Western USA: San Fran - Glacier NP- Yellowstone - Grand Tetons - Bryce - Zion - Antelope Canyon - Monument Valley
7 - 27 September 2017

7-8 Sep - San Francisco to Lake Shastina

Arriving in San Francisco we caught the Bart then a bus to our super cheap motel in the 'bad part of town' - Oakland - to be near the major league baseballl game that night. We dropped our back packs and returned via the BART to buy a phone SIM card (for GPS, emails, etc). We've been to SF before so this time we simply wandered around Union Square, caught a train to Chinatown for a squiz & a feed before returning to Oakland Stadium. The home team had fared badly this season so the crowd was small but we still enjoyed the game & the hot dogs.

Next day we collected our home for the next 8 weeks. Brand new, it exceeded our expectations except that the hard bed supports determined that we sleep across the double bed meaning that Steve's feet overhung by 300mm.

To beat the traffic we drove straight out of SF stopping only to buy provisions at Walmart in a small town 4 hours away. We also bought a mattress topper to soften the bed..

Our first night's freecamp site was outstanding, and it turned out to be the first of many - there seem to be an endless supply of the wonderful campsites in this country. Lake Shastina is in the shadow of a volcano of the same name.

Chinatown	Robbie on the tram	Baseball
Happy to hit the road	Lake Shastina free camping	Mt Shastina from our camp

9-12 Sep - Lake Shastina, CA to the Colombia River, OR

Next stop was magnificent Crater Lake. The west coast was not only having a heat wave but forest fires were everywhere. When leaving the lake via the northern exit we were stopped by the police as the road was blocked by fire crews. Going via the southern exit would add a few hours to our trip. When we explained that we were trying to get to our next stop before dark because wildlife is prolific on the roads, he amazingly escorted us the 15 miles through the problem area. Our next free camp was again spectacular - Lava Flow across the border in Oregon.

Next day we drove through the picturesque town of Bend, then the magnificent Cascade NP. When we arrived at our next free (very chilly) camp - in the shadow of snowcapped Mt Hood - we found that the whole of the Colombia River gorge was closed due to wild fires which forced a replan. Instead of driving the gorge via Portland we'll go to Hood River via the historic Timberline Lodge on Mt Hood.

Overnighted beside the mighty Colombia River, still 1.5 kms wide 200kms from the ocean. There are so many majestic rivers in the USA with so much fresh water; so unlike home.

Crater Lake shrouded in smoke	Our police escort	Sheer sides of the crater
Steve heading for a wash at Lava Flow free camp	Historic Timberline Lodge	Beautiful town of Bend in The Cascades
Stunning Mt Hood from our o/nite camp	Overnite stop beside the massive Colombia River

13 Sep - Pendleton Roundup, OR

This was a big day. Pendleton Roundup is one of the biggest rodeos on America and we're there.

It was huge! Besides the normal rodeo events the local Indians were very visible. They lived onsite in a teepee village for the whole event, had a grand parade in native costume, put on a historical show each night and ran the best event of the roundup.

The last-mentioned was a race where a number of riders raced around the arena on horses, bareback, changing mounts 3 times (after each lap). They didn't bother stopping a horse before leaping to the ground & swinging up onto the next. It was sensational.

We stayed late to watch a pageant put on by the Indians outlining the history of the area. Then we drove in the dark to a roadside stop in Washington state.

Race of local indians	Part of the teepee camp	Trick animals
Local indian tribes	Officials scattering before an escaped bronco	Buckin' bronc

14-15 Sep - Through Washington state to Many Glaciers park, MN

Very long drive today with a pause in the beautiful town of Coeur d'Alene. It's a lovely lakeside resort complete with wandering deer, elk & turkeys. We also drove through historic Pottsville hitting rain for the first time on the trip.

We stopped overnight in a supermarket carpark in Colombia Falls and were told that the spectacular Going-to-the-sun Road was closed due to a massive bushfire burning all the way to the Canadian border.

We decided to take a large detour to travel to the other (Eastern) end of that road as that half appeared to be open.

What a fabulous drive. We drove over The Rockies through falling snow, past a herd of bison. Crazy being snowed on while detouring because of massive forest fires.

On arrival at the eastern end of the road we found it closed due to heavy snow falls There's always tomorrow hopefully so we drove to paradise instead, called Many Glacier Park in the middle of some monstrous mountains. There were 3 grizzlies foraging on the mountain slopes nearby, but not too nearby.

We walked on a guided tour in cold drizzle before dinner in the van. Very cold night but no problem in the van.

Coeur d'Alene has wild turkeys - tastier than our bush chooks	Historic mountain town of Pottsville	Our van next to another big river - 1,000km from the coast
Snowy wonderland	Bison	Road into Many Glaciers park
Many Glaciers park	Walk in the park

16 Sep - Glacier NP

We spent the day in the indescribable Glacier NP as the road has now been cleared of snow. We can't go past half way along Going-to-the sun road because of the forest fires. The weather was now perfect. We did a hike from Logan Pass to Hidden Lake through the snow past frozen waterfalls. The scenery is way too grand to capture by camera.

We left after lunch, heading south, and had the Rockies on our right and the prairies stretching as flat as a pancake for thousands of kms to our left. We loved the endless 'fluffy grass with the massive snowcapped Rockies always in sight.

We had dinner in a tiny, warm diner in Townsend and met some hunters who, contrary to our predisposition, were really nice, as were the staff. After dinner we backtracked a km and slept in a car park next to another beautiful river.

Along the road heading back from our camp site	View in another direction
Following are Glacier NP - eastern side

17 Sep - Into Wyoming & Yellowstone NP

After wandering south beside the Rockies through beautiful country we entered Wyoming, and soon after, Yellowstone NP. This park was a disappointment . It was really crowded with tourists and the wildlife was sparse. We rushed through the highlights in a day lucky enough to get over the pass 1 hour after it was cleared of snow. We wasted an hour standing with a vast crowd beside Old Faithful (geyser) waiting for it to blow. The signs say it blows punctuallly every hour but it was 30 minutes late for us.

We made a decision late in the day to shorten our stay in Yellowstone and headed out towards The Grand Tetons. We were forced to stay in our first van park as we couldn't find any roadside spots in the dark.

We overnighted in a paddock after eating near here, in Townsend	Yellowstone calcium steps	Yellowstone Lake
Tower Falls	Grand Canyon	Old Faithful

18-19 Sep - Grand Tetons NP

Wow!! What a place. Every photo a postcard.

We walked & boated for a couple of days in this awesome place, stopping each night at the end of a long dirt road to nowhere.

First view of the Grand Tetons
View from our overnite free camp	Returning from our walk around Jenny Lake

		Beavers at work

20-21 Sep - The Utah desert via Salt Lake City via Jackson Hole

Jackson Hole is a very fancy ski town. We liked the stuffed moose but not the huge arches made of hundreds of antlers at the 4 corners of the main park.

From there we drove over beautiful mountains to Salt Lake City and of course visited the Mormon Tabernacle, then left to park overnight in a shopping mall car park.

Next day we drove into one of the most dramatically beautiful places in the world - the Utah desert. As an entree we stopped at Red Canyon before overnighting in the scrub just outside the jewel in the crown - Bryce Canyon, after a quick preview.

The Jackson moose	The colourful end of Jackson town	Mormon Cathedral in Salt Lake City
Our overnight carpark stop south of Salt Lake City	Into the desert. 1st stop Red Canyon	Inside the canyon

22-23 Sep - Bryce Canyon NP, UT

Bryce is our favourite park in the world - even better than Karrijini!

We hiked the Rim, Queen's Garden and Navajo trails together. Steve did the Tower Bridge trail solo. We drove to the many scenic spots on the way to Rainbow Point at the extreme end of the park.

At Rainbow point we walked the Bristlecone trail. The highlights there were the Thistlecone Pines which are quite small, really stunted & up to 5,000 years old, and the view. The pines grow really slowly mainly because of the climate as the elevation is 2,800 metres. The drop from the lookout to the surrounding countryside is so huge that the horizon is 300 kms away. Imagine standing something tall enough in Sydney to see as far as Port Macquarie.

Late on the 2nd day we drove t o a beautiful riverside free camp just outside Zion NP. En route we walked the Mossy Cave Trail then stopped at a tiny fair in tiny Glendale and and bought tamales for dinner.

First glimpse of Bryce	Afternoon colours
Morning colours	The start of our first walk

	We are so high here that the far horizon is 300 kms away	Prairie dogs on high alert
5,000 years old Thistlecone pine	Even in the desert (at Mossy Glen) there is clear water	The fair at Glendale
Tamales at the dining table in the van	Another beautiful overnight free camp beside a creek	Scenery near our camp site

24-25 Sep - Zion NP, UT

First up we drove through a low tunnel which would have forced a 100km detour if we had a normal motorhome. Once in the park you must use the free shuttle which is very efficient and travels the length of the main valley from the park HQ.

The main valley is stunning. We walked the Emerald Pools trail together. Robbie caught the shuttle & walked while Steve exhaused himself in a mammoth & precarious climb to Angels Landing (1200 feet up). The last hour is via a chain attached to the top and side of a knife-edged ridge. At the top he hand fed squirrels & a mighty condor glided to within 4 metres of him for a look.

We overnighted in the van park in the valley after queueing for an hour. Next day, together we hiked to theTemple of Sinawava at the end of the valley. Steve continued up the watery and very long slot canyon beyond but had to return part way as he'd already left Robbie for 3 hours (instead of 1.5 hrs as predicted) despite hurrying past everyone in water up to his chest.

We left mid afternoon to our campsite of 2 nights before.

One of the low tunnels that preclude motor homes	The steep descent into the Zion NP valley	Looking into the valley mouth
The rightmost peak is Angels Landing - Steve climbed this	There are climbers on this 1200ft vertical. Takes 2 days, sleep on rope	Emerald Pools trail
Steve's view from Angel's Landing	The access to Angels Landing is via chains on that narrow ridge	Inside the slot canyon - see the tiny people
The road out		Bighorn sheep beside the road

26 Sep - Lake Powell, Horseshoe Bend, Antelope Canyon

This is a really full day with a long drive on top.

After another picturesque drive we stopped at Lake Powell for lunch. This is a huge freshwater lake in the middle of the desert. It exists behind a dam on the Colorado River 300-400km upstream of the Hoover Dam.

We had a short visit to Horseshoe bend and encountered a vast crowd of Chinese tourists. This prepared for us the huge crowd at our next stop.

Onwards to one of the strangest places we've seen. Antelope Canyon is a slit in the ground which opens up below ground to a tortuously twisted muti- coloured slot canyon. On Indian land, it is owned by one indian family which makes tens of thousands of dollars a day from the thousands of tourists queuing up daily to enter in guided batches.

After 1.5 hours in the Antelope Canyon queue & another hour underground we headed off to our overnight stop, as usual through picturesque but barren country. Tsegi is a very high plateau in which is cut a deep valley. That valley houses the ancient cliff dwellings of the Pueblo nation and was far too deep for us to have time to atttempt.

Typical scenery leaving Utah for Arizona	Lake Powell	Horseshoe Bend
The extraordinary Antelope Canyon with massive crowds
	Notice the crowd in the right picture	The slit on the right is the innocuous exit from this national treasure
Random scenery after Antelope Canyon	Pine nuts - a staple wild food for indians, and cowboys forever	Our night stop

27 Sep - Monument Valley

This day is another highlight. As with Bryce & Zion we've been to Monument Valley before. When we arrived it was under a glowering sky but it improved to patches of blue sky with rain squalls - superb viewing weather. After a magnificent day of driving, standing, gasping we drove past Farmington into New Mexico and parked amidst sand dunes.

NEXT (southern USA)