Driving in the USA -

I will let you know in a week how many miles we have covered in part one of our trip. We limit driving to a maximum of 5-6 hours a day and sometimes if we are stationed in a place we do none. We were fortunate that early on our first rental car got a cracked windscreen so we were able to swap to our current Chevy Impala which has a larger boot (trunk for our North American readers) and in the front you can put the arm rest up between the driver and passenger to create a 'mini' seat (with belt) suitable for a child. This has meant that the kids take turns and one sits up front with us thus giving the kids in the back more room.

Our car radio displays not only the name of the radio station but the artist playing and name of the song which was novel for us but maybe nothing new here. Air conditioning is an absolute neccesity as our temperature gauge often shows over 100F (about 35-40 C). Gas is dearer than we had anticipated at about $1.25 NZ a litre. We average 80-90 miles or 129 to 145 kms per hour on the freeway (well Elspeth does but Tim keeps to the limit which is 75 miles or 121 kms)! There are some unusual road signs we have noted like:

'Yield' = Give Way
'No Outlet' = No exit
'Hitchhiking prohibited next 10 miles as prison area'
'Dust storms likely next 30 miles. If one occurs do not pull over' - This one had me puzzled as I thought it would be more logical to pull over to the shoulder and wait rather than drive blindly on unable to see properly!
'Lost Springs - Population 1' - Hardly worth the cost of the road sign I would have thought!

The Americans appear to have an aversion to roundabouts unlike the British who adore them a bit too much and so instead you have multiple crossroads/intersections with traffic lights. They do however have a peculiar rule where you can turn on a red light if nothing is coming. Goes against the grain but you get used to it.

I must say part of the reason for doing this trip was to drive the extensive open roads and just go where the road takes us and this has certainly come true. There is nothing quite like driving along just taking in the scenery and watching the town signs fly by listening to songs like 'American Pie' by Don McLean and a good dash of the Beach Boys, ZZ Top, Elton John and the Rolling Stones thrown in. The musical taste here (major generalisation of course) is refreshingly 'old school' from the 1960's and 1970's and all the classic artists rather than the one hit wonders. I haven't heard any rap or grunge anywhere. There are however a large amount of religious stations which we quickly bypass.

Bonneville Speedway, Utah -

Where NZ'er Bert Munro broke the world speed record as seen in the movie 'The world's fastest Indian' and Scotsman Donald Campbell broke the land speed record in a car.
As you can see from the photo there is shallow water over the track - maybe it hasn't been used for a while. There was no plaque or marker which was surprising.

Great Salt Desert, Utah -

Between Utah and Nevada along highway 80. The children are standing on white salt and lots of it. The temperature was 40 degrees.

Mormon Temple, Temple Square, Salt Lake City, Utah -

Built in 1893. Only Mormons can enter the temple and even then only on special occasions such as weddings or funerals.
We also visited the huge Family Search Centre where it is free to search records from all over the world including Australia and NZ. There are a large number of trained Mormon's to assist you if required.
40 degrees back here in Utah again.

Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming -

Next door to Yellowstone. Grand Teton means 'large breasts' in French! Early French Canadian hunters/explorers thought the peaks resembled breasts hence the name.

'Old Faithful' geyser, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming -

Yellowstone is also known for its geysers and mudpools, 'Old Faithful' geyser being the most popular. It errupts approximately every 78 minutes and we managed to see it. The water shoots up to 180 feet high spurting out 11,000 gallons. Crowds gather to watch it seated on hundreds of benches.

Elk, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming -

This guy was wandering right by the car.

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming -

Oldest and largest national park in the US. Suggested time to spend in the park is 3 days - we managed nearly 1. Lots of free roaming wildlife which was exciting for us - deer, bison, wolves, elk, bears. We only managed to spot deer and bison however.

Beartooth Pass, Montana -

11,000 feet elevation near the north east entrance to Yellowstone National Park which straddles Montana and Wyoming.

Devils Tower National Monument, Wyoming -

Designated the USA's first national monument in 1906. Used in Spielberg's movie 'Close Encounters of the third kind'. A parachutist got stuck on the top in 1941 for 6 days before climbers rescued him. The top is about the size of a football field and grassy. It is considered a sacred place by the American Indian.

Mt Rushmore, South Dakota -

America's two largest stone carvings, Crazy Horse and Mt Rushmore are only 17 miles apart. Mt Rushmore is free but $8 US to park the car! The sculpture was carved by over 300 men between 1927 and 1941. It cost nearly $1,000,000 US at the time.

Crazy Horse Memorial, South Dakota -

This is the world's largest sculpture and is close to the more famous Mt Rushmore. It cost our car $22 US to get in (free if you are a Native American Indian). In 1939 the Sioux Indian asked a famous sculptor called Ziolkowski to create a sculpture of Indian chief Crazy Horse who died in battle in his 30's. The sculpture (model is at the front, sculpture in rear) is a work in progress and so far only the face has been completed. Ziolkowski died in 1982 and 7 of his 10 children continue with the creation. There is no expected completion date. Free rocks from the dynamite blasts are available so naturally our 3 took one each - now I will have to find a way to 'lose' them before our trip to London. To give you an idea of scale the 4 Mt Rushmore heads can easily fit into Crazy Horse's one head.

Cheyenne, Wyoming -

Where the men wear spurs and lizard skin boots - really!

Vail, Colorado -

We visited the elite ski resorts of Vail and Aspen today. Felt a bit like square pegs in round holes as non skiiers. Vail is considered the number one ski resort in the USA. Obviously in summer it is quite a different atmosphere with lots of hikers and cyclists rather than skiiers. Cher and Jack Nicholson have homes in Vail (though we don't know exactly where). Very touristy but charming. No cars are allowed in Vail village itself. Delighted to spot a NZ flag amongst the many that decorated the shops.

Rocky Mountains, Colorado -

Snow is a novelty for our kids so they insisted we stop by the road so they could throw a few snowballs. The temperature was still around 30 degrees. The altitude about 12,000 feet (unsure in metres as everything is the 'old' system here). As we progressed through the Austrian type scenery the temperature did drop to about 10 degrees but only for an hour or so.

Colorado National Monument, Colorado -

This rock formation is called 'Independence Rock' as it stands alone and you can clearly make out the form of the eagle (click photo ot enlarge).

Colorado National Monument, Colorado

We have now 'done' all the National Parks in Utah and what a great experience it was. The kids have been troopers with no moaning and have appreciated the greatness of these surreal landscapes, canyons, and weird rock formations despite it making their father very nervous if they go too near a canyon edge or two! We have tried to do a small hike in each park though it has been difficult in 40 degree heat with little or no shade from the beating sun. We buy a tray of 24 bottles of water every few days which we have in the car and all go through at quite a rate.
Utah is different than the other states with its high percentage of Mormons' and all that goes with that - it is the state with the highest rate of non-smokers (smoking, alcohol and tea and coffee are banned in the Mormon religion). Family is paramount and as a result a lot of shops are closed on Sunday and close earlier in the week. Also the strict alcohol laws prohibit sales in supermarkets and if you want to drink you must pay to drink at a 'regulation' bar after someone 'votes' you in. Poor Tim - he has missed his wine!

Canyonlands National Park, Utah

Arches National Park, Utah -

'Hoodoos' (spire and pinnacle shaped rocks), Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

Natural Bridge, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah -

Southern Utah has more State and National Parks than I can count. The scenery is inspiring and incredible, unlike any other place we have seen in the world. Amazing vivid colours of reds, oranges and rust. The parks have been pleasantly uncrowded which we didn't expect at this time of year. The weather is a consistent 35-40 degrees every day. Tonight we are staying in Green River the self-proclaimed 'Water Melon Capital of the world'!

Kolob Canyons National Park, Utah

St George, Utah -

3 nights here from which we have visited Zion National Park and Kolob Canyons National Park. The scenery in this part of the state is surreal with massive red stone cliffs rising up from the desert floor. The temperature today was 38 degrees. The suburban houses are built to blend in with the landscape in earthy colours and most are single storey.
In Zion National Park in summer cars are banned so you park and then ride the park bus which has 9 stops throughout the park and runs every 7 minutes from 5.30 a.m - 11.00 p.m. It is a good system and means traffic jams are eliminated. We found the park wasn't crowded despite being peak time. A late afternoon thunderstorm (common here) ended our day but we had seen the main highlights. The next day we visited the smaller and lesser known Kolob Canyons National Park. Just as beautiful as Zion but not as commercial. In these temperatures we are going through a lot of water which is great but on occasion we have left our water in the car only to return and find it too hot to drink.
We went to Walmart today - USA's answer to The Warehouse only 20 times bigger and they sell food also. They also have a pharmacy, cafe, hairdressers and optician. The Mormon's were in buying up large, dressed in their ankle length, long sleeved dresses, wool stockings and shoes despite the heat. One assumes they must not show any skin?
Our choice of food is severely limited due to price and having no cooking facilities. We have cereal and milk or fruit for breakfast and sandwiches for lunch or we go for the 99c menu at the fast food places. Tim bought a chilly bin today for $1.50 so we shall give that a go in the car.
We still marvel at the heat and the consistency in temperature, a novelty for us Wellingtonians! The children have never been so brown in their lives.

The Patriarchs mountain range, Zion National Park, Utah

Sand Mountain, near Fallon, Nevada -

The last two days have been driving days after our relaxing stay put at Lake Tahoe.
The first day we drove east from Lake Tahoe to Nevada where we firstly visited Virginia City, an old gold mining Wild West town then on the ‘Loneliest Highway in America’ to Ely. While the scenery was worth while it sure was lonely with no amenities, houses pr people to be seen. Quite a radical change from the 10 lane freeways around the big cities we have been to. The children were excited when we saw a living thing including a few grazing cows. Of interest however were patches on the road that were strewn with what we initially thought were hundreds of frogs but on closer inspection turned out to be swarms of locusts which we had never seen before. They are somewhat like a giant weta but they have the added bonus of being able to fly. The road was covered with them in certain areas and many met their death on our windscreen or under the tyres.
Also of note was the odd spectacle of Sand Mountain which was just that, a giant mountain of golden sand rising up from the ground . It was like somewhere in Egypt and it was 40 degrees to match.
We were excited to get our first rain in 5 weeks however it only lasted about an hour and the temperature gauge on the car dashboard still indicated we were in the late 30’s despite it.
Now we are in Utah about to descend on the many National Parks’ here, more than any other state. Some interesting facts about Utah are of the 2,000,000 population, 70% are Mormon’s. Another fact as Tim discovered last night when going to buy some wine, he found that you cannot buy alcohol except for beer with a 4% or less alcohol content. It is a ‘dry’ state due to the amount of Mormon’s.

Calneva Hotel, Lake Tahoe, California

The Calneva Hotel (the name is a combo of California and Nevada as it is on the border of both states) was the famous hang out for Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe and the Kennedy family who would fly in from L.A or Palm Springs. The hotel is said to still be haunted by some of these celebs.

Lake Tahoe, California

We are staying in a private home here for 5 nights. We are not on the lake front but have a glimpse of it from our deck. The house is large and very comfortable and we have our own spa pool. We are just 'vegging' out here as it is nice to have some time not living out of a suitcase. The children are catching up on school work. Tonight we are looking forward to seeing the 4 July fireworks from the spa.