As Walmart's go, it was a pretty good one but it was a Walmart nevertheless. D was like a kid in a candy store. He loves big shops.
We're here for six weeks, with plans to do lots of cycling. Never one to think inside the box D decided that renting bikes everywhere we want to cycle was going to be far too expensive, so why not buy them instead. We spent the better part of the afternoon riding up and down the aisles of a Walmart in suburban Denver trying to choose between the cheapest and the second cheapest bikes - and we are now the proud owners of two brand new, not the absolute cheapest they had, variety store bikes.
We're here for six weeks, with plans to do lots of cycling. Never one to think inside the box D decided that renting bikes everywhere we want to cycle was going to be far too expensive, so why not buy them instead. We spent the better part of the afternoon riding up and down the aisles of a Walmart in suburban Denver trying to choose between the cheapest and the second cheapest bikes - and we are now the proud owners of two brand new, not the absolute cheapest they had, variety store bikes.
Independence Pass 12,095ft
'Independence Pass' - Don't you just love the way Americans name things. They are proud of their country and they show it. There is nothing shy and retiring in a name like Independence Pass. It is out there and it is patriotic with a capital 'P'.
Sometimes, I think we, Australians that is, should be a little more vocal in our pride. Lets face it, we all love our country and really there is no place on earth we would rather live, but just occasionally maybe we should say so. Not as loudly as the Yanks perhaps but something slightly above the almost embarrassed whisper in we historically cloak our nationalism.
Sometimes, I think we, Australians that is, should be a little more vocal in our pride. Lets face it, we all love our country and really there is no place on earth we would rather live, but just occasionally maybe we should say so. Not as loudly as the Yanks perhaps but something slightly above the almost embarrassed whisper in we historically cloak our nationalism.
They drive on the right over here!
D will drive anywhere in the world. He's the only person I have ever met who has hired a car in Macau. The rental car guy didn't seem fazed, but just about everyone else thought we were crazy. Navigating was a nightmare.
Whenever non-travelling friends ask us about driving in the US, the first thing they want to know about is how hard it is to drive on the right hand side of the road. Our answer is always the same - Be careful at first, but you get used to it pretty quickly and it is just not that difficult. What we don't tell them, and what you never get used to, is walking and cycling on the right - instinct just seems to take over and you find yourself constantly moving to the left. To all those very nice Americans who I ran off the Rio Grande trail today because I just cannot get used to cycling on the right - I am really, really sorry.
Whenever non-travelling friends ask us about driving in the US, the first thing they want to know about is how hard it is to drive on the right hand side of the road. Our answer is always the same - Be careful at first, but you get used to it pretty quickly and it is just not that difficult. What we don't tell them, and what you never get used to, is walking and cycling on the right - instinct just seems to take over and you find yourself constantly moving to the left. To all those very nice Americans who I ran off the Rio Grande trail today because I just cannot get used to cycling on the right - I am really, really sorry.
Maroon Bells - The most photographed mountains in the US
One for the Twitter Traders and the Rio Grande Trail
Doc Holliday came to Glenwood Springs to 'take the waters' in the hope that it would help his consumption (tuberculosis). It didn't. A few months later he died - in bed with his boots off - not, apparently, the way he had expected to go. He was buried in Linwood Cemetery. The exact location of his grave has been lost but the local Chamber of Commerce erected a memorial to him. D and I made the trek up to Linwood today. The temperature was in the high 90s Fahrenheit. It was about a half a mile from where we were able to park the car, along a reasonably strenuous track, in a beautiful mountain setting.
9,540 ft - High altitude living
Mountain Village, Telluride clocks in at 9540 ft (2907 m), more than 2,000 ft (609 m) above our own, diminutive, Kosciuszko. Nestled in the magnificent San Juan Mountains, Telluride is charming and breathtaking at the same time.
Mesa Verde and the Thousand Mile Mark
In about 1200 AD the Anasazi (Ancestral Pueblo people) who had lived since 550 AD in the area of Mesa Verde moved from the flat land of the mesa tops. For reasons that can only be guessed at they began to build their homes in alcoves clinging to the precipitous sides of the mesas. Less than 100 years later, and just as inexplicably, they abandoned the area. The National Parks Service ('NPS') now administers Mesa Verde and conducts tours of the cliff dwellings they left behind.
I think we have found the middle of nowhere.
I always thought Australia had a monopoly on the middle of nowhere. I'm pretty sure we lived there for a couple of years when we were younger. Today we discovered that the US has a middle of nowhere too.
We drove from Durango, Colorado to Vernal, Utah. After the first hour it was five hours of nothing - it just about drove D mad. Personally I quite like 'middle of nowhere' landscapes. There were a few, time forgotten towns, you have to wonder what draws people to make their lives in them, but mostly just miles and miles of nothing, a bit like being on the moon.
We drove from Durango, Colorado to Vernal, Utah. After the first hour it was five hours of nothing - it just about drove D mad. Personally I quite like 'middle of nowhere' landscapes. There were a few, time forgotten towns, you have to wonder what draws people to make their lives in them, but mostly just miles and miles of nothing, a bit like being on the moon.
Of Dinosaurs, Petroglyphs and Pictographs
The Grand Tetons - was it a moose or an elk?
The Grand Tetons are the less well-known cousin of Yellowstone National Park. We 'did' Yellowstone a couple of years ago with No.2 son. This year we thought we would knock off the Tetons.
At Yellowstone we saw elk, bison and a grizzly bear as well as bubbling mud and geysers. We didn't see any moose. Someone told us that the Tetons were the place for moose, so here we are.
At Yellowstone we saw elk, bison and a grizzly bear as well as bubbling mud and geysers. We didn't see any moose. Someone told us that the Tetons were the place for moose, so here we are.
This time it was definitely a moose!
Day Two - Did I see a moose today? Yes.
It was definitely a moose. Much bigger than an elk, partly hidden by trees, exciting, brief - a fleeting glimpse of a magnificent animal. I have discovered that moose are shy and elusive. I looked at her, she looked at me, and then she was gone. David didn't see her at all.
It was definitely a moose. Much bigger than an elk, partly hidden by trees, exciting, brief - a fleeting glimpse of a magnificent animal. I have discovered that moose are shy and elusive. I looked at her, she looked at me, and then she was gone. David didn't see her at all.
The Craters of the Moon National Monument
The Craters of the Moon National Monument is a vast landscape of dried lava flows. Surreal and eerie - I loved it. David, being more of a bucolic countryside person, thought it could have done with a good landscape gardener - level the whole lot off, bring in a couple of thousand truckloads of soil and plant a nice lawn with neat rows of flowers.
Some days you win and some you lose.
Today's plan was to cycle. We are in Boise, the capital of Idaho, passing through on our way to Oregon. Apparently Oregon is green and pretty. Have I said that David likes bucolic countryside? How can he call himself an Australian? Give me a good honest desert any day.
The Boise River winds through the city. There is a 25 mile (40 km) cycle path following the river's greenbelt. On a sunny day it would have been idyllic. Today it rained. We got wet. Fortunately, not too wet. Many years of experience at the cutting edge of tourism have taught us that some days work out better than others. Today was one of the less exciting days, but we've had worse and we've learnt to take the good with the bad.
The Boise River winds through the city. There is a 25 mile (40 km) cycle path following the river's greenbelt. On a sunny day it would have been idyllic. Today it rained. We got wet. Fortunately, not too wet. Many years of experience at the cutting edge of tourism have taught us that some days work out better than others. Today was one of the less exciting days, but we've had worse and we've learnt to take the good with the bad.
The end of The Oregon Trail
From 1830 to 1869, when the first transcontinental railway was completed, 400,000 early settlers made their way to the West coast of the US along the Oregon Trail. The trail ran from Independence, Missouri to Oregon City. For the most part they walked beside their oxen-drawn covered wagons, day after day, for six months. They braved raging rivers, mountains, heat, rain, snowstorms, accidents, dwindling supplies, typhoid, cholera and exhaustion. Many didn't make it. Some turned back; one in ten died. By the end of the Oregon Trail years there was a grave for every 80 yards (metres) of the 2,000 mile (3,200 km) trail.
The Great Pyramid, The Grand Canyon, Iguazu Falls and now ...... Sandy River Airport.
David doesn't watch much television. He has never heard of most of the Hollywood household names you and I know as mega-stars. The kids joke that he lives 'under a rock'. He is however an avid fan of 'Gold Rush'.
Gold Rush is one of the highest rating shows on the Discovery Channel. I don't know how many Australians have heard of it but David must be it's biggest down-under fan. It is a reality TV show following the exploits of a group of guys from small town America who, with no experience whatsoever, decide to become gold miners. They start out in Alaska and when that doesn't work out they move on to the Klondike in Canada.
Gold Rush is one of the highest rating shows on the Discovery Channel. I don't know how many Australians have heard of it but David must be it's biggest down-under fan. It is a reality TV show following the exploits of a group of guys from small town America who, with no experience whatsoever, decide to become gold miners. They start out in Alaska and when that doesn't work out they move on to the Klondike in Canada.
Cycling in Portland.
If anyone is wondering whether we still have our bikes with us. Yes, we do. We have a bike carrier which straps onto the boot of our rental car. With the addition of an octopus strap to secure them a bit more firmly, it works brilliantly. Even at freeway speeds of up to 75 mph (120 kph) the bikes are rock solid. We bought the carrier in Sydney, but surprisingly, in the land of the 4WD and oversized sports utility vehicle strap-on bike carriers are very common in the US. I can hardly recall ever seeing one in Australia but we see them everywhere here. Just don't hire a car with a rear spoiler. We had to reject the first rental car. It was never going to work.
Cycling in Seattle
We came to Seattle to do a tour of the Boeing Aircraft factory. We don't usually do tours.
Being herded around like kindergarten children is not our idea of fun. Many years ago we got trapped inside Mont Saint Michel for an hour and half when we foolishly joined a French speaking tour. We don't speak French. Once the tour started we couldn't leave and we had no idea when the ordeal would end. Each new room took us down an ever increasing spiral of desperation. We have had a serious allergy to tours ever since.
Being herded around like kindergarten children is not our idea of fun. Many years ago we got trapped inside Mont Saint Michel for an hour and half when we foolishly joined a French speaking tour. We don't speak French. Once the tour started we couldn't leave and we had no idea when the ordeal would end. Each new room took us down an ever increasing spiral of desperation. We have had a serious allergy to tours ever since.
Lewis and Clark
In 1804 Captain Meriwether Lewis and 2nd Lieutenant William Clark led an expedition to map and explore the newly acquired Louisiana Purchase and to establish a route across the North American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. The expedition was known as the Corps of Discovery. The Corps left St. Louis in May 1804 and returned in September 1806. All but one of the 40 men returned alive.
Mt St. Helens and Crater Lake.
Mt St. Helens
On Sunday 18 May 1980, Mt St Helens, a long-quiet volcano 154 km south of Seattle, came catastrophically to life. Fifty-seven people were killed in the eruption and 250 houses destroyed.
The mountain had given signs of the impending disaster in the months beforehand but no-one expected the magnitude of the devastation which occurred. Almost everyone who was killed was outside the evacuation zone. Rather than exploding upwards, the eruption blew out the whole north face of the volcano triggering a massive molten avalanche of mud, ice, snow and debris.
On Sunday 18 May 1980, Mt St Helens, a long-quiet volcano 154 km south of Seattle, came catastrophically to life. Fifty-seven people were killed in the eruption and 250 houses destroyed.
The mountain had given signs of the impending disaster in the months beforehand but no-one expected the magnitude of the devastation which occurred. Almost everyone who was killed was outside the evacuation zone. Rather than exploding upwards, the eruption blew out the whole north face of the volcano triggering a massive molten avalanche of mud, ice, snow and debris.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)